VidCon might be about to change forever. The flagship creator event, which has been going on since 2010, could be up for sale.
According to Adweek, Paramount Global has hired the bank Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips to explore the potential sale of the convention. A source familiar with the situation told Adweek that the company hopes to secure a “strategic buyer” for the event as opposed to a private equity firm.
While the source adds that VidCon is not a “distressed asset,” it is “unclear” what price Paramount is seeking for the event. In other words, VidCon isn’t in any financial trouble. So, you don’t need to panic. We won’t be seeing the end of VidCon anytime soon.
When VidCon first started, it was owned by the VlogBrothers John and Hank Green, and had an attendance of just 1,400. But since then, the popularity of the event has soared, with Paramount (then trading under Viacom) purchasing the event from the brothers in 2018.
Attendance of the event peaked at 75,000 in 2019. Since then VidCon has never really recovered from its post-pandemic slump. The first post-Covid VidCon amassed just 50,000 attendees, which then increased to 55,000 the following year. So, perhaps a shake-up is exactly what the event needs.
