Wikipedia

Valnet

For other uses, seeValnet (disambiguation).

Valnet, Inc.is a Canadian media company established inMontreal,Quebec,in 2012.[2]It operates primarily in the entertainment media industry.[3]It is the parent company of several internet media publications includingTheGamer,Collider,Comic Book Resources,MovieWeb,Screen Rant,Game Rant,XDA Developers, and MakeUseOf.[4]

Valnet
Founded2012;13 years ago(2012)
FounderOuissam "Sam" Youssef
ParentValsef Group[1]
Subsidiaries
Websitevalnetinc

History

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The company started aYouTubechannel in January 2016 called "Little Angel", which provides animated content aimed at toddlers.[5]By April 6, 2016, the company acquiredComic Book Resources,with Valnet CEO Hassan Youssef retaining the editorial team and taking over their offices.[6]On November 17, 2020, Valnet announced that it had acquiredCollider.[7]Valnet acquired XDA along with four other websites—Pocketnow, AppAdvice, BackyardBoss and Hook&Bullet—from Busy Pixel Media in February 2022.[8]Also that month, the company sold Little Angel toMoonbug,the owner ofCocomelon.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.[9]

In May 2023, it was reported that Valnet had laid off several key figures at subsidiaryComic Book Resources(CBR), including editor-in-chief Adam Swiderski, senior new editor Stephen Gerding, and senior features editor Christopher Baggett.[10]In June, it was reported thatCBR's employees had been finding difficulty in keeping up with Valnet's content demand. The company was reportedly "seemingly firing those who try and stand up for writers" in its bid to attempt to improve itswork cultureand performance.[11]Many fired staff vocalized discontent for these firings onTwitter,due to what was allegedly the full shutdown of the website news section, which the company refuted.[12]

Valnet acquiredOpenCriticby August 2024 in an attempt to integrate the aggregator into its other businesses in the gaming sector. It announced plans to turn the site into asocial media platform.[13][14]The company signed a lease for the 740 Broadway building inNew York Cityby October 2024, being the company's first offices in the city.[15]

Subsidiaries

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Collider

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Collideris an online entertainment publication, with a focus on thefilm industryand television series.Colliderfocuses on entertainment news, analysis, and commentary, along with original features, complementary film and television reviews, editorials, and interviews.

Colliderwas founded in 2005 by editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub as ablog.In 2015, Weintraub soldCollidertoComplex Media,who would manage the business and advertisements on the website and offer editing support.[16]On November 17, 2020, Valnet announced that it had acquiredCollider.[7]

CBR

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Main article:Comic Book Resources
Relaunched logo used between 2016 and 2023

CBR,formerlyComic Book Resources,is a news website covering movies, television, anime, video games andcomic book–related news and discussion.

Comic Book Resources(CBR) was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland created to discussDC Comics' then-newmini-series of the same name.[17][18]

CBRhas featured columns by industry professionals such asRobert Kirkman,Gail Simone,andMark Millar.[17]Other columns were published by comic book historians and critics such asGeorge Khouryand Timothy Callahan.[19][20]

By April 4, 2016,CBRwas sold to Valnet,[21][22]after which the site was relaunched as CBR on August 23, 2016, with the blogs integrated into the site.[23][24]Popversereported that following the acquisition by Valnet "comics were increasingly sidelined for coverage [...], as were both reviews and columns as focuses for publishing; instead, the site refocused on shorter news pieces and reactions to news stories".[24]Valnet Inc. is a subsidiary ofValsef Group,which is also headquartered in Montreal.[25]

MovieWeb

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MovieWebis an entertainmentnews websiteand video brand that reports onentertainment newsthrough its website. The site also maintains a searchable database of films.[26][27][28]

MovieWeb first launched in 1995; by 1997 it was reported to be in operation supported by a 4-person team publishing movie information that, while not 'slick', had a 'certain charm'.[29][30][self-published source?][unreliable source][31]In 2012, MovieWeb produced a video which was an '80s-themedparodymashup ofThe Walking Deadseriesaccompanied by music fromGrowing Painsthat wentviral.[32][33]

