Red Ventures
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![]() Red Ventures headquarters in Indian Land, South Carolina | |
Formerly | Red F (1999-2003) |
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Type | Private |
Industry | |
Founded | 2000 |
Headquarters | Indian Land, South Carolina, U.S. |
Key people | Ric Elias (CEO) |
Services | Marketing, advertising |
Divisions | |
Subsidiaries | |
Website | redventures.com |
Red Ventures is an American media company, which owns and operates brands such as Lonely Planet, CNET, ZDNet, The Points Guy, Healthline and Bankrate.[1] Red Ventures focuses on sites that dispense news, advice, and reviews.[2] The company's corporate headquarters is located in Indian Land, South Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina.[3]
History[edit]
Red Ventures was formed on September 29, 1999,[4] in Fort Mill, South Carolina by Ric Elias and Dan Feldstein.[5] Before its 2020 acquisitions, the company has grown into an international presence with more than 100 brands, 3,000 employees, and operations in the United Kingdom and Brazil.[6]
In 2015, the company got a $250 million investment from Silver Lake.[7] That same year, it doubled the size of its headquarters[8] and bought postal services company Imagitas from Pitney Bowes.[9]
Red Ventures acquired Bankrate Inc. for $1.24 billion in cash in a deal announced July 3, 2017.[10][11]
On September 14, 2020, Red Ventures agreed to purchase the CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500 million.[12] On December 1, 2020, Red Ventures bought Lonely Planet from Tennessee-based NC2 Media.[13]
In 2021, the company had 4,500 employees and 751 million readers per month.[14][15]
In 2023 The Verge described the business model of the company as "publish[ing] content designed to rank highly in Google search for “high-intent” queries and ... monet[izing] that traffic with lucrative affiliate links.", with a particular focus on financial content such as credit cards.[16] The characterization came after the website Futurism found several articles published by Red Ventures properties, including CNET, were quietly written by artificial intelligence software,[17] with the stories containing numerous inaccuracies and instances of plagiarism.[18]
Timeline[edit]
- 1999: Red F, the precursor to Red Ventures, was founded.[19]
- 2003: Red Ventures is launched, beginning with DIRECTV (DirectstarTV brand).[20]
- 2008: Red Ventures acquires Modern Consumer[21]
- 2010: General Atlantic announces investment in Red Ventures, and Managing Director Anton Levy joins the board of directors.[22][23][24]
- 2012: Red Ventures acquires www.homeinsurance.com and with it a satellite office in Wilmington, North Carolina.[25]
- 2015: Silver Lake announces $250M strategic investment in Red Ventures.[26]
- 2015: May - Red Ventures acquires Imagitas (now MyMove) from Pitney Bowes for $310M.[27]
- 2016: Red Ventures acquires Soda.com[27]
- 2017: Red Ventures acquires Choose Energy[27]
- 2017: Red Ventures acquires Allconnect[28]
- 2017: Red Ventures acquires Bankrate, Inc. (including The Points Guy)[29]
- 2019: Red Ventures acquires HigherEducation.com[30]
- 2019: Red Ventures acquires Healthline[31]
- 2020: Acquisition of CNET Media Group (including Chowhound) from ViacomCBS for $500 million.[32][33]
- 2020: Acquisition of Lonely Planet from NC2 Media for an undisclosed amount.[34][35]
- 2021: Acquisition of Healthgrades.com from Mercury Healthcare for an undisclosed amount.[36]
- 2022: Closure of Chowhound.[33]
- 2022: Red Ventures partners with UnitedHealth Group's Optum Health to launch RVO Health.[37]
- 2022: Fandom, Inc. acquired the sites GameSpot, Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News and Comic Vine from Red Ventures.[38]
References[edit]
- ^ Hudson, Caroline. "Red Ventures adding jobs as it integrates ViacomCBS' CNET Media Group". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ Goldberg, Steve (July 2019). "Why This $2 Billion Business Swears By the 'Pencil Rule'". Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ "Red Ventures CEO: We're going to keep growing". charlotteobserver. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
