NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2006--About.com, a top 10
content site and a part of The New York Times Company, announced today
that it has acquired Calorie-Count.com, a site that offers weight loss
tools and nutritional information, from AeroDiet.com, LLC. Financial
terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
"About.com has consistently been the second largest health channel
and the fourth largest food channel on the Web," said Janet L.
Robinson, president and CEO of The New York Times Company. "This
acquisition will further expand About.com's leadership in these two
key verticals, providing wonderful new content and functionality for
our users. Additionally, Calorie-Count.com offers a significant
opportunity to attract highly sought advertising in the health and
nutrition categories."
Founded in May 2003, Calorie-Count.com allows users to get to the
core of weight loss, managing their calorie intake. It provides
nutritional information and other tools that allow users to track
their weight, food intake and physical activity. The site also
contains social community forums and personal blogs, which help to
attract new users and to increase time spent on the site. As of August
2006, Calorie-Count.com generates 24 million page views per month from
464,108 unique visitors, with an annual growth rate of more than 125%
in both according to internal data. The founders of Calorie-Count.com,
Erik Fantasia and Igor Lebovic, will become employees of About.com and
report to Marjorie Martin, general manager, About.com Health.
In 2006, About.com has added 48 new topic sites and August page
views were up an estimated 14% versus the same month last year
(Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2006). In the second quarter of
2006, About.com's total revenues climbed 62.7% compared with a very
strong second quarter a year ago. About.com currently has
approximately 44 million monthly page views from its Health and Food
channels (Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2006).
About About.com
Founded in 1996, About.com is a leading online source for original
consumer information and advice and was acquired in March 2005 by The
New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a media company with 2005 revenues
of $3.4 billion. The New York Times Company includes The New York
Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other
daily newspapers, nine network-affiliated television stations, two New
York City radio stations and 35 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and
Boston.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by
creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information
and entertainment.
This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com
CONTACT: The New York Times Company
Investors:
Catherine J. Mathis, 212-556-1981
mathis@nytimes.com
or
Paula Schwartz, 212-556-5224
schwap@nytimes.com
or
Press:
Lisa Langsdorf, 212-204-1467
llangsdorf@about.com
SOURCE: The New York Times Company