Valnet#XDA

Students Matt Keezer, Stephane Manos, Sam and Hassan Youssef met through their common interest in competitive foosball, and started a business in online pornography in 2003, growing their successful enterprise under the Brazzers name. Keezer began Pornhub under the company Interhub separately from Brazzers, and the businesses remained silent partners until Interhub was found to be hosting videos of the rape of an underage girl, and federal investigators of the US Secret Service's Organized Fraud Task Force seized millions of dollars from Brazzers parent company, discovering millions in wire transferred money from Israel. This resulted in a sale of all of the founders' pornography assets, while the Youssef brothers took time off from business, until they eventually founded Valnet in August 2012.

The company started a YouTube channel in January 2016 called "Little Angel", which provides animated content aimed at toddlers.{{Cite web |date=January 27, 2016 |title=Valnet Launches Little Angel, an Animated YouTube Channel for Toddlers and Young Kids |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/valnet-launches-little-angel-an-animated-youtube-channel-for-toddlers-and-young-kids-300210372.html |website=PR Newswire |access-date=August 29, 2024}} By April 6, 2016, the company acquired Comic Book Resources, with Valnet CEO Hassan Youssef retaining the editorial team and taking over their offices.{{cite web |author=Rich Johnston |author-link=Rich Johnston |url=http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/04/04/comic-book-resources-sold-to-valnet-and-i-get-a-funny-feeling/ |title=How Comic Book Resources Employees Learned Their Site Had Been Sold To Valnet |website=Bleeding Cool |date=April 4, 2016 |access-date=June 14, 2016 |archive-date=June 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611153801/http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/04/04/comic-book-resources-sold-to-valnet-and-i-get-a-funny-feeling/ |url-status=live}} On November 17, 2020, Valnet announced that it had acquired Collider.{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Umberto |date=November 17, 2020 |title=Collider Bought by Valnet, Parent Company of Game Rant and Screen Rant |url=https://www.thewrap.com/collider-purchased-by-valnet/ |url-access=limited |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=TheWrap}} Valnet acquired XDA along with four other websites—Pocketnow, AppAdvice, BackyardBoss and Hook&Bullet—from Busy Pixel Media in February 2022.{{Cite web |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Valnet Inc. Acquires XDA and Digital Publishing Portfolio of Busy Pixel Media |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220208005052/en/Valnet-Inc.-Acquires-XDA-and-Digital-Publishing-Portfolio-of-Busy-Pixel-Media |work=Business Wire |access-date=August 29, 2024}} Also that month, the company sold Little Angel to Moonbug, the owner of Cocomelon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Moonbug, Owner of CoComelon, Buys YouTube Kids' Network Little Angel |url=https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/moonbug-cocomelon-acquires-little-angel-1235175796/ |website=Variety |access-date=August 29, 2024}}

In May 2023, it was reported that Valnet had laid off several key figures at subsidiary Comic Book Resources (CBR), including editor-in-chief Adam Swiderski, senior new editor Stephen Gerding, and senior features editor Christopher Baggett.{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Graeme |date=May 30, 2023 |title=CBR is going through a major overhaul due to "culture and performance" issues |url=https://www.thepopverse.com/cbr-is-going-through-a-major-overhaul-due-to-culture-and-performance-issues/ |website=PopVerse |access-date=September 17, 2024}} In June, it was reported that CBR{{'}}s employees had been finding difficulty in keeping up with Valnet's content demand. The company was reportedly "seemingly firing those who try and stand up for writers" in its bid to attempt to improve its work culture and performance.{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Rich |date=June 4, 2023 |title=Firings, Quittings and Valnet Fallout at Comic Book Resources |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/firings-quittings-and-valnet-fallout-at-comic-book-resources/ |website=Bleeding Cool |access-date=August 29, 2024}} Many fired staff vocalized discontent for these firings on Twitter, due to what was allegedly the full shutdown of the website news section, which the company refuted.{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Rich |date=August 22, 2023 |title=A Deleted CBR Post Indicates Serious Internal Tensions |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/cbr-post-deleted-fast-amidst-more-redundancies/ |website=Bleeding Cool |access-date=August 29, 2024}}

