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Ziff davis

Ziff Davis, LLC is an American publishing and internet company founded in 1927 in Chicago , Illinois by and .

Ziff Davis, LLC
Ziff davis logo-page-001.jpg
Type ofsubsidiary
Baseaugust 1927
Chicago , Illinois , USA
Founders
Location USA : New York , NY
Key figuresSteve Horowitz (President)
Brian Stewart (CFO)
(Head of Security)
Industrymagazine publishing / information provider
Productswebsites , media , data , podcasts , video podcasts
Net profit▼ $ 216.1 million USD (2015)
Number of employees~ 1200
Parent company
Websiteziffdavis.com

Content

  • 1 History
    • 1.1 Popular Aviation
    • 1.2 Fiction and amateur magazines
    • 1.3 Television stations
    • 1.4 Technology Journals and Web Resources
    • 1.5 Ziff Davis Media Inc.
    • 1.6 Absorption
    • 1.7 International growth
  • 2 Active facilities
    • 2.1 IGN Network
  • 3 Sold properties
  • 4 Abolished magazines and websites
  • 5 notes
  • 6 References

History

Throughout most of its activities, Ziff Davis has published amateur magazines, often devoted to expensive, widely publicized technical tools and hobbies, such as automobiles, photography, and electronics. Since 1980, there have been publications primarily related to computers, with websites created on the basis of magazines, while Ziff Davis was established as an online information company.

Ziff Davis also had relay capabilities starting in the mid-1970s and later through its own technical network, then renamed TechTV, which was sold to in 2001. Ziff Davis magazine publishers and online offices are located in New York , Massachusetts, and San Francisco .

On January 6, 2009, the company sold 1UP.com to , as well as a division of Hearst Corporation, and announced the release of its latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine [1] .

Vivek Shah, former CEO of Time Inc. Having secured financial support from the Great Hill Partners Boston- owned private equity company, on June 4, 2010, it announced its intention to acquire Ziff Davis Inc. as “the first step towards creating a new digital media company specializing in the production and distribution of content for consumers, and helping to make important decisions regarding the acquisition” [2] .

On November 12, 2012, cloud computing company acquired Ziff Davis Inc. for 167 million dollars in cash [3] . According to a Fortune magazine article in late 2015, Ziff Davis’s assets accounted for 30% of J2 Global’s parent company’s annual revenue of $ 600 million per year (2014), increasing by 15–20% annually. Analyst Gregory Burns from Sidoti & Company estimates that Ziff Davis is worth about $ 1.9 billion [4] .

Popular Aviation

 
The cover of Popular Aviation (1928), which mentions two heroic flights. During the first ten years of the publication of the magazine, its covers were painted

Founded in 1920, the William B. Ziff Company was a successful Chicago-based advertising agency promoting products from national companies such as Procter & Gamble in virtually all African - American weekly newspapers. In 1923, Ziff acquired the Chicago-owned publishing house previously owned by EC Auld Company, which subsequently printed the first editions of Ziff's Magazine , containing short stories, one-act plays, humorous poems and jokes. However, in April 1926 the name of the magazine was changed to America's Humor [5] [6] .

Bernard George Davis was the editor of the University of Pittsburgh's student humorous magazine, Pitt Panther , and a member of the East Student Comics Association. In the year of graduation, he participated in an association congress, where, in fact, he met William Bernard Ziff. Davis joined Ziff as editor of America's Humor only after graduating in 1927. [7] [6]

Ziff was a pilot in World War I. As a result, in August 1927 he established the new Popular Aviation magazine, published by the Chicago-based Popular Aviation Publishing Company. Edited by Harley W. Mitchell, by 1929 he became the largest aviation magazine, with a circulation of 100,000 copies at that time [8] . In June 1929, the magazine became known as Aeronautics , and the name of the publishing company changed to Aeronautical Publications, Inc. The previous name Popular Aviation returned to the cover of the magazine in July 1930. Since 1942, the publication has already been published by under the heading . The magazine, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2017, continues to be published so far.

