UGO Networks

UGO Networks

UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. 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 hired Ken Margolis Associates to manage sales and marketing to the Game Industry. Chris 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 parts 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 Underground 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, and Yahoo! On January 6, 2009, they acquired 1up.com from Ziff Davis.

In May 2011, IGN Entertainment announced that it would acquire UGO from Hearst in a cash and stock. At the same time, its parent company News Corporation also announced that the profitable IGN division would be spun-off into a new company.

In March 2012, UGO ceased to exist as a staffed website and has since begun the transition into being phased out.