Fandom Officially Acquires GameSpot, TV Guide, Metacritic & More
The biggest fan network in the world, Fandom, revealed today that it had purchased a portfolio of entertainment and gaming brands from Red Ventures, including GameSpot, Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News, and Comic Vine.
The sites collectively attract 46 million monthly active users, according to Fandom. Financial details of the agreement were not made public, but a source familiar with the matter estimated that Fandom would pay “in the mid-eight figures” for the properties, with $50 Million in cash.
Perkins Miller, CEO of Fandom expressed his views saying:
We’re thrilled to add these powerful, authoritative brands into the Fandom platform, which will expand our business capabilities and provide immersive content for our partners, advertisers and fans. The trusted insights, ratings and content they provide will make us a one-stop shop for fans across their entertainment and gaming journey.
In addition to creating exceptional fan experiences, these platforms will add to our FanDNA data offering, giving us sentiment and intent signals that will help improve the consumer experience as well as make our commerce and advertising businesses more impactful.”
Fandom is the largest fan platform in the world, where fans can immerse themselves in virtual worlds from the entertainment and gaming industries. Fandom is the top source for in-depth knowledge about popular culture, gaming, TV, and movies, receiving more than 350 million unique visitors every month and housing more than 250,000 wikis.
With the completion of this agreement, Fandom has advanced along its growth trajectory and is now spreading throughout the fan ecosystem. In order to improve its coverage of news and entertainment, Fandom purchased ScreenJunkies in 2018.
In 2019, the business purchased Curse Media, which brought together the best gaming wikis on the planet with included digital gaming features. Fandom purchased Fanatical, a significant online video game store, in 2021, expanding the company’s reach in the gaming industry and diversifying its revenue streams. And as the leading fan platform operating at the nexus of culture and business, Fandom will increase its lead with this acquisition.
With this agreement, Fandom’s worldwide fan network will continue to grow, better serving partners and fans of entertainment and video games. Every phase of the customer journey, including reference, community, trends, ratings, reviews, news, and commerce, will be driven by the new unified platform. Fandom will expand its 360 programmes for its advertising partners, including game publishers, studios, and streaming services, with the addition of these gaming, movie, and TV platforms.
Christina Miller, Red Ventures’ chief strategy officer, commented:
With Fandom at the helm, we are confident these brands and their teams will be well equipped to continue empowering and connecting gaming and entertainment audiences around the globe, while Red Ventures continues to focus on unlocking the next phase of growth and evolution of its strong stable of decision-making brands.”
It’s intriguing to watch businesses like Fandom and Red Venture ramping up their game in light of the industry’s continuous acquisition patterns. By collaborating to create the best content, the acquisition will undoubtedly help both organisations grow.
