The newly acquired Kontraband.com, which was previously owned by the Diffusion Media Group, will further bolster the Dennis Publishing portfolio of online properties. These include high-profile brands such as Monkey, autoexpress.co.uk, pcpro.co.uk, thefirstpost.co.uk, bit-tech.net, iGizmo, iMotor and Maxim.co.uk. The acquisition of Kontraband.com will boost the total traffic to Dennis Publishing’s online portfolio to 10 million unique users, according to the company.
Launched in 1999, Kontraband.com claims to be one of the world’s largest entertainment portals for 18 to 34-year-old men, providing viral video and pictures, games, blogs and forums to an audience of over 2.2 million unique users per month.
Kontraband.com’s content is edited by a team of 5 all of whom will be retained in the acquisition. The team will work alongside the existing Monkey team and will report into Emily Sturdy (Publisher).
Kontraband follows a number of acquisitions and international launches for Dennis Publishing over the past 12 months. In 2008 a licensing deal was signed for Monkey to launch in Thailand, which was followed in May 2009 with the announcement that the title will also launch in Sweden, Denmark and Norway before the end of the year. In 2008 Dennis Publishing also increased its online portfolio with the acquisition of technology website bit-tech.net and online daily current affairs portal thefirstpost.co.uk.
James Tye, CEO, Dennis Publishing Ltd said: “Kontraband.com is a huge site with a growing community that will sit perfectly alongside our other digital brands, especially Monkey. This acquisition is the third for Dennis Publishing in 12 months and extends our reach to over 10 million unique users a month. The move also underlines our position as a leading digital publisher in the UK.”
Wesley Dunton, Editor, Kontraband.com, said: “Due to its extensive experience with high-profile brands in the men’s lifestyle and entertainment sectors, Dennis Publishing understands our market well. This acquisition is a logical step for Kontraband.com and will ensure continued growth. We have built a brilliant entertainment portal in Kontraband.com and I am sure that our loyal readers will be as delighted as I am with Dennis Publishing’s future plans for the site.”
