On the internet, popularity does not always equal revenue.
In some cases, well-loved content simply does not meet the needs of advertisers, and in others, the cost of creating the content simply outpaces the revenue it produces.
Part of the challenge is that even readers who don’t use an ad blocker tune out most ads.
“The average clickthrough rate is a measly 0.05 percent, so publishers covered their sites with increasingly obtrusive ads,” Wired reported.
In addition, most ad dollars do not go to content or journalism websites.
“The global advertising market surpassed $1 trillio in 2025, while contributing less and less to the financing of journalism, according to The Forum on Information and Democracy’s report.
The data identify other beneficiaries of this fast-growing market.
“Chief among them are the leading digital companies Meta, Alphabet (the parent company of Google), and Amazon. These three alone accounted for more than 55% of the global advertising market, excluding China, in 2025 — a share that could exceed 60% by 2030.”
That has made the content business very challenging, and it was too much for Food52, a popular recipe and cooking community website, to overcome. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December and has now received permission from a bankruptcy court judge to ask its creditor to approve its liquidation plan.
“A Delaware bankruptcy judge approved motions Friday allowing e-commerce group Food52 to send its Chapter 11 liquidation plan out for a creditor vote, overruling an objection by the U.S. Trustee’s Office,” Law 360 reported.
The company entered Chapter 11 with a plan to sell off its assets.
America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) entered into an agreement in December for the acquisition of certain assets of Food52, Inc., according to a press release.
“Food52, Inc. has filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 relief in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to facilitate an auction sale of substantially all of its assets, with ATK serving as the proposed stalking horse bidder,” the companies shared.
In the end, assuming creditors approve, the brand’s assets will be split among three companies.
More Bankruptcy:
“Food52 itself went to stalking horse bidder America’s Test Kitchen, which acquired the company for $9.9 million, plus the assumption of some liabilities. Oregon-based whole home brand Schoolhouse was purchased by Troy-CSL, a division of the Hudson Valley Lighting Group, for $2.2 million. Dansk, the heritage tabletop brand, was sold to design licensing agency Form Portfolios for $250,000,” Business of Home reported.
