Digital Ad Network Fork Media Partners With Ziff Davis; To Operate IGN India And AskMen India

Mumbai-based digital advertising network Fork Media has entered into an agreement with digital media company Ziff Davis, to operate IGN – the media brand for games, movies, entertainment and fan culture, and AskMen – the online male lifestyle media brand, in India.

With this agreement, Fork Media will operate both IGN India and AskMen India from December 1, 2016. In addition, Avinash Bali, a veteran of entertainment and lifestyle media in India, is joining Fork Media as Publisher of both IGN India and AskMen India. Zahra Khan will be AskMen India’s Editor-in-Chief and lead the content initiatives.

Adam Doree, on behalf of Ziff Davis, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Fork Media to Ziff Davis’ international partner group. Fork’s respected leadership team and its values of authenticity and innovation, both for audiences and for advertisers, are perfectly aligned for IGN and AskMen to reach the next level in India – a truly exciting market which continues to offer growth potential.”

Ziff Davis is a leading digital media company specialising in the technology, gaming and men’s lifestyle categories. It claims to reach over 100 Mn unique visitors per month. It has 56 International editions and publishes in 22 languages and partners with local publishing experts across 114 countries.

Launched in 2013, IGN is a leading media brand for games, movies, entertainment, and fan culture. As per a company statement, it is now available in 30 international editions and 24 languages in 114 countries. It claims to reach 68 Mn unique users on IGN.com and a total of 150 Mn users across web, video and social platforms.

On the other hand, founded in 2014, AskMen is a men’s lifestyle website, available in 13 international editions and eight languages across 57 countries, claiming to reach an audience of 14 Mn.

Founded in 2013 by Samar Verma and Upen Rai, Fork Media is a digital advertising company that leverages online, mobile, and video platforms to create solutions for advertisers and publishers. Fork Media claims to have a reach of around 65 Mn users per month.

Earlier in September 2016, Fork Media acquired a majority stake in adtech firm Inuxu for $3Mn (INR 20 Cr) in a cash and stock deal. The deal gave Fork Media 51% equity in Inuxu. In accordance with the mandates of the transaction, Inuxu will continue to work as an independent entity developing products for Fork Media, with the latter stepping in to provide capital, technology, infrastructure, and sales support.