Thomson Newspapers Takes Sole Ownership of Online Kids Community

Posted on September 25, 1998

Thomson Newspapers announced that it has acquired full ownership of Curiocity's FreeZone, which it previously operated in partnership with Seattle-based Free Range Media. Thomson Target Media (TTM), Thomson Newspapers' syndicated content arm, will continue to operate and expand the online community for kids as part of its Curiocity for Kids product line.

"This has proved to be a great success, and acquisition is a logical next step," says Stuart Garner, president and chief executive officer of Thomson Newspapers. "We fully believe in a future that includes the integration of online and print products, and this development is an example of the practical execution of that strategy."

Since TTM began managing Curiocity's FreeZone in 1996, traffic on the site has increased from less than 1 million to nearly 7 million page views per month. The site is the online component of the Curiocity for Kids family of products. Other Curiocity for Kids products include the weekly newspaper page Curiocity's BrainStorm, with a circulation of 2.5 million, and Curiocity magazine, which is syndicated monthly to newspapers with a combined circulation of 200,000 and inserted quarterly into an additional 500,000 newspaper copies.