Previously, MovieWeb was owned by WatchR Media, Inc., a privately held Las Vegas company.[34][self-published source?][unreliable source]In 2021, it was estimated the MovieWeb website had 8 million unique visits for the month of July. MovieWeb has been owned and operated by online publisher Valnet Inc. since September 2021 upon completion of the acquisition from WatchR.[35][unreliable source]

In August 2000, MovieWeb announced a collaboration with video rental chain Video Update and video retail software provider Unique Business Systems Inc.[36][unreliable source]

MovieWeb acts as a distribution partner ofHulu.[clarification needed][37]MovieWeb also produces video content forIMDb.[38][unreliable source]

Screen Rant

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Main article:Screen Rant

Screen Rantis an entertainment website that offers news in the fields oftelevision,films,Video games,and film theories. It was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003,[39]and originally had its primary office inOgden, Utah.[40][41]Screen Ranthas expanded its coverage withred-carpetevents in Los Angeles,New York Film FestivalsandSan Diego Comic-Conpanels.[42][43]The associatedYouTubechannel was created on August 19, 2008, and has 8.62M subscribers and 5.4K videos as of June 21, 2023.[44]

In February 2015,Screen Rantwas acquired by Valnet,[45][46]and was reunited with its sister site,Game Rant,in 2019, when Valnet acquired the other publication.[47]Screen Rantfeatures a video series calledPitch Meetingsby YouTube comedian Ryan George. By September 2020, the series included over 200 videos, garnering a combined 250 million views. In the series, George plays both ascreenwriterand afilm producerin apitchfor a film or television series, describing its plot in a way that highlights various inconsistencies.[48]

XDA

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XDA(formerly known asXDA Developers) is a mobile software development community launched on December 20, 2002.[49][50]Although discussion primarily revolves around theAndroid operating system,members also talk about other operating systems and mobile software development topics.

XDA-Developers was created by Dutch company NAH6 Crypto Products BV and launched on December 20, 2002. In January 2011, XDA Developers was bought by the US based company JB Online Media, LLC. and subsequently by Canada-based Valnet Inc. in February 2022. The nameXDA Developersis originally derived from theO2XDA,which was marketed as apersonal digital assistant(PDA) with extra features.[50][51]

In 2013, XDA partnered withSwappato become its official marketplace where users can buy or sell devices.[52]

Valnet acquired XDA along with four other websites—Pocketnow, AppAdvice, BackyardBoss and Hook&Bullet—from Busy Pixel Media in February 2022. In 2023,FeedSpotlisted XDA (with 11 million members) as the largest mobile software development forum and among the top 70 technology forums to follow.[53]

XDA website layouts

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Many software and hardware hacks,Android rootingmethods,Android custom ROMsand other phone- and tablet-specific tweaks originate from the members of the XDA Forum. XDA also hosts the XDA Portal, a source for tech news, products, guides, and features which launched in 2010.[54]

Their forum site underwent major redesigns in 2010, 2013, late 2014 (namedXDA 2015) and late 2020 (namedXDA 2021). The 2013 layout distinctively indicated the number of active and total registered users at the top right, and the 2015 layout supportedresponsive web designand was available with adark-on-light color schemeoption.

As of 2020, the website features 3 themes, namely XDA, XDA Dark and XDA Classic. The older layout options for XDA 2013 and XDA 2015 were removed in XDA 2021. The website transitioned fromvBulletintoXenForoon December 1, 2020, along with a major layout redesign, namedXDA 2021.[55]

XDA reception and controversies

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In February 2007, when the Microsoft Windows Mobile OS was widely used on mobile phones,Microsoftasked XDA Developers to remove all ROMs created byOEMs.[56][57]

In 2008,CNETAsia suggested that XDA Developers offers potential solutions to problems with many Android-based mobile devices. In othermobile phonereviews, testers at CNET preferred using XDA Developers' ROMs when carrying out detailed reviews.[58]

See also

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References

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