• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 9, 2015

One of the world’s biggest online media and Internet companies, IAC, is launching a new digital publishing network bringing together its portfolio of properties under one roof.

The new company, called IAC Publishing, includes major digital publishing brands like About.com, Dictionary.com, Investopedia and The Daily Beast, which together reach over 100 million unique monthly users in the U.S.

In organizational terms, that means moving About.com and several other sites from its “Search & Applications” segment and merging them with news site The Daily Beast.

IAC Publishing will be led by CEO Doug Leeds, previously CEO of IAC’s Ask.com.

The new organization is intended to help raise the profile of IAC properties and make it easier for advertisers to buy inventory across the network. It will also make it easier for them to benefit from IAC’s investments in data infrastructure as well as new advertising technology and products.

IAC Publishing will also include a new “labs” division focused on launching digital publishing sites in new verticals.

The company hopes to capitalize on the momentum of its existing ad sales efforts. According to IAC, premium ad sales at About.com have increased by 30% year-over-year, while The Daily Beast’s in-house creative outfit, BrandBeast, is crafting custom content campaigns for ad clients, including Land Rover, Fitbit, National Geographic Channel and Delta Air Lines.

IAC isn’t the only big publisher reorganizing separate properties for more central control.

Last week, Gannett Co. launched the new USA Today Network, intended to allow its dozens of local publications to share content more easily, while giving advertisers greater flexibility in targeting campaigns across local and national audiences.

Back in September, Q.Digital, formerly known as GayCities Inc., consolidated its existing properties, GayCities and Queerty, with recent acquisitions, LGBTQ Nation, Dragaholic and Bilerico Project, under the Q.Digital brand.