Webedia is active in more than twenty countries including France (AlloCiné,Jeuxvideo.com,MGG,Puremédias, Purepeople, Pureshopping, Purebreak, Terrafemina, 750g, easyVoyage), Brazil (AdoroCinema, Tudo Gostoso, Minhavida), Germany (Filmstarts,Moviepilot,GameStar), Spain and Latin America (Xataka, SensaCine, Raiser Games), Poland (Gry-Online and GetHero) and the United States (Boxoffice Pro).
Webedia was created in France in 2007,[2] following the successive launches of the websitesPurepeople,Puretrend andPurefans. Webedia bought thecomparison shopping website Shopoon in 2008[3] and renamed it Pureshopping, and the website Ozap (media news) fromM6 group in 2011[4] and renamed itPuremédias. Webedia was acquired byFimalac in May 2013[5] and became its Internet media subsidiary.
In 2013, Fimalac acquiredAlloCiné,[6] the websites Newsring and Youmag,[7] the cooking website 750g[8] and the cultural platform Exponaute.[9] In 2014, Webedia acquiredOverBlog,[10]Jeuxvideo.com (through L'Odyssée Interactive[11] and moved to Paris in 2015[12][13]),Moviepilot (Germany),[14][15] and Gameo Consulting (owner of Millenium, electronic sports),[16] In December 2014, Webedia announced a license agreement withZiff Davis to launch sites under the IGN franchise in Brazil and France at the beginning of 2015.[17] The French version of IGN was launched on 2, it targets the general public andcasual gamers.[18] In 2015, Webedia acquired Côté Ciné Group (technological solutions for movie theaters and specialized press magazines:BoxOffice Pro in theUnited States and Côté Ciné inFrance),[19] 57% of Easyvoyage group (online travel comparators Easyvol and Alibabuy,[20] Mixicom (website JeuxActu andmulti-channel network),[21] 50% of the Brazilian network Paramaker,[21] and West World Media (digital marketing company for the film industry).[22] In 2016, Webedia bought Scimob (mobile video game studio),[23] Surprizemi (home-delivered surprise boxes),[24] Eklablog (blogging platform)[25]Oxent (eSports World Convention), and Bang Bang Management (sports PR agency).[26] In addition, an agreement is made withParis Saint-Germain for Webedia to recruit and manage e-sports players on behalf ofParis Saint-Germain eSports.[27]
On November 15, 2016, theLFP announced that it had reached an agreement withbeIN Sports and Webedia for the broadcasting of the first edition of the e-League 1.[28] The competition is renewed for two additional seasons on July 26, 2017, the broadcasting agreements are renewed.[29] On December 8, 2016, Webedia joined forces withChronopost to launch Pourdebon, a home delivery service that connects Internet users and labeled producers (AOC,organic AB, etc.). Webedia has a slight majority (53%) in this new platform.[30]
On January 19, 2017, Webedia announced the acquisition of the English company Peach Digital, specializing inweb development anddigital marketing formovie theaters.[31] In February 2017,Le Figaro announced that Webedia had invested 10 million euros in Illico Fresco, a home delivery service for baskets of recipes.[32] The same month,FDJ and Webedia announced a partnership for the creation ofeSports competitions: a professional one (FDJ Masters League) and another one for amateur gamers (FDJ Open Series) starting in March 2017. They are broadcast on Webedia'sWeb TV.[33] At the end of February 2017, the media group finalized the acquisition of MyPoseo, aSaaS publisher specialized onSEO analytics.[34] On March 8, 2017, Webedia launched LeStream, aTwitchWeb TV dedicated to video games, the result of two years of development, in the company of severalYouTubers includingCyprien andSqueezie,.[35][36]
On March 29, 2017, Webedia bought the Brazilianweb publisher Minha Vida, a website devoted tohealth,nutrition,beauty andfitness, which attracts 14.3 million unique monthly visitors.[37][38] Webedia reaches 44 millionunique visitors in Brazil, and thus becomes the leading publisher on entertainment themes.[39]
In June 2017, the company made its largest international acquisition, with the American agency 3BlackDot, a media and marketing agency focused onvideogamers.[40] The agency, based inLos Angeles, manages 36YouTubers followed by millions of subscribers on their channels which total 700 million videos viewed per month.[41] In July 2017, Webedia bought IDZ, anaudiovisual production company, and thus strengthened its production activities and its leadership on theYouTube channel networks in France.[42]