Valnet acquired OpenCritic by August 2024 in an attempt to integrate the aggregator into its other businesses in the gaming sector. It announced plans to turn the site into a social media platform.{{Cite magazine |last=Bradwell |first=Josh |date=July 31, 2024 |title=Valnet acquires game review aggregator OpenCritic |url=https://videogames.si.com/news/valnet-buys-video-game-review-aggregator-opencritic |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=August 29, 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/valnet-inc-aquires-opencritic-gaming-reviews/|title=Valnet Inc. Acquires Popular Gaming Review Aggregation Platform OpenCritic.com|first=Brad|last=Lang|date=August 1, 2024|website=Screen Rant|access-date=August 29, 2024}} The company signed a lease for the 740 Broadway building in New York City by October 2024, being the company's first offices in the city.{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Kevin |date=October 29, 2024 |title=Screen Rant owner to open first NYC offices — and 8 more commercial real estate deals to know |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2024/10/29/screenrant-gamerant-nyc-office-roundup-gfp-feil.html |url-access=subscription |newspaper=New York Business Journal |access-date=February 5, 2025}}

TheWrap spoke to 15 current or former Valnet contractors in 2025 regarding alleged exploitative working conditions at the company; one freelancer had also recently filed a lawsuit against the company for exploitation. TheWrap{{'s}} article led to Valnet and Hassan Youssef filing a lawsuit in April 2025 against the website's company The Wrap News Inc. for libel.{{cite web |last=Dickey |first=Josh |title=Valnet Sues TheWrap for Libel Over Investigative Article About ‘Sweatshop’ Conditions at Entertainment Sites |url=https://www.thewrap.com/valnet-sues-thewrap-libel-hassan-youssef-sweatshop-investigation/ |website=TheWrap |access-date=2025-05-02 |date=2025-04-30 |df=mdy-all}}

On May 1, 2025, Valnet acquired Polygon from Vox Media.{{Cite web |last=Gach |first=Ethan |date=2025-05-01 |title=Polygon Sold To Valnet And Hit With Mass Layoffs |url=https://kotaku.com/polygon-sold-vox-media-valnet-layoffs-digital-gaming-1851778655 |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=Kotaku |language=en}}{{Cite press release|title=Valnet Acquires Premium Gaming Publication Polygon from Vox Media|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250501630767/en/Valnet-Acquires-Premium-Gaming-Publication-Polygon-from-Vox-Media|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250501190940/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250501630767/en/Valnet-Acquires-Premium-Gaming-Publication-Polygon-from-Vox-Media|archive-date=2025-05-01|access-date=2025-05-01|website=Business Wire |url-status=live}}

File:Collider website logo.svg

Collider is an online entertainment publication, with a focus on the film industry and television series. Collider focuses on entertainment news, analysis, and commentary, along with original features, complementary film and television reviews, editorials, and interviews.

Collider was founded in 2005 by editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub as a blog. In 2015, Weintraub sold Collider to Complex Media, who would manage the business and advertisements on the website and offer editing support.{{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=Brent |date=June 23, 2015 |title=Film Blogs Grow Up and Go Corporate |newspaper=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2015/biz/news/film-blogs-collider-screen-rant-latino-review-1201525341/ |access-date=March 11, 2017}} On November 17, 2020, Valnet announced that it had acquired Collider.

{{main|Comic Book Resources}}

File:CBR.com logo.svg

CBR, formerly Comic Book Resources, is a news website covering movies, television, anime, video games and comic book–related news and discussion.

