Static Media Inc., the business name of 7Hops.com Inc.,[1] is an American internet company established in 2012, incorporated in Delaware, and based in Indianapolis. It operates ZergNet, a content recommendation business that promotes paid content across their network of brands.[2][3] Most sites that the company owns use the same website model and design, sometimes dubbed "infinite scroll", whereby content is loaded continuously as the user scrolls down.[4] For example, scrolling down on the homepage loads more articles in perpetuity (until the user reaches the very first article written for the site). Scrolling down on individual articles also does not reach the page footer, instead loading a different, related article, so the user can continue reading content from the site indefinitely without needing to click a new link. This is also called "infinite-content pages" or "endless pages". The title of one of the brands, Looper, refers to this design.
Established around 2011,[5] ZergNet's business model, being paid to place links in third-party online articles at the bottom of ZergNet pages, has been compared to the business model of Outbrain, Taboola, and others.[2][6]
Looper was the first site acquired by Static Media, in 2015.[9] Mashed, Nicki Swift, Grunge, and the List are original Static Media brands, and all four launched in 2016.[10][11][12][13] The next site Static Media added was SVG, an original brand, in 2017.[14]
SlashGear was launched in 2005 and was acquired by Static Media sometime after the company's debut, in 2015.[15]
Health Digest is a Static Media original site, and it debuted in the third quarter of 2020.[16] Alongside general health reporting, many of the brand's early articles covered the COVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed]
Tasting Table was launched in 2008 and was acquired by Static Media in 2021, the same year as /Film, which began in 2005.[17][18] House Digest is one of the site's newer homegrown brands, launching as a Static original site in 2021.[19]
Wrestling Inc. is the second-oldest of Static Media's branded sites, founded in 1996. Wrestling Inc. and Glam, the latter of which was started in 2003, were both acquired in 2022.[20][21]The Daily Meal launched in 2011 and was acquired by Static in 2022.[22]
Explore, a travel-focused brand, launched as a Static Media original site in November 2022.[23]
Women.com is the oldest brand that Static Media owns, having been founded in 1995, but it wasn't acquired by Static until early 2023.[24] Also acquired in 2023 is Food Republic, founded in 2010 but launched in 2011.[25]
In September 2023, Static Media launched another food site, Foodie, bringing its total food brands to four.[26]
On October 26, 2023, the company launched its second homegrown travel and outdoors brand, titled Outdoor Guide and focused on outdoor living, including camping, gear, travel, and wildlife.[29][30] The company followed this several days later with the relaunch of Chowhound, in early November 2023; the site was originally founded in 1997 and had been shut down in 2022.[31]
In early 2024, the company launched its third travel and outdoor brand, titled Islands and more focused on exotic destinations, cruises, and travel than Outdoor Guide. The print publication of Islands had been around since 1981, owned by Bonnier LLC alongside Outdoor Life, Popular Science, Marlin, and Salt Water Sportsman. The website was originally launched in 2000. Though the print publication shuttered in 2014 and the publication shifted exclusively to digital, the site continued operating through the pandemic, growing to include its own Islands-brand "All-Inclusive Awards"[32] for resorts. These annual awards ran in 2019 and 2020 and recognized resorts that had the best food, bar, rooms, pool, overwater bungalow, spa, butler service, and amenities, among other categories. The award system was not brought back in 2021, and it has not returned to the brand under Static Media's purview, either. Editor Allaya Cooks-Campbell, who previously worked at Health Digest, was appointed lead editor of Islands and Explore in 2023 and led Islands through its acquisition and relaunch under Static ownership.[33]
In 2024, Static Media acquired its sixth food brand, The Takeout, which originally launched in 2016.[34] Later that year, the company acquired Jalopnik, an automotive blog that was a sister site to the Takeout.[35]
In October 2024, Static Media announced Hunker, a home brand it had acquired that same year, with a focus on cleaning, home improvement, garden, and lifestyle reporting. The same month, Static launched Cuteness, a website geared toward pet owners, which it had also purchased that year.[36]
On November 3, 2024, the company officially launched Sciencing, its first site oriented around science, math, and technology, which had been operating since 2006.[37]
Related Research Articles
Dotdash Meredith is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and education. It operates brands including Verywell, Investopedia, People, The Balance, Byrdie, MyDomaine, Brides, The Spruce, Simply Recipes, Serious Eats, Liquor.com, Lifewire, TripSavvy, TreeHugger, and ThoughtCo. In August 2012, About.com became a property of IAC, owner of Ask.com and numerous other online brands, and its revenue is generated by advertising. In addition to its Manhattan headquarters, Dotdash Meredith maintains offices elsewhere in the New York metropolitan area, as well as in Des Moines, Iowa, and Birmingham, Alabama.
Condé Nast is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
Time Out Group is a British media and hospitality company. Its digital and physical presence comprises websites, mobile editions, social media, live events and markets. Time Out covers events, entertainment and culture in cities around the world.
