• by Ray Schultz , August 6, 2024

B2B publisher Ziff Davis is acquiring tech site CNET from owner Red Ventures for a reported price of $100 million. 

Ziff Davis confirmed the news to The New York Times, and the Times story on the merger was promptly posted on the Ziff Davis website. 

The deal could presage other high-value acquisitions to come. Ziff Davis has $800 million in cash on hand and is pursuing a strategy of purchasing other digital-media firms, CEO Vivek Shah told the Times. 

Red Ventures acquired CNET from CBS for $500 million in 2020. In 2008, it was purchased by CBS for $1.8 billion.

CNET drew 38 million visitors in June, the Times reports, sourcing SimilarWeb.

In 2023, it was discovered that CNET had published articles created with the help of generativeAI. This led to a refining of the brand’s publishing guidelines, and workers unionized around the issue, according to theTimes. 

Shah feels CNET will help Ziff Davis with advertisers seeking to reach tech consumers.  

“Technology and telecom products and services — whether for an individual, their home or business — continue to be complicated,” he told the Times.“There’s lots of choice that requires advice. So I think there’s just real editorial need for it.”