Comic Book Resources (CBR) was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland created to discuss DC Comics' then-new mini-series of the same name.{{cite web |title=Press Kit |url=https://www.cbr.com/press-kit/ |website=Comic Book Resources |via=The Wayback Machine |access-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027231842/https://www.cbr.com/press-kit/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Arrant |first1=Chris |title=DC Hires Jonah Wiland as VP of Marketing & Creative Services |url=https://www.newsarama.com/46393-dc-hires-jonah-weiland.html |website=Newsarama |via=The Wayback Machine |access-date=October 27, 2019 |language=en |date=August 6, 2019 |archive-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027153202/https://www.newsarama.com/46393-dc-hires-jonah-weiland.html |url-status=live}}

CBR has featured columns by industry professionals such as Robert Kirkman, Gail Simone, and Mark Millar. Other columns were published by comic book historians and critics such as George Khoury and Timothy Callahan.{{cite web |title=Jorge Khoury |url=https://www.cbr.com/author/jorge_khoury/ |website=Comic Book Resources |date=December 9, 2011 |via=The Wayback Machine |access-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027153203/https://www.cbr.com/author/jorge_khoury/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Timothy Callahan |url=https://www.cbr.com/author/timothy_callahan/ |website=Comic Book Resources |date=November 21, 2014 |via=The Wayback Machine |access-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-date=August 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824122403/https://www.cbr.com/author/timothy_callahan/ |url-status=live}}

By April 4, 2016, CBR was sold to Valnet,{{cite web |author=Rich Johnston |author-link=Rich Johnston |url=http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/04/04/comic-book-resources-sold-to-valnet-and-i-get-a-funny-feeling/ |title=How Comic Book Resources Employees Learned Their Site Had Been Sold To Valnet |website=Bleeding Cool |via=The Wayback Machine |date=April 4, 2016 |access-date=June 14, 2016 |archive-date=June 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611153801/http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/04/04/comic-book-resources-sold-to-valnet-and-i-get-a-funny-feeling/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2016 |title=Comic Book Resources Acquired |url=https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/34130/comic-book-resources-acquired |access-date=August 23, 2023 |website=ICv2 |language=en |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823034913/https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/34130/comic-book-resources-acquired |url-status=live }} after which the site was relaunched as CBR.com on August 23, 2016, with the blogs integrated into the site.{{cite web |first=Heidi |last=MacDonald |url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/cbr-com-has-new-design-rebrand-no-blogs/ |title=CBR.com has new design, rebrand, no blogs |website=The Beat |via=The Wayback Machine |date=August 25, 2016 |access-date=January 12, 2017 |archive-date=November 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111170552/http://www.comicsbeat.com/cbr-com-has-new-design-rebrand-no-blogs/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Graeme |date=June 12, 2023 |title=CBR layoffs: What led to the firing of three-quarters of their editors (and what happens next) |url=https://www.thepopverse.com/cbr-layoffs-june-2023-comic-book-resources-layoffs-inside |access-date=August 23, 2023 |website=Popverse |language=en |archive-date=June 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618053920/https://www.thepopverse.com/cbr-layoffs-june-2023-comic-book-resources-layoffs-inside |url-status=live }} Popverse reported that following the acquisition by Valnet "comics were increasingly sidelined for coverage [...], as were both reviews and columns as focuses for publishing; instead, the site refocused on shorter news pieces and reactions to news stories". Valnet Inc. is a subsidiary of Valsef Group, which is also headquartered in Montreal.{{Cite web |title=Home – Valsef Group |url=https://www.valsefgroup.com/ |access-date=July 13, 2024 |website=Valsel Group}}

File:Givemesport-logo.png

GiveMeSport was founded in 2014 and acquired by Valnet, Inc in 2022.{{Cite web |title=GiveMeSport - A Valnet Publication |url=https://www.valnetinc.com/givemesport |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=www.valnetinc.com}} The collaborators and editors at GMS include Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Dean Jones, and Tom Bogert.{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} GiveMeSport |url=https://www.givemesport.com/page/about/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=GiveMeSport |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=GiveMeSport Signs World-Renowned Transfer Insider Fabrizio Romano |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/givemesport-signs-world-renowned-transfer-090000811.html |access-date=March 17, 2025 |website=Yahoo Finance}}{{better source needed|date=March 2025}}

