Ziff Davis files chapter 11 bankruptcy

Damn, we don't normally do too much media-on-media stuff, but reports are surfacing that tech mega-publisher Ziff Davis (owner of PC Mag, EGM, DigitalLife, etc.) is fricking filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy as a shield from some $225m in debt. For those not in the know, chapter 11 just means they're down, but not necessarily out -- although we had no idea it was as dire for the media company as being $225m in the can (not that we're really all that shocked). Apparently when the company anticipates emerging from bankruptcy later this summer it'll have whittled down its debt to under $60m, having given up nearly 90% of the company's equity to its private creditors.

[Jesse S @ Mar 6th 2008 12:12AM]

I miss TechTV.

[happy_penguin @ Mar 6th 2008 12:39AM]

I do too. Comcrap sucks ass for what they did to the station and to the staff.

[MastrCake @ Mar 6th 2008 12:59AM]

At least you guys get G4... Cableone took it off their list years ago. Bastards...

But I do agree. TechTV was the shiznuts until G4 started their whole takeover thing. Then they started to beat the dead horse by showing crappy shows. That sucked.

Now that I said that, I don't really mind the lack of G4...

[NovaLand @ Mar 6th 2008 1:00AM]

Wasn't cnet also on ziff davis list?

[MastrCake @ Mar 6th 2008 1:03AM]

Novaland...

Not that I am aware of.

[vileta2 @ Mar 6th 2008 1:54AM]

More than anything I miss TechTV. I love EGM, and many of their other magazines, but TechTV was their greatest accomplishment. It really is too bad Comcast had to come along and ruin it.

And now I'm thinking to myself, "why the hell do I pay these sharks $130 every month for killing the only tv station I ever liked?"

[happy_penguin @ Mar 6th 2008 3:41AM]

@ vileta2

You got that right. TechTV circa 1998-2003(?) was the best thing ever. I miss The Screensavers and Call For Help. I loved those shows. I loathe Comcrap for what they did. Bastards!

[BananaBoat @ Mar 6th 2008 4:44AM]

I subscribe to PCmag and EGM (EGM free, thanks to Joystiq, but normally I pay). I also loved Tech TV. How do you go from having an online media empire, to being 200mil+ in debt? What are they spending their money on? I guess Lauderback got out at the right time...

Atleast we can all be pretty rest assured that EGM and 1UP will remain, even if they have to sell one or the other off. I just hope they seriously think things through (especially with 1up) before deciding. I know that magazine subscriptions are down (what with joystiq ruining any surprises in the magazine, a week before it hits my mailbox), but I think axing the mag would be a GIGANTIC mistake.

Good luck guys...

[Rex @ Mar 6th 2008 9:40AM]

the question i always wanted answered; of which book is this chapter 11, and why is it so -ah- 'biblically' referenced?

[Jon Doe. @ Mar 6th 2008 9:54AM]

Please do not mention G4 as anything to be fawned over. Its a worthless POS station where the one and only time I tuned into the station the morons who were answering e-mailed in questions were doing a google search, clicked a link and woo hoo boobies popped up on screen with about 6 other windows. Professional? I think not. I tuned out and G4 is dead to me...bring back my TechTV damn it!

[James Albert @ Mar 6th 2008 12:25AM]

OMG hope this doesnt screw up my subscriptions...(yeah its all about me!!)

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Mar 6th 2008 12:16AM]

When I think of "Ziff Davis" I immediately recall the logo at the bottom of EGM covers. Hope this doesn't have any adverse affect on the magazines.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Mar 6th 2008 12:16AM]

effect* Sorry.

[webon @ Mar 6th 2008 12:18AM]

Vegas much??

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 6th 2008 12:19AM]

No subscription required:
http://news.google.com/news?q=Ziff+Davis+files+chapter+11

[Andrew @ Mar 6th 2008 12:32AM]

uhhh doesn't CNET and Ziff share office place in Manhattan on 28th?

[Jeremiah Zachary Hoffman @ Mar 6th 2008 12:40AM]

prolly because of all those free subscriptions the were (and still are?????) giving out to egm, pc world etc.... hope my 1.5 free years left of EGM doesn't get cut

[CL @ Mar 6th 2008 2:23AM]

As far as I know, most magazines make their money from ad sales, subscription is only a relatively minor income source, but it's still important though, as they use the #s to set the prices for their ads.

[John @ Mar 6th 2008 12:47AM]

GamePro lives on! Down with EGM!

[MastrCake @ Mar 6th 2008 12:55AM]

Game Informer or bust...

[The_Steven @ Mar 6th 2008 1:00AM]

No Sh*t! That Sucks! Don't Go! Reminds me of when Popular Electronics and Modern Electronics "merged" and became Poptronics and then a while later goes [EOF]. Damn that sucks!

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Sorry for the pointless and poor attempt at ascii art.

[CosterMonger @ Mar 18th 2008 9:04PM]

I remember 15 years ago when I got my first PC Computing magazine, over half of it was filled with crappy ads.

needless to say I didn't renew.

