Way back in October, Daily Reaction discussed the sale of IGN and how News International utterly failed in their valuation of the site. Now, finally, IGN and its affiliate websites have been sold.
j2 Global’s Ziff Davis subsidiary has bought IGN, UGO, 1UP and AskMen.com, which j2 claims have over 600 advertisers and 53 million global monthly unique visitors combined. The sale price was not disclosed, but Bloomberg claims it was less than the $100 million News Corp was asking for.
People might remember Ziff Davis as the guys that previously owned 1UP and EGM, before they were sold to the Hearst corporation in 2009 and then bought by News Corp two years later. Ziff then went bankrupt and was acquired by j2 Global for $167 million at the end of last year.
Peer Schneider, Publisher and EVP of Content at IGN said:
Ziff Davis shares similar roots with IGN, evolving from a traditional print business into a successful digital business. As the games media space continues to evolve, and audiences continue to seek new ways to consume content, we’re excited to be working with a partner focused on delivering strong editorial content across all platforms. IGN’s audience of millions of passionate fans – including the largest audience of gamers online – coupled with Ziff Davis’ excellent monetization track record, will form the foundation for a very powerful media brand.
What this all means for one of the games media’s biggest and most controversial websites remains to be seen. We, for one, can’t wait to hear more about this excellent monetization track record…
