Will hit YouTube show Hot Ones' fall prey to cash crunch?

BuzzFeed's hunger for money spurs talk of sale

- LUCAS SHAW

From the top: Conan O'Brien and writer Jose Arroyo, playing the role of his physician, on BuzzFeed's "Hot Ones." Actor Sydney Sweeney samples some hot wings while chatting with host Sean Evans.

For the producers of “Hot Ones,” one of the most popular original programs on YouTube, this year has yielded one success after another.

The show, in which host Sean Evans eats spicy chicken wings with celebrities while interviewing them, has landed viral moments with Conan O’Brien, Sydney Sweeney, Lewis Hamilton and John Oliver. While celebrities once needed to be talked into appearing on the show, they now line up for a chance to sample the wings of death.

Yet behind the scenes, the future of the show is uncertain. BuzzFeed Inc. has been trying to sell First We Feast, the food-oriented media company that owns “Hot Ones.”

BuzzFeed’s bankers at UBS Group AG are running a formal sale process and initially asked for more than $70 million (U.S.), according to people familiar with the matter.