- ^ "Red Ventures LLC". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Elkins, Ken (December 29, 2010). "Ric Elias and Dan Feldstein, Red Ventures". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ^ Sakoui, Anousha (September 14, 2020). "ViacomCBS sells CNET Media for less than half what CBS paid in 2008". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ De La Merced, Michael (January 7, 2015). "Silver Lake Makes Big Bet on Red Ventures, a Digital Marketing Company". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Portillo, Ely (November 4, 2015). "Red Ventures breaks ground on project to double size of its headquarters". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Elkins, Ken (May 28, 2015). "Red Ventures buying company with important postal contract". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Stratton, Ali (July 3, 2017). "Personal Finance Website Bankrate to be Acquired by Marketing Firm Red Ventures". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Bond, Shannon; Samson, Adam (July 3, 2020). "Bankrate website to be bought by Red Ventures for $1.24bn". Financial Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Mullin, Benjamin. "ViacomCBS to Sell CNET to Red Ventures for $500 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Muccigrosso, Catherine (December 1, 2020). "Red Ventures gobbles up another familiar brand name. This time it's travel related". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Stenberg, Mark (August 4, 2022). "CNET Hires Condé Nast Chief Data Officer". adweek.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ^ Smith, Ben (August 15, 2021). "You've Never Heard of the Biggest Digital Media Company in America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ^ Vincent, James (January 19, 2023). "Inside CNET's AI-powered SEO money machine". The Verge. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ "CNET Is Quietly Publishing Entire Articles Generated By AI". Futurism. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ "CNET's AI Journalist Appears to Have Committed Extensive Plagiarism". Futurism. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ "Staying in Red brings new life", Charlotte Business Journal, November 2, 2007
- ^ Leadership: Ric Elias, Red Ventures Website, retrieved July 30, 2008.
- ^ “Red Ventures Acquires Lead Generation Firm Modern Consumer”, Direct Magazine, June 23, 2008
- ^ Ventures, Red. "Red Ventures Announces Growth Capital Investment by General Atlantic". Prnewswire.com.
- ^ "General Atlantic Team - Anton J. Levy". General Atlantic website. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ "Press Release". General Atlantic. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ "Red Ventures buys HomeInsurance.com". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ Merced, Michael J. de la. "Silver Lake Makes Big Bet on Red Ventures, a Digital Marketing Company". DealBook. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c "We Are Red Ventures". Redventures.com. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ "Red Ventures Acquires Allconnect". Redventures.com. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- ^ "Red Ventures Announces Closing of Acquisition of Bankrate, Inc". Redventures.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- ^ "Red Ventures Acquires HigherEducation.com". Redventures.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Red Ventures Acquires Healthline Media". Redventures.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ Spangler, Todd. "ViacomCBS Reaches Deal to Sell CNET for $500 Million to Marketing Firm Red Ventures". Variety. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Asimov, Eric (March 10, 2022). "Chowhound Closes After 25 Years of Food Obsession, Wisdom, and Debate". The New York Times.
- ^ "Red Ventures Acquires Lonely Planet". Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- ^ Burke-Kennedy, Eoin. "Lonely Planet sold to US digital marketing group for undisclosed sum". Irish Times. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ "RV Health, A Red Ventures Business, Acquires Healthgrades.com from Mercury Healthcare | Red Ventures". Redventures.com. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ Lagasse, Jeff (July 13, 2022). "Optum, Red Ventures partner on consumer healthcare platform". Healthcare Finance News. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
- ^ Weprin, Alex (October 3, 2022). "TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot Acquired by Fandom in $55M Deal With Red Ventures". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
External links[edit]
- Red Ventures
- American companies established in 2000
- Privately held companies based in South Carolina
- Marketing companies established in 2000
- Marketing companies of the United States
- Mass media companies established in 2000
- Mass media companies of the United States
- Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Silver Lake (investment firm) companies
- Lancaster County, South Carolina