When did PCMag become an Affliate Shill?

[Brad]

I'm sure it's been this way for a long time, but I noticed every article out of PCMag seems like:

5 Best Android Phones for 2025
6 Best Laptops for Gaming
5 Best Lenovo Laptops
...

And of course they only review products that have an affiliate link.

See on Mastodon I'm subscribed to "Tech News Bot" which combines RSS feeds from all sorts of tech magazines.  When TNB updates all the PCMag headlines are like the above one after the other so I notice it.  And they churn these out in some volume day in and day out.

So since it's right in my timeline every day, and I noticed it, I thought I'd ask.

[rcjordan]

"ZiffDavis acquired RedVentures a few months ago, and now they own PCMag, CNET, ZDNet, and several other major tech media outlets. These listings are strictly pay-to-play - you won't get featured for anything less than a $15 EPC."

https://www.reddit.com/r/webhosting/comments/1ju37vu/comment/mm7xw36/



FWIW, I filter "for 202" and some "Best" phrases

[rcjordan]

The above /r is apparently not correct about Z-D/PCMag ...wikimedia says they've owned it since the 80s.  But they did acquire Cnet Aug 2024 ($100m)

[rcjordan]

To answer your question, looking at the recent corporate rebranding & acquisitions, Debbie says since August 2021.

In 2020, Ziff Davis acquired RetailMeNot for $420 million

in August 2021, it was announced that J2 Global would rebrand as Ziff Davis, Inc.

In 2023, Ziff Davis acquired Lifehacker

In August 2024, Ziff Davis acquired CNET from Red Ventures for $100 million; it also regained ownership of ZDNet for the first time since its acquisition by CNET Networks in 2000.

In March 2025, Ziff Davis acquired The Skimm.

In July 2025, the company announced it had acquired Well+Good and Livestrong.[78]

[Brad]

Thanks.  I used to subscribe back in the print days.  It's just strange to see it pimped out with every article like that.  They are just existing for the sake of existing.

[rcjordan]

Online readers like moi see a good number of sell-outs nowadays.  I keep thinking that AMZ is getting a helluva business from its affiliate program.

[ergophobe]

This is happening throughout the magazine industry.

Popular Science was acquire by North Equity in 2020.

If you poke around, a lot of flagship magazines have been bought up in recent years by private equity with the goal of using the brand equity to effectively, as you say, turn them into affiliate plays and ultimately burn them to the ground once they have extracted what value they can.

[ergophobe]

https://www.npr.org/2016/06/16/482279802/private-equity-firm-buys-ebony-and-jet-magazines

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/dining/sunset-magazine-sale-regent.html

https://prospect.org/health/saving-free-press-private-equity/

[Brad]

burn them to the ground

I guess new magazines will rise to fill the gap, perhaps not as famous or big, but there are niches to fill.

[rcjordan]

>new magazines

Not in print format.

[ergophobe]

>> Not in print format.

The thing to remember is that traditionally, the subscriber cost of a magazine was way below the cost to produce it. The purpose of subscribers was to pitch advertisers. As advertising dollars dry up, there is just no way that you can revive a niche magazine at anything like the price it used to cost.

The Onion is back in print, but rather than being a free paper you grab from the bin, supported 100% from ad revenue, it's a minimum of $99/yr to get the monthly print version. That's pretty pricey compared to the tidal wave of content Netflix sends at you for a comparable price.

With an audience that is large, loyal and nostalgic, I think The Onion is basically a best case. If you're talking about a small niche magazine, the economics are probably worse.

As a general rule, magazines that still exist are often becoming web-only. Outside Magazine's parent (Outside Inc) has been on a buying spree for several years and turned several niche magazines (e.g. Trailrunner) into online only.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outside_(company)


Occasionally you see someone manage to buck the trend. Like The Onion, Field & Stream went online only in 2020 and then some country musicians bought it and returned it to print last year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_%26_Stream

But as a general rule, it's brutal to make a print magazine go.

As Egon said...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3v_ogRaTf4

[Brad]

>print

No, I was talking about web magazines.  And even web has challenges, it can't just be ad supported using the current ad networks.  (We'll see what the anti-trust courts do to Google's ad network and how that all plays out.)  So subscription + ads may be the only choice, but if you find the right niches that people a passionate about you can probably carve out a readership.

Still, web subscriptions can be a hard sell.

[ergophobe]

>> it can't just be ad supported using the current ad networks

You know the old thing about how if you A/B test long enough, every site becomes a porn site? I feel like if you depend on ad revenue long enough, every magazine becomes Buzzfeed.

[rcjordan]

>print

This covers what we've mentioned above plus a few extra points;

AI Is Already Crushing the News Industry - The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/06/generative-ai-pirated-articles-books/683009/?gift=R2zbWGNBDp_xHqoa7Q8ZRjO63N1iiI_80MAV_YwTG-o

[rcjordan]

This review seems to be objective. hhh


Here's Why Ryobi Power Tools Are Worth Buying

https://www.howtogeek.com/heres-why-i-cant-stop-buying-ryobi-tools/