UGO Entertainment is a website providing coverage of online media in entertainment targeting males age 18-34. The company is currently based in New York City, New York, USA.On July 24, 2007 it was announced that Hearst Corporation would acquire UGO Entertainment.

The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online, billed in directories as a “hand-picked network of professionally managed gaming sites and services.” In 1997, founder Chris Sherman sold UGO to Actionworld, Inc., a subsidiary of InterWorld, which incorporated the company in the state of Delaware in April, 1997. That same year, InterWorld spun off the company “in order to permit UGO Networks to build a separate management team…and to position UGO Networks to seek private equity financing.” In 1998, UGO—then described as “the largest independent gaming community on the Internet”—created the prestigious UGO E3 Awards, now the Game Critics Awards, to recognize quality Video game entertainment. In 1999, UGO changed its name to Underground Online as part of its efforts to expand its target audience. The company streams various forms of media entertainment on its website as well as offering articles on topics of interest to its target audience. Topics include comics, television, music, and film. Its main competitors include CNet Networks, IGN Entertainment, and Yahoo!

The network

UGO Entertainment includes GameBanshee, a provider of news, reviews, previews and editorials dealing with role-playing video games; the Banshee Network, a network of hosted sites dealing with specific titles in the genre; Gaming Target and Video Gamer Network.

Features

Hero Machine is a Flash-based website that allows you to create your own superhero and share it.
Studio UGO features exclusive live performances by artists like 30 Seconds to Mars, Three Days Grace, The Wreckers, and others.
Actress Archives is a UGO branded website focusing on actress and female entertainer related news, photo galleries, and videos.
Casters Realm is a UGO branded blog website that features news and information on MMORPG games such as Everquest, World of Warcraft, and Tabula Rasa.

Company profile

UGO Entertainment (www.ugo.com), a unit of the Hearst Corporation, has been exclusively online for over ten years, creating quality lifestyle content for Gamers. The company engages its massive audience of over 35 million monthly unique visitors with a distinctive editorial voice and a passion for all things central to the Gamer lifestyle: movies, TV shows, music, comics, technology, gadgets, gear, girls, sports, and of course, Games.

UGO Entertainment has earned a strong reputation as a trusted leader in delivering customized, high impact and high touch online advertising programs for its world-class client base and is a leader in attracting the coveted 18-34 male demographic. The company operates from its headquarters in New York City.

Management:

J Moses, Chief Executive Officer
Michael McCracken, President and Chief Operating Officer
Brian LaRock, Chief Financial Officer
Richard Kennedy, Vice President, Business Development

Board:

Steven Dietz, Principal, GRP
J Moses, Chief Executive Officer, UGO Networks, Inc.
Michael Raphael, Investment Manager, CMS Companies
Yves Sisteron, Principal, GRP
Strauss Zelnick, Founder, ZelnickMedia

External links

• UGO website
• UGOPlayer
• UGO's Actress Archives
• UGO's Hero Machine
• Casters Realm website
• UGO acquired by Hearst Corporation

References