File:Movieweb Logo.png

MovieWeb is an entertainment news website and video brand that reports on entertainment news through its website. The site also maintains a searchable database of films.{{cite news|last=Huffstutter|first=P.J.|title=An Online Fix for Movie Fans|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-dec-21-fi-56157-story.html|access-date=March 17, 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 21, 1998|archive-date=March 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307150300/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/dec/21/business/fi-56157|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Vice|first=Jeff|title=Movie review sites abound on the Web|newspaper=Deseret News|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/623869/Movie-review-sites-abound-on-the-Web.html?pg=all|access-date=March 17, 2013|date=April 11, 1998|archive-date=March 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302113427/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/623869/Movie-review-sites-abound-on-the-Web.html?pg=all|url-status=dead}}{{cite book |last1=Dresner |first1=Denise |editor1-last=Bennett |editor1-first=Graham |title=Directory of Web Sites |date=1999 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |isbn=9781579581794 |page=239 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X-36NoXdJMoC&dq=%22movieweb%22&pg=PA239}}

MovieWeb first launched in 1995; by 1997 it was reported to be in operation supported by a 4-person team publishing movie information that, while not 'slick', had a 'certain charm'.{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=431855|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730042350/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=431855|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 30, 2012|title=MovieWeb, Inc.:Private Company Information|publisher=Businessweek|access-date=March 17, 2013}}{{cite web|title=MovieWeb.com|url=http://www.linkedin.com/company/movieweb.com|publisher=LinkedIn|access-date=March 17, 2013|archive-date=December 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213164859/http://www.linkedin.com/company/movieweb.com|url-status=live}}{{self-published inline|date=August 2023}}{{unreliable source?|sure=y|date=August 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Krissy |title=Discovery Channel Online |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-29-fi-17395-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=July 29, 1997 |access-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210175337/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-29-fi-17395-story.html |url-status=live }} In 2012, MovieWeb produced a video which was an '80s-themed parody mashup of The Walking Dead series accompanied by music from Growing Pains that went viral.{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Matt |title='Walking Dead' Opening Sequence Going Through 'Growing Pains' |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/ihs8jm/walking-dead-opening-sequence-growing-pains-mashup |website=MTV |date=January 26, 2012 |access-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217085440/https://www.mtv.com/news/ihs8jm/walking-dead-opening-sequence-growing-pains-mashup |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Scharf |first1=Courtney |title=The Movieweb 'Walking Dead' Parody is a Hilarious 80s Sitcom Edit |url=https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/retro-walking-dead |website=Trendhunter |date=April 19, 2012 |access-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217085444/https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/retro-walking-dead |url-status=live }}

Previously, MovieWeb was owned by WatchR Media, Inc., a privately held Las Vegas company.{{cite web|title=Watchr Media|url=http://www.watchrmedia.com/|publisher=Watchr Media|access-date=April 3, 2018|archive-date=April 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404073420/http://www.watchrmedia.com/|url-status=live}}{{self-published inline|date=August 2023}}{{unreliable source?|sure=y|date=August 2023}} In 2021, it was estimated the MovieWeb website had 8 million unique visits for the month of July. MovieWeb has been owned and operated by online publisher Valnet Inc. since September 2021 upon completion of the acquisition from WatchR.{{cite web |title=Acquisition of MovieWeb.com and TvWeb.com by Valnet Inc. |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210910005360/en/Acquisition-of-MovieWeb.com-and-TvWeb.com-by-Valnet-Inc. |website=Business Wire |access-date=February 10, 2023 |date=September 10, 2021 |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210160849/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210910005360/en/Acquisition-of-MovieWeb.com-and-TvWeb.com-by-Valnet-Inc. |url-status=live }}{{unreliable source?|sure=y|date=August 2023}}

In August 2000, MovieWeb announced a collaboration with video rental chain Video Update and video retail software provider Unique Business Systems Inc.{{cite news|title=MovieWeb.com, Video Update and Unique Business Systems Join to Launch the MovieWeb Video Retail Network.|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MovieWeb.com,+Video+Update+and+Unique+Business+Systems+Join+to+Launch...-a064997985|access-date=March 17, 2013|newspaper=Business Wire|date=August 29, 2000|archive-date=January 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200459/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MovieWeb.com,+Video+Update+and+Unique+Business+Systems+Join+to+Launch...-a064997985|url-status=dead}}{{unreliable source?|sure=y|date=August 2023}}

