Mail.com Media acquires Deadline Hollywood Daily (DHD)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Mail.com Media Corporation has acquired Nikki Finke's DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com, it was announced early Tuesday morning.

DHD has posted the press release touting the acquisition by MMC, the digital media company that owns and operates the Mail.com portal and email service as well as lifestyle brands, including HollywoodLife.com, MovieLine.com and OnCars.com. MMC will distribute Finke's content exclusively across its digital media platform.

"We're thrilled to be working with Nikki. As a world-class journalist, she is unequivocally recognized by the entertainment and business community as a unique voice and leading authority on news coverage of major media, especially Hollywood. With this acquisition and partnership now complete, her DeadlineHollyoodDaily.com can continue to extend its reach and influence and finally have the web platform it deserves," Jay Penske, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of MMC said in a statement.

Finke, who will now boast the title General Manager, Editor in Chief and Founder of DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com, added in the release, "I was fortunate to have had much interest and many offers from major corporations and media companies to consider over the past 18 months.

"First, I had to ensure that my DeadlineHollywood Daily.com would continue to be an independent editorial voice - and I would retain complete control over everything reported on the website - so that DHD's credibility with its readers could remain intact. Second, I needed to make certain that an advanced infrastructure and capable team were in place, to bring DHD to the next level. Finally, I wanted to join a major Internet player that was ambitious, up-and-coming, and far-sighted. Jay Penske and MMC gave me all those assurances and more. This deal was worth waiting for."

Finke previously alluded to a potential acquisition of DHD in a March 23 posting that told of interest on the part of Reed Business Information/Variety Group.

Although unable to discuss her end of the conversation owing to non-disclosure agreements with "other interested parties," Finke noted that "within a couple of days, the idea of Variety owning DHD was dead."