The Red River Cereal is a porridge, or hot cereal, made with a blend of cracked wheat, rye, and brown flaxseeds that was first created in 1924 in Manitoba, Canada and patented in 1929. In July 2022, Arva Flour Mill announced it had acquired the brand from a subsidiary of J.M. Smucker Co.
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. is an American chain of sporting goods stores founded in 1948 by Richard "Dick" Stack. It is the largest sporting goods retailer in the United States and is listed on the Fortune 500.
Trusted Media Brands, Inc. (TMBI), formerly known as the Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (RDA), is an American multi-platform media and publishing company that is co-headquartered in New York City and in White Plains, New York. The company was founded by DeWitt Wallace and his wife Lila Bell Wallace, in New York City in 1922 with the publication of the magazine Reader's Digest.
Cook's Illustrated is an American cooking magazine published every two months by America's Test Kitchen Limited Partnership (ATK) in Brookline, Massachusetts. On February 2, 2023, Cook's Illustrated was one of ATK's brands included in the sale of its controlling interest to Marquee Brands.
The A.V. Club is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. The A.V. Club was created in 1993 as a supplement to its satirical parent publication, The Onion. While it was a part of The Onion's 1996 website launch, The A.V. Club had minimal presence on the website at that point.
Samir Arora is an Indian-American businessman and CEO of Sage Assist, a generative AI company, the former CEO or Kyro and founder of Sage Digital AI from 2016 to 2021, and the former CEO of Mode Media from 2003 to April 2016. He was CEO and chairman of the web design company NetObjects, Inc. from 1995 to 2001 and at Apple Inc. from 1982 to 1991. Arora was selected as one of the 21 Internet Pioneers that shaped the World Wide Web at the 1st Web Innovators Awards by CNET in 1997.
Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake Time, Sports Illustrated, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Fortune, People, InStyle, Life, Golf Magazine, Southern Living, Essence, Real Simple, and Entertainment Weekly. It also had subsidiaries which it co-operated with the UK magazine house Time Inc. UK, whose major titles include What's on TV, NME, Country Life, and Wallpaper. Time Inc. also co-operated over 60 websites and digital-only titles including MyRecipes, Extra Crispy, TheSnug, HelloGiggles, and MIMI.
MoneyWeek is a British weekly investment magazine that covers financial and economic news and provides commentary and analysis across the UK and global markets. MoneyWeek is edited in London.
Mode Media, Inc., was a digital lifestyle media company operating a suite of websites where content was produced by anyone but reviewed by professional editors prior to publishing. In 2013, Mode Media had a valuation of about $1 billion as the company prepped for an IPO. In 2015, Mode Media had grown to over $100 million in revenue, primarily from providing native content, branded video and digital advertising to large brands but had over $100 million in expenses.
Chowhound is an American based food website launched in 1997. It changed ownership in 2006 and 2020, with its third owner suspending the website in March 2022. In October 2023, Static Media purchased the operation, reactivating the website in November 2023.
Zomato is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company. It was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008. Zomato provides information, menus and user-reviews of restaurants as well as food delivery options from partner restaurants in more than 1,000 Indian cities and towns, as of 2022–23. Zomato rivals Swiggy in food delivery and hyperlocal space.
Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass SB Nation and The Verge. Bankoff had been the CEO for SB Nation since 2009.
TV5 Network Inc., commonly known as TV5, is a Philippine media company headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. It primarily operates in radio and television broadcasting and oversees a range of subsidiaries and affiliates engaged in various media-related ventures. TV5 is owned by MediaQuest Holdings, a subsidiary of Philippine telecommunications giant PLDT managed through its Beneficial Trust Fund. The company is led by business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan.
The Daily Meal is a food and drinks website. Launched in October 2010, it was the first site launched by Spanfeller Media Group, founded by former Forbes.com CEO Jim Spanfeller. In 2016, The Daily Meal, along with Spanfeller Media Group, was acquired by Tribune Publishing. Sometime between July 2022 and September 2022, The Daily Meal was acquired by Static Media.
Collins Foods Limited is a publicly-listed Australian company focused in restaurant operations. It operates KFC and Taco Bell restaurants in Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. It previously owned the US-based Sizzler restaurants, operated Sizzler in Australia, and franchised Sizzler in Asia. It also operated Snag Stand in Australia, and was the majority owner of Pat & Oscar's in the US.
G/O Media Inc. is an American media holding company that owns and operates the digital media outlets Kotaku, The Root, The Inventory, and Quartz.
Foodhub is an online food ordering company that provides services to restaurants and takeaways in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand. It is headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It was founded in 2008 by Ardian Mula and Mohammed Shakil.
References
↑ "Policies". /Film. July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023– via Internet Archive. [note that the Static Media slate of websites changed, sometime between 11 July 2023's "... owned and operated by 7Hops.com Inc. (dba Static Media), a Delaware corporation" and 15 July 2023's (web.archive.org/web/20230715071117/https://www.healthdigest.com/policies/) "owned and operated by Static Media Inc., a Delaware corporation"]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