According to the history of the company, its foundation date is 1927, when Bernard George Davis joined the Popular Aviation magazine. However, it was not until 1936 that the name Ziff-Davis Publishing Company officially became established ( Popular Aviation magazine, for April 1936, became the first issue of Ziff-Davis publishing house). Davis was given a significant share of the minority stake in the company, in which he received the position of vice president and director. Later, in 1946, he became president of the company. Davis was an amateur photographer and editor of the magazine , in which he began working in May 1937 [6] .

Fiction and Amateur Magazines

At the beginning of 1938, the and Amazing Stories [9] , originally published by Hugo Gernsbeck , which were sold as a result of the bankruptcy of in 1929, became the property of Ziff-Davis. Both magazines subsequently, starting with their April 1938 issues, reverted to their previous format thanks to the Ziff-Davis bank notes. Radio News magazine was published until 1972, and its counterpart, , which continues the subject of Radio News , was published in 1955-1985. Amazing Stories has long remained the leading science fiction magazine, however Ziff Davis expanded its format and simultaneously released Fantastic Adventures . The new edition in 1954 swallowed up Fantastic magazine, founded two years earlier, and in great demand. Ziff Davis published a number of other tabloid magazines in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as publications providing overview information. Amazing Stories and Fantastic were printed until 1965.

 
Cover for Skypilot's 10th issue (1950), painted by illustrator

In the early 1950s, Ziff-Davis released comics under his own brand, as well as Approved Comics, with publications covering such well-known genres as , , sports, and western . Most of the stories without the usual superheroes were just a few issues. Jerry Siegel , one of Superman's creators, has been the art director of a number of comics; other famous authors who worked for Ziff-Davis Comics included , , , , , Richard Lazarus , , , George Russos , Mike Secowski , and . By 1953, new comics were almost never published, but the company successfully sold its most popular publications - Cinderella Love and Romantic Love , Kid Cowboy , Wild Boy of the Congo by . The only comic strip published by Ziff-Davis until 1957 was ; a total of 51 rooms.

William Bernard Ziff Sr. died in 1953, and the reins of the company were taken over by , who had returned from Germany [10] . In 1958, Bernard George Davis sold his stake in Ziff Davis to found Davis Publications, however, the company continued to use his last name in the name. William Bernard Ziff, Jr., as a young executive, pretty much helped Ziff-Davis soon become a successful amateur magazine publisher.

Ziff Davis acquired the rights to a car magazine such as Car and Driver , with the company providing readers with information on a likely sale and purchase transaction ( product specification ) and attracting advertisers. Already in 1958, Ziff-Davis began publishing the HiFi and Music Review for those interested in high-end equipment, and ultimately the magazine evolved into the . Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the company's development strategy contributed to success, and the rapidly growing interest in electronics and computing strengthened Ziff Davis's position in the business environment thanks to publications such as PC Magazine , and . The company in 1984 sold most of its consumer publications to CBS and its industry magazine at News Corporation , leaving only its computer magazines [11] [12] .

Television stations

Following the acquisition of television stations, originally owned by Greeting Cards, Rust Craft, Ziff Davis expanded the broadcast in 1979. Ziff Davis stations included NBC affiliates , including in Rochester, New York and in Chattanooga, Tennessee ; CBS affiliates have in Saginaw, Michigan , in Augusta, Georgia, and in (which changed its name to WTOV-TV and its network affiliation with NBC after Ziff Davis took control of the station), as well as the ABC in Jacksonville, Florida (which also transferred to NBC shortly after the acquisition). Stations were sold to other owners since the mid-1980s, with most of them being owned by Television Station Partners, with the exception of the WRCB, which was owned by and WJKS - .

