Viacom buying Neopets?

[Matterbug]

I guess it could either be good or bad. There will probably be more advertising, but Neo will also probably have money.

And who doesn't want to see giant Britney Spears ads on the front page? I mean... come on...

[Yoshi]

http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/20650370

I'm curious as to why they're placing this as a music news article...although I see the vague connection. XD

[Fool Hi]

Viacom owns SpongeBob. The end.

[AFI_Sorrow]

viacom is known for shutting fansites down

Ah, yes...one of my favorite Invader Zim sites was shut down to Viacom. *Sighs*
I think in about two years Neopets will have gone completely down the drain, and there's nothing we can really do about it except sit and watch.

[coming2atvnearu]

I'm hoping Adam and Donna can drop us a little line as to how we should feel about this/ At least with the movie, as much as they'd been side-swiped as well, they still gave their word they'd hold it to high standards. Does this mean that they're being further marginalized wtih this?

[pattypus]

And now the news...

As some of you may have heard something rather exciting has happened with the ownership of Neopets. As of Monday 20th June, Neopets is now owned by Viacom. How will this affect the site you ask? Actually not at all. Neopets will still be run by the same people, the news will still be updated as normal and no changes with how Neopets works are planned. Don't worry, its a good thing

I think Viacom's intentions are good...
but they could always screw up.

[Morningstar]

When I first read this, a song immediately popped into my head:
Crosby and Nash's "Take the Money and Run."

I hope for the best. Viacom is a hugely successful company, Neopets is quite a successful game. Hopefully, someone at Viacom will realize that and work to keep it successful.

Still, I can't get that song out of my head. Those few people who held Neopets stock made out like bandits in this deal.

[jxpop]

"There once was a shepherd with one of his sheep in a field. A soldier from the kingdom came running towards him, and told him to flee. The neighboring kingdom had overthrown their king, and now sat at the throne. The shepherd threw down his staff and was about to flee when his sheep asked, "Where are you going?"

The shepherd replied, "Our king has fallen! We must flee!"

The sheep simply replied, "It matters not to me. For every day, I will awake, go to the pastures, eat, return, and sleep."

The shepherd answered, "I suppose it is that way with me as well. No matter who is king, I will retain my simple life."

-Aesop (well, paraphrased)

Anywho, I'm not sure if there are any ulterior motives, or what's to become of Neopets... but improvements or disintegration, I'll still be earnin' those Neopoints, training my Kougras, and getting ripped off by the Pant Devil.

Btw, anyone have any ideas on how Viacomm might affect the difference between premium and non-premium users? If they're about money, wouldn't it make sense to create more incentives, etc?

[Morningstar]

"There once was a shepherd with one of his sheep in a field. A soldier from the kingdom came running towards him, and told him to flee. The neighboring kingdom had overthrown their king, and now sat at the throne. The shepherd threw down his staff and was about to flee when his sheep asked, "Where are you going?"

The shepherd replied, "Our king has fallen! We must flee!"

The sheep simply replied, "It matters not to me. For every day, I will awake, go to the pastures, eat, return, and sleep."

The shepherd answered, "I suppose it is that way with me as well. No matter who is king, I will retain my simple life."

-Aesop (well, paraphrased)

Anywho, I'm not sure if there are any ulterior motives, or what's to become of Neopets... but improvements or disintegration, I'll still be earnin' those Neopoints, training my Kougras, and getting ripped off by the Pant Devil.

Oh, jxpop, what a profound revelation. To be so young and yet so wise.

[Sock]

Look, I have an article too! My dad sent it to me, so I figure it's from the Hollywood Reporter...but I'm not completely sure.

Personally it kind of amused me.

MTV Networks buys Neopets Inc.

By Georg Szalai
NEW YORK -- As it continues to expand and strengthen its Web business,
Viacom Inc. unit MTV Networks said Monday it has acquired NeoPets Inc.,
the operator of a fast-growing youth community on the Internet.

While the two firms didn't disclose financial terms, sources said the
deal is valued at about $160 million.

The transaction is the latest move by one of Viacom's units to
strengthen their Internet business. Management, under the leadership of
chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone, has in recent months repeatedly said
it wants to expand its presence in this fast-growing segment.

The deal also is seen as a way to develop further NeoPets-inspired
entertainment products.


