Demand Media Buys Hillclimb Media

By Derek Iwasiuk
DomainInformer.com
August 21, 2006

Demand Media, the next-generation web media company, today announced the acquisition of privately-held Hillclimb Media, which hosts sector-leading sites in travel, sports, and the outdoors, including Trails.com and GolfLink.com. Today's announcement is the latest in a series of online media and technology acquisitions announced by Demand Media as it continues to expand its new media platform. Demand Media's platform supports over 8 million domains and a growing staple of niche content Web sites, including eHow.com.

"Hillclimb Media is a fast growing media property that serves an enthusiastic and growing audience," said Shawn Colo, co-founder and chief mergers & acquisitions (M&A) officer for Demand Media. "By adding their media properties to our stable of leading web destinations, we expand our ability to deliver a unique, targeted and effective marketplace for both users and advertisers."

Hillclimb Media was founded in 1999 to develop premium pay-for-content web sites, creating value for both customers and publishers. Over the last seven years, Hillclimb has amassed and made available on the Web an extensive library of content focused on sports enthusiasts, creating new revenue streams for traditional print-focused businesses, while at the same time connected thousands of online subscribers with unique, premium content, previously unavailable on the web.

"We had a number of options available to us when we decided to join Demand Media. In the end, we found that their unique vision for driving new media growth and their scalable platform would allow us to integrate and grow our properties more effectively than on our own," said Doug Colbeck, co-founder and CEO of Hillclimb Media.

About Demand Media

Founded in April 2006, Demand Media is building the next-generation of web media companies where content creation and publishing costs are immaterial, traffic is acquired for free, and advertising sales becomes automatic, recurring and predictable.

Today, Demand Media receives more than 35 million unique visitors per month through its niche content web sites and more than 250,000 domain names. Demand Media's traffic is organic and its content proprietary, user generated and viral, allowing for a unique, targeted and effective marketplace for both users and advertisers. Demand Media is headquartered in Los Angeles and has offices in Seattle where its world class registrar, eNom, and technology resources reside.