That year, Webedia was the first Frenchmedia group to use the measurement of their global audiences byComscore. It represents deduplicated coverage on desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets, and includes audiences for websites, mobile applications and videos. This new measure allows Webedia to establish a deduplicated global audience of 177 millionunique visitors in April 2017.[43]
In November 2017, Webedia, with the support ofCDC International Capital, entered into exclusive negotiations with the Saudi companyUturn Entertainment, specializing in online entertainment, particularly on YouTube, and the production of digital content for the region's youth, with a view to merging it with Diwanee, a Webedia subsidiary in the Middle East, for an amount close to $100 million.[46]
In December 2017, Webedia acquired a majority stake in theUnited States–based company called Creators Media, which brings together social and video production platforms specializing in popular culture and entertainment.[47] That same month, Webedia joined forces with Elephant,Emmanuel Chain's audiovisual production company, to create a new content production label aimed atMillennials.[48]
In January 2018, Webedia launched a sports marketing agency: Only Sports & Passions.[49] That same month, Illico Fresco, specialist in the delivery of kit meals belonging to Webedia, joined forces withWeight Watchers, the world leader in slimming products.[50]
In April 2018, Webedia published new audience figures in partnership withComscore, 188 millionunique monthly visitors in December 2017, an increase of 6.2% compared to the previous measure dating from April 2017.[51]
The same month, Webedia unveils its ambitions concerning content production, as a partnership with thevideo game studioFocus Home Interactive is signed with a title "Fear the Wolves" already planned for 2018, co-production projects of films, cartoons or series are announced.[52]
In July 2018, Webedia bought the American authors company Full Fathom Five, a company that helps authors produce books, TV series, films and video games.[53]
In October 2018, Webedia announced that it was focusing on bothesports clubsPSG Esports and LeStream Esport. The first one being geared towards international competitions and the second devoted mainly to the French esports scene. The "Millenium" brand is thus refocusing around its media activities and esports merchandising products, and the "Millenium esport club" being gradually closed.[54] The same month, the company announced the acquisition of Weblogs, a Spanish-speaking website publisher, thereby strengthening its activity inSpain andLatin America.[55]
On November 13, 2018,Groupe SEB announced the acquisition from Webedia of 750g International, the international branch of the French recipe site 750g (the original French website 750g.com being retained by Webedia). The group is thus separating from Gourmandize (United States and United Kingdom), HeimGourmet (Germany), Rebañando (Spain), Receitas Sem Fronteiras (Brazil / Portugal) and Tribù Golosa (Italy).[57] The same month, Webedia joined forces withRiot Games to launch theFrench League of League of Legends (LFL), the first French professional league on theLeague of Legends game, which will bring together the 8 best teams on the French scene.[58]
In March 2019, Webedia bought 51% of the audiovisual production company Elephant.[59] The new set will weigh 500 million euros, a quarter of which will be made outside France.[60] The same month, Webedia purchased a majority stake in the company Partoo, which publishes aSaaS platform specializing in local marketing for brands and merchants.[61]
On March 14, 2019, a new measurement of the international audience of Webedia sites was produced byComscore, posting 250 millionunique visitors in December 2018, up 9.2% compared to December 2017.[62]
In June 2019, the group joined forces with Michel Cymes, a famous doctor and French TV host by taking a majority stake in his company Club Santé Débat, in order to develop a health platform around theDr. Good! Brand.[63]
In September 2019, Webedia regrouped its cinematographic activities (AlloCiné, Côté Ciné Group, WestWorldMedia, Peach Digital) under the brand The Boxoffice Company for marketing, database and business intelligence services for film professionals.[64][65]
In November 2019, the French YouTuber Michou joined the network of talents and influencers managed by Webedia.[66]
In December 2019, Webedia announced the distribution of its ES1 channel dedicated to esport inQuebec in partnership with Thema (Canal+ group), then in January 2020 the distribution in France of the ES1 channel within theCanal+ offers.
