Thrillist

Thrillist is an American digital lifestyle brand covering food, drink, travel, and entertainment with an editorial voice aimed at urban millennial and Gen Z audiences across major US cities. In June 2026, Thrillist was acquired by Penske Media Corporation as part of the Vox Media deal, joining The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, Popsugar, and The Dodo in Penske's new PMX Global subsidiary under president Ryan Pauley; the deal separated these titles from New York magazine, Vox.com, and the Vox Media Podcast Network, which went to James Murdoch's Lupa Systems for more than $300 million.

Thrillist was founded in 2004 as a New York City email newsletter recommending bars, restaurants, and activities, expanding into a multi-city digital media brand with lifestyle guides for major US urban markets. It became one of the founding titles of Group Nine Media when that social-video holding company formed in 2016 from the merger of Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo, and Seeker. Under Group Nine, Thrillist developed video content and live events alongside its editorial output. Vox Media absorbed Thrillist when it acquired Group Nine in early 2022. Beyond advertising revenue, Thrillist has at various points generated affiliate revenue from hotel, restaurant, and experience recommendations integrated into its city-guide editorial.

Thrillist's food and travel positioning overlaps with Eater within the PMX portfolio, though the brands serve distinct editorial voices and audience segments: Eater focuses on restaurant culture and the food industry for enthusiasts and professionals, while Thrillist takes a broader experiential-lifestyle stance aimed at readers planning where to eat, drink, and travel in a given city. Both titles' transition to Penske continues the consolidation of ad-supported US digital lifestyle media into large publishing groups whose cross-portfolio commercial packages and first-party audience data offer major advertisers an alternative to platform-direct buying.