CNET to be sold to Ziff Davis, owner of Lifehacker, for over $100 million
It has been revealed that digital media company
CNET to Be Sold to Ziff Davis in Sign of Possible Media Deals to Come - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/business/media/cnet-ziff-davis.html
CNET sold to Ziff Davis for over $100 million
https://www.axios.com/2024/08/06/cnet-ziff-davis-red-ventures
Ziff Davis paid more than $100 million for CNET owner Red Ventures, a person familiar with the matter said. Red Ventures declined to comment on the acquisition.
Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah, speaking to The New York Times, confirmed the acquisition, saying, 'It's part of a strategy to use the company's roughly $800 million in cash to acquire digital media businesses. We expect to see more deals across the industry as tech giants like Google and Meta take a growing share of digital ad dollars and advances in artificial intelligence threaten to further disrupt the digital media landscape.'
CNET was founded in 1993 and has been developing television programs and Internet media. In 2008, ViacomCBS (Paramount Global) acquired it at an unprecedented valuation, and in 2020 Red Ventures acquired CNET and several smaller websites from ViacomCBS. In 2022, Red Ventures sold smaller brands such as GameSpot, TV Guide, and Metacritic, which it had acquired as part of the CNET acquisition, to Fandom. The transaction amount this time was just 1/18th of the price in 2008.
CNET has a turbulent past, having secretly published articles with the help of AI.
News media CNET is reportedly secretly creating articles using AI under the signature 'CNET Money' from November 2022 - GIGAZINE
According to Shah, the reason for the decision to acquire CNET was that it is a well-known brand in the industry and can reach advertisers looking for a readership interested in high technology. Another advantage is that CNET publishes reviews of various products, which allows it to earn performance-based commissions. 'Technology and communications products and services remain complex, whether they are for individuals, homes or businesses. There is a need for them,' Shah said.
Related Posts:
in Posted by log1p_kr