“We believe this is a smart transaction for Ziff Davis Media that places these market leading assets and teams in a great environment poised for further success. The transaction allows us to pay down debt and shift our full focus to our core PCMag Digital Network business. We thank our 1UP team members for their contributions and wish them the best of success into the future”, said Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young.
“Since we started UGO 11 years ago, we have served the gamer community and built a world-class online publishing platform,” said J Moses, CEO of UGO Entertainment. “The acquisition of 1UP, with its authentic voice, tenured editorial personalities and bustling user community, allows us to expand our base of quality content and represents a major step forward in UGO’s mission to become the leader in the games space.”
Ziff Davis Media recently announced the launch of the PCMag Digital Network reflecting a move to a 100% digital position for its flagship brand. The PCMag Digital Network leverages its quality content and audience to offer marketers a unique combination of solutions that enable strong brand positioning, while driving measurable response results. More announcements about the future growth and expansion of The Network will be issued in the coming months.
“We are extremely excited to join the UGO team,” said Sam Kennedy, editorial director and creator of 1UP. “Relying on UGO’s publishing platform will allow us to focus on what we do best—creating great content and ‘owning the conversation’ among gamers through our unique, authentic and definitive voice and community.”
1UP.com will stand beside UGO.com as a flagship brand within UGO Entertainment’s robust portfolio of sites targeting 18-34 year old gamers. The combined entity will reach an audience of more than 40 million monthly unique visitors.
The 1UP editors will carry on the site’s tradition of engaging hardcore gamers with insightful commentary, comprehensive information and breaking news from the games industry.
“In this difficult marketplace and at a time, when many companies are scaling back their businesses, UGO Entertainment continues to grow and expand its position in the games space,” said Ken Bronfin, president of Hearst Interactive Media. “We remain dedicated to supporting UGO's growth in this key category.”