Pornhub ‘Extremely Interested’ in Buying Tumblr

Tumblr is in trouble, and PornHub hopes to be the one to save the internet platform from potential demise. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Verizon was seeking a buyer for Tumblr, which hosts 465.4 million blogs and 172 billion posts. PornHub hasn’t been approached about buying the blogging platform, but the site is ready and willing to step up to help.

In an email to Buzzfeed News, PornHub Vice President Corey Price said the porn streaming site is “extremely interested” in purchasing Tumblr. He told the outlet he was hopeful that in acquiring the platform, PornHub could restore its once NSFW image. Tumblr, once popular with young people, has been struggling for some time but a 2018 announcement that the company would remove adult content was the final straw for many users.

“Tumblr was a safe haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality, adult entertainment aficionados included,” Price told Buzzfeed News in his email. “We’ve long been dismayed that such measures were taken to eradicate erotic communities on the platform, leaving many individuals without an asylum through which they could comfortable peruse adult content.”

PornHub purchasing Tumblr started as joke. Users suggested the porn site consider taking over for Verizon Media to maintain Tumblr’s porn-positive atmosphere. Price acknowledged in his email to Buzzfeed News that “There are obvious synergies between the two brands and value Pornhub could derive from Tumblr.”

“We’re extremely interested in acquiring the platform and are very much looking forward to one day restoring it to its former glory with NSFW content,” Price said.

Verizon Media hasn’t yet publicly acknowledged PornHub’s interest in buying Tumblr. It’s unclear at this stage whether the company will move forward with a deal.

Tumblr has shifted ownership several times in the last few years. First, it was purchased by Yahoo in 2013. The acquisition set Yahoo back $1.1 billion. While it owned Tumblr, Yahoo failed to make an significant changes to the micro-blogging platform. In 2016, the company was valued at a mere $230 million. Roughly four years after Yahoo purchased the site, Tumblr was bought once more, this time by Oath, an old name for Verizon Media Group.

In December, Tumblr announced plans to ban pornography — a huge portion of the content shared on the platform. Leading up to the announcement, Tumblr had been hailed a safe space for independent pornographic content for women and members of the LGBTQ community. The platform was widely criticized over the decision, and memes about it started popping up on Tumblr only to be flagged by the AI implemented to enforce the new anti-porn policy.

PornHub was quick to react to the policy, inviting Tumblr users to “Join our amazing community of millions” in a tweet. It’s unclear how many people actually did flock to the streaming site amid the Tumblr exodus.