Report: Daily Beast Will Lose $12 Million This Year

AdWeek is reporting that The Daily Beast could lose as much as $12 million dollars this year. The article focuses on the Beast’s enigmatic leader, Tina Brown, and speculates about what her next move will be after the disastrous acquisition of Newsweek. 

A rep for The Daily Beast said ad revenue at the site is up nearly 23 percent year over year, with average traffic for the past six months up 28 percent to about 17 million versus a year ago, citing internal Omniture numbers (comScore’s are much lower, however). After a dramatic face-lift earlier this year, the site is slated for a refresh in September.

After delivering that bit of good news, AdWeek reports that an inside source says Barry Diller (CEO  of IAC, The Daily Beast’s parent company) is losing patience with the site’s red ink:

Despite those positive signs, the Beast is believed to be on track to lose as much as $12 million this year, per knowledgeable sources, and IAC chief Barry Diller’s goodwill may be running out. He already publicly showed he’s losing patience for losses, infamously saying it was a “mistake” to buy Newsweek.

Brown’s contract is up in January, and AdWeek speculates that Brown may be preparing for her life afte The Beast, and it involves Hillary Clinton: 

If she leaves, one possibility is that she’ll devote herself to the Beast’s Women in the World Summit. Brown is said to be strongly committed to that event, which has spawned a foundation and drew 2,500 people to its Lincoln Center venue this year–including heavy hitters like Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey.  If Brown’s looking to get back to print, there’s always the Hillary Clinton book she was writing but put to the side.