More and more sites like this are mixing in more affiliate links in lieu or traditional advertising. Just in the past month we have had 3 HUGE publishers start mixing in our affiliate links into their content. Buzzfeed is one we have been trying to get on board for a while now.
Traditional advertising is drying up a bit but there is pretty much no limit to what they can do through the affiliate channel on a performance based model. There might not be as much up front money but there will always be opportunities for them.
