Interactive One acquires Russell Simmons' GlobalGrind to reach more
Millennials
(December
18, 2014) Interactive One, the number one online platform for the
African American and New Urban community, announced today that it has
acquired GlobalGrind, founded by Russell Simmons. Details of the
transaction were not disclosed.
This acquisition comes on the heels of iOne's existing sales, content,
technology, product and marketing partnership with GlobalGrind which
began in April 2013. Since this partnership began, GlobalGrind.com's
reach has grown approximately 60 percent (rising from 2.5 million unique
visitors per month in August 2013 to a projected 4.1 million in December
2014).
"This acquisition, which perfectly aligns with our existing multimedia
brands, allows us to exponentially fast track our Millennial channel
expansion strategy by leveraging GlobalGrind's highly-regarded content,"
said Alfred Liggins, president and CEO of iOne parent company Radio One,
Inc.
Following this acquisition, GlobalGrind Founder Russell Simmons and
co-President Michael Skolnik will remain actively involved, with Skolnik
staying on board as editor-in-chief.
GlobalGrind will anchor a new Millennials channel for Interactive One (iOne),
made up of more than a dozen sites that target this demographic,
including Stuff Fly People Like. During the last year, iOne has
collectively shown impressive growth in reach (+145 percent to 33
million unique visitors per month).
GlobalGrind is an all-encompassing destination that covers the "Hip"
side of Pop culture across multiple verticals -- Entertainment,
Celebrity, Music, Style and Fashion, Culture, News and Politics.
GlobalGrind provides a platform for an active cross-cultural audience of
influencers to consume and interact with compelling content and unique
digital experiences.
Noted Mr. Simmons, "I have been very proud of the care Interactive One
has given my baby under our partnership to date, and am extremely
excited to be contributing my points of view on trends and issues of
utmost importance within the community, particularly social justice.
GlobalGrind will continue to be a pop culture tastemaker and voice for
the hip-hop generation."
Added Mr. Skolnik: "Having worked closely with Alfred, Tom and the
entire Interactive One family, I look forward to this new chapter as we
collectively look to expand iOne's coverage in the areas that matter
most to our audience, and to do so while working closely with our new
colleagues across the organization."
Stated iOne President Tom Newman, "Having had the opportunity to already
work closely with the GlobalGrind team during the last two years, we
have a very clear understanding of how to take this wonderful brand to
the next level while holding on to the aspects that have made it the
powerhouse it is today with its Millennial audience." He added, "GlobalGrind,
in addition to bolstering our presence in the digital media space,
nicely complements our flagship properties, including HelloBeautiful,
TheUrbanDaily and NewsOne, with more to come in 2015."