Broadcast areaStationTV Channel (RF)TenureCurrent owner
Jacksonville floridaWJKS-TV / WCWJ17 (34)1979–82owned by The CW
Augusta, GeorgiaWRDW-TV12 (12)1979–83CBS owned
Saginaw, MI - Flint, MIWEYI-TV25 (30)1979–83NBC- owned Howard Stirk Holdings
(under a )
Rochester, New YorkWROC-TV8 (45)1979–83Nexstar Media Group owned CBS affiliate
- Wheeling, West VirginiaWSTV-TV / WTOV-TV9 (9)1979–83NBC- owned Sinclair Broadcast Group [13]
Chattanooga, TennesseeWRCB-TV3 (13)1979–82Owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. NBC affiliate

Technology Journals and Web Resources

Ziff Davis became a major publisher of computer and Internet publications, thanks to a growing interest in magazines on this subject, and the first technological publications, including the magazine , and the even more succinct Electronics World , were published in 1954. The publishing company acquired PC Magazine in 1982, and the industry magazine in 1988 [14] . The following year, the company initiated the creation of the ZDNet website. In 1991, at an early stage in the development of the Internet, ZDNet’s electronic resources through were significantly expanded by the acquisition of Public Brand Software, the main provider of shareware . In 1995, as an app for Yahoo! magazine was established , which was originally called ZD Internet Life .

William Bernard Ziff, Jr. was already thinking of handing the matter over to his sons — Daniel, Dirk, and Robert — but they did not want to take responsibility. In 1994, the publishing house was announced to be sold to private investment group, for $ 1.4 billion [15] . A year later, Japanese venture capital firm SoftBank acquired Ziff-Davis Publishing for $ 2.1 billion [16] [17] . In 1998, Ziff Davis hosted the broadcast of its own television channel ZDTV [18] , which was acquired the next year by the founder of Vulcan Inc. Paul Allen and renamed TechTV [19] [20] . In 2000, Ziff Davis Inc. along with its URLs was sold to SoftBank.

Since 2004, Ziff Davis has been hosting the DigitalLife Industrial Exhibition in New York annually to showcase the latest technology in consumer electronics, gaming, and entertainment [21] [22] . DigitalLife is open-minded unlike the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) or the Worldwide Developers Conference . In November 2006, the official release of the Official PlayStation Magazine was announced. The main reason for the closure was the digital distribution of content and, as a consequence, the lack of interest in the magazine (and its demo disc), which was published by Ziff Davis since 1997.

Ziff Davis Media Inc.

The partnership between and James Dunning (former CEO, chairman and president of Ziff Davis) was the new company Ziff Davis Media Inc., which appeared in 2001. Agreement between CNET Networks, Inc. and ZDNet allowed you to get the Ziff Davis URLs. Thus, Ziff Davis Media Inc. acquired licensing rights for online content in 11 publications, including PC Magazine , CIO Insight and eWEEK , industry insider Spencer Katt.

In July 2007, Ziff Davis Media announced the sale of its ( B2B ) division. The deal involved the sale of all B2B publications, including the websites eWeek.com, CIOInsight.com, Baseline.com. The division is currently an independent company of Ziff Davis Enterprise Group (ZDE).

On March 5, 2008, it was announced that Ziff Davis Media Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in accordance with Chapter 11 of the US Code for debt restructuring and debt reduction operations [23] [24] . The company also announced the discontinuation of the printed version of PC Magazine . The court approved a corporate restructuring project plan in July next year [25] . According to BtoBonline.com, Ziff Davis Media has entered into an agreement with a special group of bondholders that is ready to provide $ 24.5 million to finance the company’s activities and qualified assistance in debt restructuring [23] .

Acquisitions

Boston-owned private equity company Great Hill Partners, led by Vivek Shah, an Internet project manager, acquired Ziff Davis in June 2010. At that time, the properties of Ziff Davis were PCMag.com, ExtremeTech, GearLog, GoodCleanTech, DLtv, AppScout, CrankyGeeks, Smart Device Central and TechSaver.com, with more than 7 million users per month [26] . In addition, Shah had intentions to revitalize the company, so he acquired logicbuy.com, geek.com, computershopper.com, toolbox.com and Focus Research. Focus Research, later renamed the Ziff Davis B2B Focus and operating as a standalone division of Ziff Davis, was a major provider of online surveys for corporate buyers and leading IT service providers . Niche sites on the Ziff Davis B2B Focus network include ITManagement.com, ITSecurity.com, VOIP-News.com, and InsideCRM.com [27] .

