March 16, 2006
E.W. Scripps Co., the media company has continued its reach into the online comparison shopping business, revealed on Thursday that they bought up the British company uSwitch.com for $366 million which provides specialized Internet searches that allow you to compare shop.
They specialize in the areas of gas, electricity, home phone, digital television, broadband, credit cards and personal loans.
uSwitch.com has created a series of calculators that are able to evaluate the price, type of service, location and payment option to assist customers in finding the best deal and allow them to switch their service provider online.
The service is offered free to consumers. Their revenue is provided by the commissions that are paid from participating service providers, according to Scripps.
This adds to Scripps recent acquisition of the shopping company Shopzilla.com for $525 million.
The combination of Shopzilla and uSwitch are the foundation of the companies push into interactive media. Tim Peterman, senior vice president of interactive media division for Scripps, will run the development of the fast growing Internet-focused business.
President and CEO of Scripps, Kenneth W. Lowe, said "We believe the uSwitch service and brand provide a sturdy platform on which we can expand into Europe and beyond."
Scripps has stakes in national cable networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations, electronic commerce, interactive media and licensing and syndication. Its cable networks include HGTV, Food Network, DIY and Fine Living.
It is going to be interesting to see on the investment side of things if this will affect the retail industry even more as people are increasingly able to compare prices and buy based upon price increasingly more.
