Ziff Davis Sells 1UP to Hearst's UGO; Shutters EGM Magazine

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 7, 2009 - 10:12am.

New York - Technology publisher Ziff Davis Media announced on Wednesday that it has sold its 1UP Digital Network, which includes the game-related site 1UP.com, to UGO Entertainment, a unit of publisher Hearst Corporation. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ziff Davis also said it will discontinue its EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) magazine, with the January print issue to be its last.

The move comes shortly after Ziff Davis announced it would shift its flagship PC Magazine to an online-only format.

"We believe this is a smart transaction for Ziff Davis Media that places these market leading assets and teams in a great environment poised for further success," said Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young.

"The transaction allows us to pay down debt and shift our full focus to our core PCMag Digital Network business."

The eleven-year-old UGO operates a network of entertainment sites targeting 18-34 year-old males, which counts a combined 40 million monthly unique visitors.

"The acquisition of 1UP, with its authentic voice, tenured editorial personalities and bustling user community, allows us to expand our base of quality content and represents a major step forward in UGO's mission to become the leader in the games space," said J Moses, CEO of UGO Entertainment.