In a joint venture announced on Wednesday, AOL indicated that it would retain a minority stake in Patch, but that going forward the network will be operated by Hale Global.
AOL Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Tim Armstrong helped create Patch in 2007 as a news website that served smaller towns and cities, with an emphasis on local news coverage and blogs.
While Patch grew in size at a remarkable pace to some 900 websites throughout the United States, there have been regular reports in recent years that it has struggled financially. A New York Times story about the new joint venture stated that Patch has lost between $200 and $300 million in its lifetime.
This past August, around 350 Patch staff members were laid off, or about 40 percent of its staff, according to a report at the time by Business Insider‘s Steve Kovach.
Looking ahead, the AOL announcement said Hale Global will attempt to make Patch profitable through several new concepts including:
- Technology solutions to make community participation seamless
- Mobile-first experience with social integration
- National, regional, and local advertising self-service tools
- Geo-targeted advertising products