MovieWeb acts as a distribution partner of Hulu.{{clarify|date=August 2023}}{{cite news|title=Distribution Partners|url=http://www.hulu.com/about/distropartners|publisher=Hulu|access-date=March 17, 2013|archive-date=March 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302151008/http://www.hulu.com/about/distropartners|url-status=live}} MovieWeb also produces video content for IMDb.com.{{cite news|title=MovieWeb 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2018.|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/videoplayer/vi1640544281|publisher=IMDb|access-date=April 3, 2018}} {{dead link|date=August 2023}}{{unreliable source?|sure=y|date=August 2023}}

{{Main|OpenCritic}}

File:OpenCritic logo.svg

OpenCritic is a review aggregation website for video games. OpenCritic lists reviews from critics across multiple video game publications for the games listed on the site. The website then generates a numeric score by averaging all of the numeric reviews. Several other metrics are also available, such as the percentage of critics that recommend the game and its relative ranking across all games on OpenCritic. OpenCritic was launched in 2015 to avoid some of the controversies that Metacritic has gained in the video game industry. A game's Metacritic score has become strongly attached to the financial performance of a game and subsequent efforts of the development studio and publisher, such as affecting post-release studio bonuses. However, Metacritic provides limited details of how it calculates its review scores, and uses weighted averaging that favors some publications over others, leading many to criticize the heavy weight that the industry puts on the site.{{Cite web | url = http://www.pcgamer.com/opencritic-review-aggregator-launches-as-a-metacritic-alternative/ | title = OpenCritic review aggregator launches as a Metacritic alternative | first = Ian | last = Brimbaum | date = October 1, 2015 | access-date = October 1, 2015 | work = PC Gamer | publisher = Future plc | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151002210149/http://www.pcgamer.com/opencritic-review-aggregator-launches-as-a-metacritic-alternative/ | archive-date = October 2, 2015 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }} Valnet's acquisition of OpenCritic was announced on July 31, 2024.{{cite web|url=https://videogames.si.com/news/valnet-buys-video-game-review-aggregator-opencritic|title=Valnet acquires game review aggregator OpenCritic|last=Broadwell|first=Josh|work=Video Games On SI |date= July 31, 2024|access-date=July 31, 2024}}

{{main|Screen Rant}}

File:Screen Rant black text logo.svg

Screen Rant is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, Video games, and film theories. It was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003,{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/about/|title=About Screen Rant|website=Screen Rant|access-date=August 13, 2019}} and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=283766912|title=Screen Rant, LLC: CEO and Executives|website=Bloomberg L.P.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809183910/https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=283766912|archive-date=August 9, 2018|access-date=March 11, 2017}}{{cite news| title=Screen Rant| url=http://www.csmonitor.com/About/People/Culture-Partner-Bloggers/Screen-Rant| newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor| access-date=March 11, 2017|language=en}} Screen Rant has expanded its coverage with red-carpet events in Los Angeles, New York Film Festivals and San Diego Comic-Con panels.{{cite web |title=Interview with Vic Holtreman of SCREENRANT.COM |url=http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/vic-holtreman-screenrant/87899 |last=Dourian |first=Nick |website=Unleash The Fanboy |access-date=March 11, 2017 |date=January 28, 2014}}{{cite web| title=ScreenRant.com Joins Relativity Media's Ad Network| url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/screenrantcom-joins-relativity-medias-ad-165957|last=Powers|first=Lindsay|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 9, 2011|access-date=March 11, 2017|language=en}} The associated YouTube channel was created on August 19, 2008, and has 8.62M subscribers and 5.4K videos as of June 21, 2023.{{Cite web|title=Screen Rant|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2iUwfYi_1FCGGqhOUNx-iA|access-date=October 12, 2021|publisher=YouTube}}

