The fan engagement platform Fandom has acquired a number of entertainment and gaming brands from Red Ventures in a deal valued at about $55 million.
The acquired titles include TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot, Cord Cutters News, Comic Vine and Giant Bomb. Fandom, which is backed by private equity giant TPG, will add the acquired titles to its existing business lines, which include ScreenJunkies and the online video game retailer Fanatical.
TV Guide provides news and interviews related to TV and streaming shows, while GameSpot is one of the definitive news sites about the gaming sector. Metacritic, like Rotten Tomatoes, generates scores for entertainment content.
With the new assets, Fandom will reach around 350 million monthly active users. The Wall Street Journal first reported details on the sale.
Some of the acquired brands, including TV Guide, have changed hands multiple times over the past few years. ViacomCBS sold CNET — which included TV Guide, GameSpot and Metacritic — to Red Ventures in 2020 for $500 million. CBS had previously acquired TV Guide in 2013.
While Fandom started out as an entertainment-focused wiki, it has since added publications meant to engage entertainment fans (and drive advertising revenue), and has also built out a data business called FanDNA meant to support studios and other companies in the sector.
“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,” said Perkins Miller, CEO of Fandom. “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.”
“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,” added Christina Miller, chief strategy officer for Red Ventures.
Red Ventures will continue to own and operate CNet, in addition to other brands including LonelyPlanet, ThePointsGuy and HealthGrades.