On April 20, 2020, Webedia published a new measurement of the international audiences of its sites withComscore, with 276 millionunique monthly visitors measured in December 2019, an increase of 10.4% over one year.[68]
In July 2020, Webedia announced that its ES1 TV channel brought together more than 1.3 million viewers in France.[69] On July 28, 2020, the French League ofLeague of Legends (LFL) produced by Webedia resumes service in a format adapted to the health crisis, with a final happening inMonaco on October 26, 2020.[70]
In September 2020, the internationaltennis playerGael Monfils and Paralympic swimmer Théo Curin joined the portfolio of esports and sports talents managed by Webedia for their digital communication.[71]
In October 2020, the 750g[72] and Millenium[73] sites announced an overhaul of their positioning and graphic identities. Millenium becomes MGG and develops in 5 international versions.[73]
On October 4, 2020, Webedia andBanijay Iberia launched "Top Gamers Academy" inSpain, the firstTV reality show in the world of video games. This program, which brings together the greatest Spanish YouTubers (El Rubius, The Grefg ...) is broadcast on the Spanish channelNeox and on social and video networks, in particular onTwitch andYouTube.[74]
On November 16, 2020, Webedia joined forces withJamy Gourmaud to create a new editorial brand around knowledge, calledEpicurieux. The brand is available on social and video networks (Facebook,Instagram,YouTube,Snapchat) and contributes to a television program broadcast onFrance 5, produced by Elephant (Webedia group) and presented by Jamy Gourmaud, "C Jamy".[75][76]
In December 2020, ES1 announced its arrival in France on Amazon'sPrime Video service.[77]
On January 19, 2021, the French League ofLeague of Legends (LFL) produced by Webedia resumed for a third season.[78]
In March 2021, Webedia brought together all of its new talent management labels under the Webedia Creators umbrella, and announcedthe arrival of the Tiktokers group "La French House" among its creators, as well as the company Smile Conseil (notably representing the influencerJust Riadh).[79]
In May 2021, Webedia reinvested 15 million euros in its subsidiary Partoo, of which the group is the majority shareholder, in order to enable it to achieve a new stage in its international development.[80]
750g, a website offering cooking recipes with 10.3 million unique monthly visitors[88]
L'Académie du Goût, a culinary website offering tips from top chefs with 1.2 million unique monthly visitors[89]
Alain Ducasse Edition, a publishing collection of Webedia Books specializing in the culinary field
Purepeople, a website aboutcelebrity news with 8 million unique monthly visitors[90]
Purebreak, a news platform forMillennials with 3.5 million unique monthly visitors[91]
Puremédias, a media news website with 2.2 million unique monthly visitors[91]
Purecharts, a music news website with 1.3 million unique monthly visitors[91]
Terrafemina, afeminist and committed news website, with 1.6 million unique monthly visitors[90]
Puretrend, a fashion news website with 170,000 unique monthly visitors[90]
Pureshopping, a fashion and decoration buying web guide
easyVoyage, a travel comparison portal (also present in Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and Germany)
L'officiel des vacances, a travel bargains website
Blog creation platforms:OverBlog, CanalBlog and Eklablog
94%, a mobile game with more than thirty million downloads[92]
Talent Web, label to which the videographersCyprien,Norman, Michou, Inoxtag,Bilal Hassani, Guillaume Pley, Mamytwink Aziatomik, Sora, Dooms are affiliated[93]
Bang Bang Management, a label bringing together personalities from the world of sport and competitive video games such as Domingo,[94]Gaël Monfils,[95] or Théo Curin[96]
Smile Conseil, label representing in particular the personalitiesJust Riadh and Fatou Guinea[97]
Talent Web Academy, the label for micro-influencers[98]
Kiosco, which produces the shows Spectaculaire (France 2), Le Grand Oral (France 2)
IDZ, studio specializing in the creation of fictions, clips, advertising and promotional films.[102] He notably ensures the executive production of the French series True Story (Prime Video).
Webedia is present in the United States through the following activities:[110]
The Boxoffice Company, a subsidiary offering services, technologies and magazines for film professionals, resulting from the acquisitions of Côté Ciné Group,[19] West World Media,[22] Peach Digital[31] and Film Journal International.[56] It publishes in particular:
BoxOffice Pro, professional film magazine created in 1920
3BlackDot, a talent agency and influencers on YouTube and Twitch,[40] notably representingVanossGaming
Cédric Siré is CEO of Webedia and Véronique Morali President of the Board.[2]
On September 17, 2015, the group inaugurated its new headquarters inLevallois-Perret in presence ofAxelle Lemaire, Véronique Morali, the president of the group's management board,Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, founder and CEO ofFimalac (parent company of Webedia) and Cédric Siré, CEO of Webedia, and its new flagship YouTubers and creators.[111]
