The acquisition of TechCruch, announced at the Disrupt conference, is a key part in AOL’s strategy of bolstering the company's media offerings and increasing its volume of consumer-specific content. (Video still provided by TechCrunchTV.)
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In an effort to expand its audience-specific content offerings, global Internet services and media company AOL (www.aol.com) has signed an agreement to buy technology news heavyweight Tech Crunch (www.techcrunch.com).
On Tuesday morning, AOL chief executive officer and chairman Tim Armstrong announced on stage at TechCrunch’s Disrupt conference that his company purchased the the technology blogging site as well as its global network of dedicated properties from Europe to Japan, and vertically-oriented websites such as MobileCrunch, CrunchGear, TechCrunchIT, GreenTech, TechCrunchTV and CrunchBase.
Tech blogger Om Malik speculated on the deal prior to the actual announcement made in a ceremony that involved Armstrong, TechCrunch CEO Heather Harde, and a lawyer to oversee the acquisition process.
Interestingly, the “TechMeme Leaderboard” ranks TechCrunch as the top source of breaking tech news online – followed by AOL’s Engadget.
TechCrunch and its associated properties and conferences will join the AOL Technology Network, however, they will retain their editorial independence, according to both AOL and TechCrunch. This sort of autonomy is seen in the structure of Engadget, which is made up of nine separate websites that operate simultaneously, each with its own staff.
“[Founder] Michael [Arrington] and his colleagues have made the TechCrunch network a byword for breaking tech news and insight into the innovative world of start-ups, and their reputation for top-class journalism precisely matches AOL’s commitment to delivering the expert content critical to this audience,” Armstrong said. “TechCrunch and its team will be an outstanding addition to the high-quality content on the AOL Technology Network, which is now a must-buy for advertisers seeking to associate their brands with leading technology content and its audience.”
The AOL Technology Network already included tech-oriented properties such as Engadget, gadgets, gizmos and lifestyle accessories blog Switched, unofficial Apple weblog “TUAW”, and software site DownloadSquad.
“Tim Armstrong and his team have an exciting vision for the future of AOL as a global leader in creating and delivering world-class content to consumers, be it through original content creation, partnerships or acquisitions,” Arrington, co-editor of TechCrunch, stated. “I look forward to working with everyone at AOL as we build on our reputation for independent tech journalism and continue to set the agenda for insight, reviews and collaborative discussion about the future of the technology industry.”
The acquisition of TechCruch has been part of AOL’s continuing strategy of “buying up talent and increasing AOL’s media properties,” which digital marketing and ecommerce professional news site Econsultancy wrote about nearly a year ago in an article that detailed Armstrong’s intent to heavily pursue online content as a business.
In keeping with this vision, AOL also announced Tuesday its acquisition of 5min Media (www.5min.com), the Web’s largest video syndication platform (based on the latest comScore Media Metrix data). The company expects the acquisition to help the AOL Network expand its appeal to advertisers and further enhance the distribution and monetization of AOL-produced original video content throughout the Web.
“Our acquisition of 5min Media is the latest in a number of steps we have taken this year to better position AOL to capture the growing video opportunity on the Web,” Armstrong stated. “AOL is building a video ecosystem for the next decade. 5min Media is the perfect complement to our powerful video capabilities — it provides a missing piece in the AOL value chain that completes our end-to-end video offering from content creation through syndication and distribution to the consumer experience and monetization.”
The terms of neither the TechCrunch deal nor the 5min Media acquisition were disclosed, but rumors circulate that the price of TechCrunch could be between $25 million to $40 million.
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