SOURCE: Future US

 

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - July 15, 2008) - Future US, the special-interest media company, has acquired BallHype, Inc, the Belmont, California-based technology company and owner of ballhype.com and showhype.com, for an undisclosed sum.

BallHype was founded in 2007 by Jason Gurney and Erin Gurney. Since its launch, it has rapidly grown its unique user base to nearly 2 million per month. Using proprietary technology, it aggregates and clusters news and video content around a defined theme. Currently, through http://ballhype.com and http://showhype.com users can view mainstream American sports and entertainment gossip content respectively. It also provides a suite of social media features and functionality that increases the value of the aggregated content by creating an active community of engaged participants.

"We're very excited about the technology and the wealth of knowledge and expertise Jason and Erin Gurney bring to Future, and in turn to our advertisers, customers and strategic partners," said Future US Head of Internet Development Tyson Daugherty.

About Future US

Future US is part of Future plc, an international special-interest media group that is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: FUTR). Founded in 1985 with one magazine, today we have operations in the UK and US creating over 180 publications, websites and events for people who are passionate about their interests. We hold strong market positions in games, film, music, technology, cycling, automotive and crafts. Our biggest-selling magazines include T3, Total Film, Digital Camera, Fast Car, Classic Rock, Guitar World, Official Xbox Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine, Nintendo Power and MacLife. Online, our websites include gamesradar.com, bikeradar.com, techradar.com, and musicradar.com. Future sells over 4 million magazines each month; we attract more than 11 million unique visitors to our websites; and we host 16 annual live events that attract hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts. Internationally, Future is both the UK's largest licensor and the largest exporter of magazines with our content appearing in 90 countries worldwide.