j2 Global, the parent company of publisher Ziff Davis, announced today that Ziff Davis has acquired IGN entertainment from News Corp. The publisher will take control of IGN, 1UP, AskMen, and other IGN web properties. Ziff Davis is known for publishing PC Magazine, Geek.com, and other niche properties such as ExtremeTech.
j2 estimates that IGN has over 600 advertisers and 53 million monthly unique visitors to its websites. It also stated that the purchase will more than double the revenue of j2’s digital media properties. The price of the acquisition has not yet been revealed.
“This is a transformative deal for our digital media business,” said Hemi Zucker, CEO of j2.
j2 stated that Ziff Davis’ “strength in data analytics” will influence IGN’s marketing, allowing advertisers to “more efficiently reach its demographically attractive audience.” IGN’s audience is generally males from the age of 18 to 34, a highly prized demographic.
“By combining two of the most storied organizations in tech, gaming, and entertainment, we have created a very powerful company capable of producing and delivering content in all forms to an audience that marketers highly value.” said Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis. “IGN and AskMen are tremendous best-in-class brands that we are proud to have as part of our digital media portfolio.”
One interesting thing to note is that this won’t be the first time Ziff Davis has owned 1UP. In 2009 the publisher sold the website to UGO Entertainment, which was acquired by IGN Entertainment in 2011.