NPG: Old Media Invests $20 Million-Plus In Cloud Data Centers

By samdizzy

The News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG Co.) — which operates newspapers, television and radio stations — is diving to the cloud data center business. Specifically, NPG has invested in two start-up data centers in Missouri, while also pumping $20 million into Online Tech, an established data center provider and co-location expert that’s planning expansion moves.

NPG owns and operates 40 broadcast television and four radio stations. The company also owns and publishes 14 newspapers. Its mission is to “be the dominant provider of local news, information and advertising in the communities it serves.” The family-owned business is now in its fourth generation. And apparently, that generation has spotted the cloud computing wave.

Indeed, NPG invested $20 million in Online Tech, which will use the money to open four more data centers over the next 24 months. Moreover, Online Tech will further sharpen its focus on such vertical markets has financial services, health care, retail and e-commerce — where corporate compliance mandates like HIPAA and PCI are extremely important.

Generally speaking, Online Tech focuses on tier-two data center markets and avoids fiercely competitive locations like New York, Northern Virginia, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Northern California (Silicon Valley/San Francisco).

NPG invested in Online Tech investment on August 31. Disclosure of the transaction was delayed until Online Tech formally notified its employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.