[Craig @ Mar 6th 2008 1:46AM]

Yeah, but Computer Shopper was always ONLY about the ads. When it tried to morph into an actual magazine was when it basically became useless. Oh, and when the Internet became a better source of info. Yeah...that, too.

[JeffM @ Mar 6th 2008 1:21PM]

Yea, back in the early 90s isn't that what you wanted? How cheap can I get 4MB of RAM or a 486DX2-66?

[skulldriveshaft @ Mar 6th 2008 1:57AM]

How could it be so hard to create an online presence with so many options available and not make any money?

If the writers and editors have any sense at all they would form their own community sites, industry connections already in place, no corporate overseers to worry about.

[ian9outof10 @ Mar 6th 2008 5:08AM]

For those who are confused about Ziff Davis and CNET here's the story.

In 2000, CNET Networks acquired the website zdnet.com (and zdnet.co.uk) for 1.6 billion $.
Later, some deal was done by Ziff Davis to recover some of the domain names they lost in the sale.

[ReggieXuk @ Mar 6th 2008 5:30AM]

How the hell can you squander so much money!!!!

[Don Giovanni @ Mar 6th 2008 8:23AM]

When i saw the topic i immediately felt bad for this guy...

Then i saw your post & remembered the staff of Techtv.. Laporte, Norton, Megan, Jessica, Kevin, James Kim, Sumi Das...mmm, and and others.

I could care less what happens to this b*tch. Techtv/ZDtv is always a sore point for me

[bob sakamano @ Mar 6th 2008 8:13AM]

i walk by ziff davis every morning on my way to work

i just walked by them now!

[thedesolate1 @ Mar 6th 2008 11:57AM]

Internet killed the magazine. The official U.S Playstation Magazine was pulled off the shelves last year. That was smart thinking from Sony. It should of been a hint to other publishers. Consumers are not going to pay for something they can get for free online. Especially since a lot of portable devices now a days can have web content saved to them or you can save web pages as jpeg images or pdf and take them on the go. Internet is going to kill the video star too. Good thing I am an early adopter of this "internet". lol I haven't paid for shit in ages.

[Magallanes @ Mar 6th 2008 12:23PM]

Agreed, also years ago computer magazines are based on content, in fact you can find many magazines (even game related) with source code and do-it-yourself. And now, magazines are about :ads, lame tips (for example game tricks you can even find on gamefaqs), outdated notices and biased comments (specially those that praise every MS and Apple products).

Currently it's a bit pointless to keep alive some kind of magazines.

[Joe @ Mar 6th 2008 12:08PM]

Good riddance. Last year I got a free subscription to PC Magazine. It sucked. Then there's their web site that looks like it was designed by monkeys throwing shit against the wall. Total losers.

[AlphaTeam @ Mar 6th 2008 12:43PM]

That's too bad. I actually read their stuff. Well, Future Media still exists.

[i.Ninja @ Mar 6th 2008 2:31PM]

Honestly, I'll be surprised if any magazine companies are still in business in the next couple of years. Think about it, why would you pay for a magazine subscription when the ENTIRE INTERNET is now available in your pocket?

iPhone > Magazines

It's really that simple. I did not renew any of my subscriptions this year, nor will I ever again.

Sorry EGM, Maxim and XXL. Your time is up.

[tekdroid @ Mar 6th 2008 2:32PM]

speaking for myself, I can't recall the last time I bought something or learned something I wanted to know on Ziff-Davis (or CNET)-owned propaganda, online or magazine.

Welcome to new market realities, ZD.

[NAKT_1 @ Mar 6th 2008 3:00PM]

Good. Maybe they'll finally can that pompous ass named John Dvorak

[L.Rawlins @ Mar 7th 2008 4:17PM]

I knew DL.TV were into 'Folding @ Home', but this is just silly.

[geognerd @ Mar 7th 2008 5:54PM]

PC Magazine really went downhill in recent years. Back in the day, it was actually about computers. Now it's a mish-mash of home theater, cars, phones, and anything with a microprocessor in it. Shoot, why not write about microwave ovens then? I just want to read about PCs and software, not TVs. My dad still reads the magazine, but now I get most of my computing news online. I suspect a lot of people have made the same move as me.

[thedesolate1 @ Mar 8th 2008 4:40AM]

I think CPU magazine is the only really good p.c magazine worth reading because it is honest opinions from many experts in the computer industry.

[vance @ Mar 11th 2008 9:56AM]

So what will happen with DL.Tv?? hehe. Oh well most of the people behind the show has now move to Revision3 (Jim Louderback, Roger Chang and Patrick Norton) hehe.

[John Smith @ Jun 1st 2008 9:48PM]

Computer Shopper was once as thick as any phone book with twice the page size. I started buying it, before it got quite so huge, when I was trying to buy 640K of ram to go on an 8 Mhz PC clone mobo.I chickened out and bought an Emerson (honest to God, a Packard Bell clone!) for $700 instead of parts for $650, but there was someplace to return the Emerson! I got braver with the advent of the 286 and semi-local Computer Shows. Not that you could succeessfully return much to a Computer Show, but you could pretend, and get your wife to gonalong with it.