DISNEY INTERACTIVE MEDIA GROUP ACQUIRES ACCLAIMED PARENTING WEBSITE RAISINGKIDS.CO.UK
Aug. 4, 2008 - Within three weeks of launching its own groundbreaking new parenting UKfamily.co.uk, Disney Interactive Media Group has today acquired the acclaimed parenting website RaisingKids.co.uk, further enhancing its reach into the UK online parenting space.
Raisingkids.co.uk provides a wealth of resources, quality content and a vibrant, friendly community extensively used by parents throughout the UK. A subtle integration with UKfamily.co.uk will ensure the uniqueness of both sites is preserved.
Cindy Rose, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Disney Interactive Media Group Europe, Middle East and Africa says: "Raisingkids.co.uk has a fantastic reputation among parents and is highly acclaimed for its comprehensive expert content, daily updated news and loyal, active community. It's a perfect sister site to our recently launched UKfamily.co.uk."
Raisingkids.co.uk has 142,000 unique visitors per month, 1.3 million page impressions and a registered database of more than 100,000 parents. It was founded in 2001 by leading child pschologist, author and mother Dr Pat Spungin, who will stay on board, as will the site's Editor Catherine Hanly and Web Producer Michael Howard.
Dr Pat Spungin says: "I have always been interested in family life and the psychology of child development and when the internet came along I looked for sites that I would like as a parent. I couldn't find any with the mixture of expert advice and strong community that I wanted, so I decided to start one myself. I am very proud of what we have built, but to take Raisingkids.co.uk onto the next level requires resources that only a compnay like Disney can provide. Parents have a difficult job and Raisingkids was designed to support them with answers. It's clear to me that Disney intends to keep the spirit and ethos of the site intact - the future of Raisingkids.co.uk is safe in their hands."
Raisingkids.co.uk offers support, information and friendship to all parents from 'conception to campus' with a wealth of expert and user-generated content. This includes thousands of age-relevant articles and an extensive Q&A database across all areas of parenting including health, family finance, education, travel and nutrition. There is also a highly engaged community with 17 discussion boards. The site has a familiar, humorous and chatty style and is easy to read. Raisingkids.co.uk's rich and immersive content will complement UKfamily's innovative social networking features and unique search functionality.
Raisingkids.co.uk will be a perfect complement to Disney's new UKfamily.co.uk site. Launched on July 17th, the site offers expert information and advice together with unique social networking opportunities to connect with other parents and share inforamtion and experiences. Raisingkids.co.uk will be managed as part of a portfolio of sites under Disney Online, a unit of Disney Interactive Media Group.
UKFamily General Manager, Dani Zur, says: "Dr Spungin and her team will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in the online parenting market to the Disney team. Add to this Disney's heritage of serving families with trustworthy information and quality entertainment and you have a great environment in which to take Raisingkids.co.uk to the next stage of its evolution."
About Disney Online
Disney Online (www.Disney.com), a division of the Disney Interactive Media Group, produces the No. 1 kid's entertainment and family community destination on the Web. Launched in 1996, Disney.com is the online gateway to all of the company's Disney branded entertainment initiatives, providing comprehensive access to, and information about, Disney movies, travel, television, games, mobile, music, shopping and live events. Disney.com also features Disney.com XD, a highly interactive broadband experience that lets Disney.com guests create their own customised online channel with games, video, music, and chat - all of which can be enjoyed simultaneously in an immersive environment.
In addition, Disney Online develops and publishes a range of online products and services including Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Disney's Toontown Online, Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online, Disney Game Downloads, Disney Game Kingdom Online, Disney Connection and Hot Shot Business.
The Disney Interactive Media Group(DIMG) is a unit of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)
# # #
Contact:
Susan de Vere
Disney Interactive Media Group
023 8025 5245
<< Previous page