The online firm in March announced a deal with Time Warner's Warner
Bros. unit to develop and produce animated feature films based on
NeoPets stories and characters. The company also has video game deals
with mobile game publisher In-Fusio and with Sony Corp. for its
PlayStation 2 and PSP devices.

Monday's acquisition news also was a glimpse at the kind of deals that
Wall Street observers have said could happen once Viacom splits into
two companies by early next year. The Tom Freston-led Viacom Inc. will
center on MTV Networks and has said it expects to hunt for acquisitions
in the online, wireless and video gaming fields.

NeoPets is a global online network, whose members create and care for
virtual pets inhabiting the mythical land of Neopia. More than 25
million members worldwide have created NeoPets accounts in 10
languages, generating more than 5 billion page views per month,
according to a statement by the two firms Monday.

"NeoPets users are passionate about the site and its unique offerings,
and that is exactly the kind of connection with audiences that MTV
Networks cultivates and values," said Judy McGrath, chairman and CEO of
MTV Networks. "This property is a perfect fit for MTV Networks, and its
acquisition is an important move for us as we aggressively move forward
as a multiplatform entertainment company."

Added MTVN vice chairman Herb Scannell: "The combination of NeoPets and
Nick.com gives us a one-two punch leadership position in the online
entertainment space among kids and young adults. The hidden value of
NeoPets is the fact that over 60% of its audience is over age 13, which
aligns with the audiences of many of our MTV Network brands."

NeoPets chairman and CEO Doug Dohring and other senior executives will
continue in their roles and will manage the company from its base in
Glendale, Calif. Dohring will report to Jeffrey Dunn, president of
Nickelodeon Film and Enterprises.

"Since early 2000, when we founded the company, I felt that we could
create a strong connection between the youth of the world and our
NeoPets-created characters and story lines, which we would ultimately
extend into television, movies, merchandise, publishing and other
offline vehicles in a very significant way," said Dohring. "MTV
Networks, with their extraordinary success and experience in all of
these areas, makes an ideal partner to accelerate this process."

[Shifty]

After reading what was stated in the news, how is this rather exciting if no changes with how Neopets works are planned?

There probably will be changes if they're so exited about this.

[everconfused]

"NeoPets users are passionate about the site and its unique offerings,
and that is exactly the kind of connection with audiences that MTV
Networks cultivates and values," said Judy McGrath, chairman and CEO of
MTV Networks. "This property is a perfect fit for MTV Networks, and its
acquisition is an important move for us as we aggressively move forward
as a multiplatform entertainment company."

That just made me go I pretty much completely stopped watching MTV (except for the Osbournes - they had me in stitches) a couple years ago when they stopped doing what MTV was known for -- playing music videos! And I am old enough and was around for MTV's very first broadcast ... Video Killed The Radio Star.

They say "Neopets users are passionate about the site", but unless they play the game, they have NO idea just how passionate we can be!

I am happy that Adam, Donna and staff are staying put. DD and the current "suits"? I could definitely live without ... at least right now. Who knows what a new crew could come up with.

It would be tempting to actually buy a couple shares of Neopets, Inc. (depending on the price per share) just to say I truly own a piece of the site Then me and Nani could completely torture and torment by saying we're shareholders.

[Anoohilator]

MTV Networks on Monday said it acquired NeoPets Inc., owner of the popular teen Web site Neopets.com., for an undisclosed sum.

Well that's better than being called a childrens site

[coming2atvnearu]

When I first read this, a song immediately popped into my head:
Crosby and Nash's "Take the Money and Run."

Is that a cover of the Steve Miller song or an original?

Anyhoo, I distinctly doubt things will be EXACTLY the same. Speaking as someone who works at McDonald's I've learned a thing or two about getting a new boss every once in a while (apparently we change managers more often than we change the burger buckets. PS, if you see something crawling in your big mac, drop and run) There's always changes, sometimes very minor and imperceptible but they're there. I don't know if this means more red tape or less red tape, or more possible communication between higher ups or less, or if they can afford more suppport or will be letting people go and further automizing the monitor system but I kind of wish that there was someone in the Neopets Inc world to drop by and do a little comforting here. That, and I just like to be cuddled.

[Twisted Sanity]

Well, so long as the cutesy stuff doesn't overload and explode on us all, I'll be happy.