Comcast Interactive Media

Comcast Interactive Media was created in 2005 as Comcast’s dedicated digital-media division. Its formation reflected the growing strategic importance of internet distribution, online video, digital entertainment discovery, and web-based communities to a company historically centered on cable television and broadband communications. Amy Banse served as president and Sam Schwartz as executive vice president at the division’s launch. CIM assembled a varied portfolio rather than concentrating on a single type of digital product. Comcast.net operated as an internet portal associated with Comcast. Fancast focused on entertainment-oriented online content and discovery. Fandango provided movie information and ticketing services. ThePlatform supplied technology for publishing and managing online video, while StreamSage was also included among the division’s digital-media products. Together, these properties gave Comcast exposure to consumer audiences, online commerce, content discovery, and the technical systems required for internet video. The division expanded through acquisitions in 2008. On May 15, it purchased Plaxo, a social-networking and online address-book service. The reported consideration ranged from $150 million to $170 million. The deal placed a social-networking property inside Comcast’s broader digital portfolio at a time when social services were widely viewed as important sources of user engagement and online identity. On August 5 of the same year, CIM acquired DailyCandy, a newsletter and lifestyle-content website. The reported price was approximately $125 million, though the amount was characterized as rumored. These transactions broadened CIM beyond Comcast-branded web services. Plaxo added social networking and contact-management functions, while DailyCandy added editorial newsletters, lifestyle recommendations, and a targeted email audience. The resulting portfolio spanned portals, entertainment, ticketing, social services, publishing, and video infrastructure. The available reference material does not document a definitive date on which Comcast Interactive Media was dissolved, renamed, or fully integrated into another Comcast unit. It therefore cannot be reliably described as currently active or formally defunct on the basis of the supplied sources. One documented later development is the closure of Plaxo on December 31, 2017. CIM’s history is consequently best understood as part of Comcast’s early expansion into internet and digital-media businesses, with several portfolio companies operating under distinct names and business models.

• 2017

  Plaxo is shut down

  [1]Comcast Interactive Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  Plaxo ceases operations on December 31, after having been acquired by CIM in 2008.

• 2008

  CIM acquires Plaxo

  [1]Comcast Interactive Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  The division acquires social-networking service Plaxo on May 15. Reported transaction values ranged from $150 million to $170 million.

• 2008

  CIM acquires DailyCandy

  [1]Comcast Interactive Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  CIM purchases newsletter and lifestyle website DailyCandy on August 5. The reported price was approximately $125 million, though it was described as rumored.

• 2005

  Comcast Interactive Media is created

  [1]Comcast Interactive Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  Comcast establishes CIM as a division focused on digital media and online services. Amy Banse becomes president and Sam Schwartz executive vice president.

A Comcast digital-media portfolio and operating division combining consumer internet services, entertainment discovery, online video infrastructure, social networking, and targeted digital publishing.

• Internet portal

  Comcast.net

  A Comcast-associated internet portal included in CIM’s portfolio. It represented the division’s effort to provide a branded online destination connected to Comcast’s subscriber and communications ecosystem.

• Online entertainment service

  Fancast

  An entertainment-focused online property in the CIM portfolio. The service formed part of Comcast’s broader attempt to make television and entertainment content discoverable through web-based products.

• Movie ticketing and entertainment discovery

  Fandango

  A consumer entertainment service centered on movie information and ticketing. Its inclusion gave CIM a transaction-oriented digital business alongside its portal, content, and technology properties.

• Online video technology

  thePlatform

  A technology business providing tools for publishing and managing online video. It represented CIM’s infrastructure-oriented side and extended the division beyond consumer websites into systems supporting digital media distribution.

• Digital media service

  StreamSage

  A digital-media product listed among CIM’s holdings. The supplied reference identifies the property as part of the portfolio but does not provide enough detail to characterize its specific product scope or later ownership.

• Social networking service

  Plaxo

  A social-networking and online address-book service acquired by CIM in May 2008. The acquisition added contact management and social-network functionality to Comcast’s digital-media portfolio. Plaxo was shut down on December 31, 2017.

• Newsletter and lifestyle publishing

  DailyCandy

  A newsletter and lifestyle-content website acquired by CIM in August 2008. DailyCandy expanded the division into editorial recommendations and targeted email publishing, complementing its technology, entertainment, and portal properties.

• 2008

  Acquire Plaxo to expand into social networkingM&A

  Background

  CIM’s digital portfolio included consumer internet and entertainment services, and social networking was an important growth area in the late-2000s web market.

  Action taken

  The division acquired Plaxo on May 15, 2008. Contemporary reports estimated the transaction at $150 million to $170 million.

  Aftermath

  Plaxo remained associated with Comcast’s digital-media acquisition history but was eventually shut down on December 31, 2017.

  Reported acquisition value. $150 million-$170 million (2008)

  Source

• 2008

  Acquire DailyCandy to add digital publishingM&A

  Background

  CIM was broadening its digital-media portfolio across content, audience engagement, and online services.

  Action taken

  The division acquired DailyCandy, a newsletter and lifestyle-content website, on August 5, 2008.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition added targeted newsletters and lifestyle editorial content to CIM’s existing mix of portals, entertainment properties, social networking, and video technology. The supplied reference does not document the property’s subsequent corporate status.

  Reported acquisition value. Approximately $125 million (2008)

  Source

1. 1Comcast Interactive Mediaen.wikipedia.org