Hachette Filipacchi acquires Digital Spy

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 10-Apr-08, 11:00

LONDON - Hachette Filipacchi UK has acquired entertainment news website DigitalSpy.co.uk for an undisclosed sum and will take over its management with immediate effect.

Digital Spy reports news and features across all areas of popular culture, including showbiz, celebrities, movies, music, television, soaps, gaming and technology.

It claims to be the fourth largest entertainment news website in the UK, with 2.1m unique users on its main news site and 3.1m users on its forum network.

Only The Sun online, MSN Entertainment and BBC entertainment news have more visitors, according to Comscore's January figures. However, it is not an ABCe audited.

Digital Spy will join Hachette's growing digital portfolio, including ElleUK.com and Sugarscape.com, which both relaunched in 2007.

Kevin Hand, chairman of Hachette Filipacchi UK, said: "Operating in the entertainment news area, Digital Spy is the perfect complement to our existing portfolio of brands.

"This acquisition will offer considerable cross promotional and content sharing opportunities for our current sites and our international network as well as enhance our advertisers' ability to reach a large, highly engaged audience."

Digital Spy's site management team, including editor Neil Wilkes, systems administrator James Welsh, and chairman Alan Jay, will all remain with the company when it moves to Hachette.

The editorial team will report into Anna Jones, head of marketing.