IGN Entertainment to Acquire Rotten Tomatoes

Posted on July 2, 2004

IGN Entertainment, an Internet media company serving the games and entertainment enthusiast markets, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rotten Tomatoes, a website for movie watchers and DVD buyers. Rotten Tomatoes will be IGN Entertainment's third acquisition in the past 12 months, following on the footsteps of the company's acquisitions of GameSpy Industries and TeamXbox.

"Rotten Tomatoes will add tremendous depth and complementary value to IGN's existing portfolio of movie and DVD coverage on IGN's FilmForce. Hardcore movie buffs and casual fans alike will be able to get the information they want on virtually any movie or DVD," said Mark Jung, CEO of IGN Entertainment. "By adding the Rotten Tomatoes audience to the movie and DVD buyers we already reach, we'll be able to offer even more value to our entertainment, games and general consumer advertisers."

Started by a movie enthusiast, Rotten Tomatoes has become one of the leading destinations for both casual movie-goers and film buffs. Rotten Tomatoes' editors collect and index the reactions of the nation's top print and online film critics as well as offering a variety of related integrated services, including streaming movie trailers, movie show times, an image database of official movie posters and celebrity photos, and a price comparison service for DVDs. The site has information on more than 100,000 movie titles and offers 500,000 review links in its database. Reviews are neatly summed up on Rotten Tomatoes' "Tomatometer" index as "Rotten" or "Fresh."

"We are thrilled to be teaming up with an organization that really does online entertainment content right and shares so many of our company values," said Patrick Lee, Rotten Tomatoes' CEO. "Rotten Tomatoes is all about providing the best entertainment content to its users. IGN shares the same mission."

IGN Entertainment provides websites for the gaming, entertainment and community targeted at teens and 18-34 year-old males. The company's properties include IGN.com, GameSpy.com, FilePlanet.com, GameSpyArcade.com, TeamXbox.com, more than 70 community sites and online forums. The privately-held company has its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S.