On November 16, 2012, Great Hill sold J2 Global, a cloud service provider. The purchase price was $ 175 million, which is about 2.9 times higher than the company's estimated revenue in 2013, but in fact J2 Global paid $ 167 million in cash. On February 4, 2013, Ziff Davis acquired IGN Entertainment, including IGN.com, 1UP.com, GameSpy.com, AskMen.com, and UGO.com, which immediately doubled the digital media business of parent company j2 Global, Inc. On February 21, Ziff Davis announced a downsizing at IGN, as well as the complete closure of 1UP.com, UGO.com, and GameSpy.com to be able to focus on “our two flagship brands, IGN and AskMen.”

In May 2013, Ziff Davis acquired NetPhelter's inPowered ad network for consumer electronics, computing, and mobile communications. The combination of the Ziff Davis information base and NetShelter contributed to the growth of the company's credibility in the field of technology, and according to comScore, in the USA in April 2013, 36.5 million site visitors were recorded. On November 20 of that year, Ziff Davis acquired TechBargains.com, an aggregator site for low-cost consumer electronics products.

On June 4, 2014, Ziff Davis acquired from Reed Business Information the web resource emedia, a provider of newsletters and services to IT clients. Subsequently, emedia, which has an electronic database of more than 20 million users, became part of the Ziff Davis B2B division. On December 2 of the same year, Ziff Davis acquired the Ookla web resource, which provides broadband and mobile speed testing through its own Speedtest service and mobile applications. On December 31, 2015, Ziff Davis acquired Offers.com, an online source of offers, deals, coupons, coupon codes, promos, free samples, and more.

International Growth

As of 2018, Ziff Davis already has about 117 million readers in 115 countries and 60 international publications. Several international publications were in preparation for publication during 2016. Most international publications came about through a partnership between Ziff Davis and local publishers using a local content management system . A common content management system allows foreign publications to receive materials owned by Ziff Davis and reorient to their own format. Ziff Davis often asks a local partner to conduct organizational and representative events in order to positively establish itself in the foreign market segment. The most significant events held in the framework of the in Bahrain , Abu Dhabi and Qatar [28] .

Active objects

  • BestBlackFriday.com
  • Humble bundle
  • PC Magazine
  • Techbargains.com
  • emedia
  • Ziff davis tech
  • Ziff Davis B2B
  • Speedtest.net

IGN Network

  • Gametrailers
  • IGN

Sold

  • DeveloperShed.com
  • eSeminars (sold by )
  • Electronic Gaming Monthly [29] (resold to magazine founder Steve Harris)
  • GameTab.com
  • Gamevideos.com
  • Linux-Watch (sold by QuinStreet)
  • Linuxdevices.com (sold by QuinStreet)
  • Microsoft Watch (sold by QuinStreet)
  • MyCheats.com
  • PDF Zone (sold by QuinStreet)
  • Publish (sold by QuinStreet)

Discontinued Magazines and Websites

  • 1UP.com
  • A + Magazine
  • Computer gaming world
  • ( EGM2 and )
  • Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
  • GameSpy (formerly part of the IGN Network) [30]
  • Official US PlayStation Magazine
  • Patch management
  • PC Magazine - continues to work online
  • (formerly Ziff-Davis Smart Business )
  • Small business center
  • Sm @ rt Partner
  • Xbox nation

