Yahoo! and Ziff-Davis Form Strategic Alliance for Internet Publishing

Strategic Insights -

Yahoo! Corporation and the Ziff-Davis Publishing Company have formed a strategic relationship to establish a new web-driven publishing model, integrating print, online, and CD-ROM media. The partnership focuses on two pioneering products: Yahoo! Internet Life and ZD/Yahoo! Computing. Yahoo! Internet Life is an interactive magazine that combines a web site, print publication, and CD-ROM, while ZD/Yahoo! Computing will be a comprehensive online directory of computing resources.

The alliance leverages the expertise and recognizable brand names of both companies, with Ziff-Davis responsible for selling ads for the print and electronic versions of Yahoo! Internet Life and ZD/Yahoo! Computing on ZD Net. Yahoo! has appointed Ziff-Davis as its exclusive advertising representative for computer-related companies on the main Yahoo! guide.

Key Takeaways:

  • The strategic relationship between Yahoo! and Ziff-Davis establishes a new web-driven publishing model, integrating print, online, and CD-ROM media.
  • Yahoo! Internet Life is an interactive magazine that combines a web site, print publication, and CD-ROM, with a CD-ROM that contains virtually everything in the magazine and all the software users need to connect to the World Wide Web.
  • ZD/Yahoo! Computing will be a comprehensive online directory of computing resources on the World Wide Web, incorporating an enhanced version of the Computing Trailblazer and new features to help people find computing products, companies, and services.
  • The print version of Yahoo! Internet Life will debut on newsstands in February 1996 with a paid circulation of 100,000.
  • The partnership will provide a "one-stop shop" for computer-industry advertisers and their agencies, with Ziff-Davis responsible for selling ads for the print and electronic versions of Yahoo! Internet Life and ZD/Yahoo! Computing.
  • Bill Machrone, Editorial-in-Chief of ZD Internet Life, will become the Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Internet Life, overseeing an editorial staff that includes Associate Editor Lisa Holzer and Web Doyenne Angela Gunn.
  • The partnership is expected to be a significant driver of the Internet's growth, with Yahoo! pioneering the Internet's growth by being the first web site to generate the content of a print publication.

Statistics:

  • Yahoo! is one of the most frequently visited sites on the World Wide Web, with an estimated 800,000 users a day.
  • Ziff-Davis is the leading publisher of computer magazines in paid circulation, ad pages, and total revenues, with its ZD Net/World Wide Web Edition (http://www.zdnet.com) receiving 373,500 page requests per day.
  • ZD Net has over 300,000 paid subscribers on America Online, CompuServe, The Microsoft Network, and Prodigy.
  • Ziff-Davis publishes PC Magazine, PC Direct, and Computer Life in the U.K., PC Professionell, PC Direkt, and Pl@net in Germany, PC Expert and PC Direct in France, and PC Computing en Espanol in Mexico.
  • The SOFTBANK Corporation of Japan has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Ziff-Davis Publishing Company from Forstmann Little & Co., expected to be completed in the first quarter of 1996.

Sources:

  • PR Newswire, "Yahoo! Corporation and Ziff-Davis Publishing Company Form Strategic Alliance" (Dec. 12, 1995)
  • About Yahoo!, "Welcome to Yahoo!" (no date)
  • About Ziff-Davis, "About Ziff-Davis" (no date)
  • Forbes, "The Internet's Hot Spot: Ziff-Davis Goes Global" (no date)
  • Ziff-Davis, "ZD Net/World Wide Web Edition" (no date)