Notes

  1. ↑ 1UP Staff. UGO Entertainment Acquires 1UP 1UP.com (January 6, 2009). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived on February 25, 2009.
  2. ↑ Joe Pompeo. Time Inc.'s Former Digital News Chief, Vivek Shah, Acquires Ziff Davis . Business Insider (June 4, 2010). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived on June 7, 2010.
  3. ↑ Megan Rose Dickey. An Internet Fax Company Just Bought One Of The Most Famous Brands In Tech Media . Business Insider (November 12, 2012). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived November 14, 2012.
  4. ↑ Erin Griffith. How Ziff Davis survived the death of print . Fortune (October 29, 2015). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived May 22, 2018.
  5. ↑ William B. Ziff, 55, Publisher, Is Dead (English) , The New York Times (December 21, 1953), p. 31. Date of access October 30, 2018.
  6. ↑ 1 2 3 “Bernard George Davis.” Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971-1975 . Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich .: Thomson Gale. 2007.
  7. ↑ Bernard G. Davis, Publisher, Dead (The English) , The New York Times (29 August 1972), S. 37. Date of access October 30, 2018.
  8. ↑ Again, Mitchell (Eng.) // Time : magazine. - Time Inc. , 1929. - 10 June.
  9. ↑ Advertising News and Notes, The New York Times (18 January 1938), p. 28. Date of treatment October 30, 2018.
  10. ↑ de la Merced, Michael J .. William B. Ziff Jr., 76, Builder of Magazine Empire, Dies , The New York Times (September 12, 2006). Archived November 30, 2016. Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  11. ↑ Kleinfield, NR . CBS To Buy 12 Of Ziff's Magazines , The New York Times (November 21, 1984). Archived July 22, 2018. Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  12. ↑ Wayne, Leslie . Murdoch Buys 12 Ziff Publication , The New York Times (November 22, 1984). Archived July 22, 2018. Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  13. ↑ Michael Malone. Sinclair to Acquire Five Cox Stations . Broadcasting & Cable (February 25, 2013). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived March 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ Armstrong, David . Ziff Happens (English) , Wired , Condé Nast Publications (May 1, 1994). Archived on June 8, 2017. Date of treatment November 21, 2018.
  15. ↑ Carmody, Deidre . Forstmann To Acquire Ziff-Davis (English) , The New York Times (October 28, 1994). Archived on September 25, 2018. Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  16. ↑ David Holley and Amy Harmon . Softbank to Acquire Ziff-Davis Publishing: Merger: The $ 2.1-billion deal marks Masayoshi Son's latest step in becoming a worldwide player in computer technology , Los Angeles Times (November 10, 1995). Archived on May 1, 2017. Date of treatment November 22, 2018.
  17. ↑ Griffith, Erin . How Ziff Davis survived the death of print (Eng.) , Fortune (October 29, 2015). Archived June 11, 2016. Date of treatment November 22, 2018.
  18. ↑ ZDTV starts broadcasting . CNET (May 11, 1998). Date of treatment November 22, 2018. Archived March 10, 2016.
  19. ↑ Martinson, Jane . Allen buys into ZDTV media (English) , The Guardian (November 20, 1999). Archived on May 7, 2014. Date of treatment November 22, 2018.
  20. ↑ Doan, Amy . ZDTV Loses Name, Gains Carriers (English) , Forbes (August 21, 2000). Archived on August 9, 2001. Date of treatment November 22, 2018.
  21. ↑ Jim Louderback. Show Report: DigitalLife 2004 . PC Magazine (October 15, 2004). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived on October 30, 2018.
  22. ↑ Cavalli, Ernest . DigitalLife 2008 Falls to 'Poor Economic Conditions' ( Wired) , Condé Nast Publications (August 21, 2008). Archived December 22, 2016. Date of treatment November 22, 2018.
  23. ↑ 1 2 Christopher Dring. Ziff Davis files for bankruptcy protection . The Market for Computer & Video Games (March 6, 2008). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived on May 13, 2014.
  24. ↑ Ziff Davis Media Reaches Agreement to Restructure Senior Secured Debt , The New York Times (March 5, 2008). Archived on March 7, 2008. Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  25. ↑ Ziff Davis makes a silent exit (English) , The Deal (9 July 2008). Archived June 30, 2009. Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  26. ↑ Ziff Davis Acquired by Digital Media Executive Vivek Shah and Great Hill Partners . Great Hill Partners (June 4, 2010). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived March 4, 2016.
  27. ↑ Ziff Davis Acquires Focus Research, Inc. (English) , Reuters (August 23, 2011). Archived February 3, 2016. Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  28. ↑ Lucia Moses. How Ziff Davis is expanding globally . Digiday (October 22, 2014). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived May 11, 2017.
  29. ↑ Ray Barnholt. Electronic Gaming Monthly Coming Back: News from 1UP.com . 1UP.com . Date of appeal October 30, 2018.
  30. ↑ Dan Stapleton. Goodbye, And Thank You From The GameSpy Team . GameSpy (February 21, 2013). Date of treatment October 30, 2018. Archived December 9, 2013.

Links

  • - official site of Ziff Davis
Source - https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ziff_Davis&oldid=102103484


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