In February 2015, Screen Rant was acquired by Valnet,{{cite web |title=Valnet Acquires Leading Movie and TV News Site ScreenRant.com |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/valnet-acquires-leading-movie-and-tv-news-site-screenrantcom-290795101.html |website=PR Newswire |publisher=Valnet Inc. |access-date=March 11, 2017 |location=Montreal |language=en |date=February 4, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Lang|first1=Brent|title=Film Blogs Grow Up and Go Corporate|url=https://variety.com/2015/biz/news/film-blogs-collider-screen-rant-latino-review-1201525341/|newspaper=Variety|access-date=March 11, 2017|date=June 23, 2015}} and was reunited with its sister site, Game Rant, in 2019, when Valnet acquired the other publication.{{Cite press release |title=GameRant.com Reunited with ScreenRant.com in Valnet Acquisition |date=July 17, 2019 |publisher=Business Wire |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190717005050/en/GameRant.com-Reunited-with-ScreenRant.com-in-Valnet-Acquisition |access-date=November 6, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228144530/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190717005050/en/GameRant.com-Reunited-with-ScreenRant.com-in-Valnet-Acquisition |archive-date=February 28, 2021}} Screen Rant features a video series called Pitch Meetings by YouTube comedian Ryan George. By September 2020, the series included over 200 videos, garnering a combined 250 million views. In the series, George plays both a screenwriter and a film producer in a pitch for a film or television series, describing its plot in a way that highlights various inconsistencies and the way monetary incentives affect the movie industry.{{cite web|url= https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/youtube-videos-ryan-george-pitch-meetings-6604282/ |newspaper=The Indian Express|title= 200 videos, 250 million views: Meet Ryan George, the man who rips apart Hollywood's big hits|last=Philipose|first=Rahel|language=en|url-status=live|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=May 2, 2023|archive-date=September 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922022806/https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/youtube-videos-ryan-george-pitch-meetings-6604282/}}

File:Xda logo.svg

XDA (formerly known as XDA Developers) is a mobile software development community launched on December 20, 2002.{{cite web |title=The XDA Team |url=https://www.xda-developers.com/creativeknow-your-xda-admin-moderation-team/ |website=xda-developers |date=June 21, 2011 |access-date=February 1, 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://www.xda-developers.com/changelog/ |title=xda-developers change log |website=XDA-Developers.com |access-date=November 30, 2016 |archive-date=May 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510224506/https://www.xda-developers.com/changelog/ |url-status=dead }} Although discussion primarily revolves around the Android operating system, members also talk about other operating systems and mobile software development topics.

XDA-Developers.com was created by Dutch company NAH6 Crypto Products BV and launched on December 20, 2002. In January 2011, XDA Developers was bought by the US based company JB Online Media, LLC. and subsequently by Canada-based Valnet Inc. in February 2022. The name XDA Developers is originally derived from the O₂ XDA, which was marketed as a personal digital assistant (PDA) with extra features."XDA-Developers: The History" ([https://www.xda-developers.com/xda-developers-the-history-part-one/ part one] by XDA Administrator "MikeChannon" in October 2010

In 2013, XDA partnered with Swappa to become its official marketplace where users can buy or sell devices.{{Cite web|url=https://www.xda-developers.com/xda-makes-swappa-its-official-marketplace/|title=XDA Makes Swappa Its Official Marketplace|author=svetius|date=February 26, 2013|website=XDA Developers|access-date=January 2, 2019}}

Valnet acquired XDA along with four other websites—Pocketnow, AppAdvice, BackyardBoss and Hook&Bullet—from Busy Pixel Media in February 2022. In 2023, FeedSpot listed XDA (with 11 million members) as the largest mobile software development forum and among the top 70 technology forums to follow.{{Cite web |date=September 21, 2023 |title=Top 70 Tech Forums, Discussions and Message Boards |url=https://forums.feedspot.com/technology_forums/ |access-date=September 29, 2023 |website=FeedSpot |language=en-US}}

Many software and hardware hacks, Android rooting methods, Android custom ROMs and other phone- and tablet-specific tweaks originate from the members of the XDA Forum. XDA also hosts the XDA Portal, a source for tech news, products, guides, and features which launched in 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.xda-developers.com/announcements/new-portal-launches-today/ |title=XDA Launches Portal |date=February 16, 2010 |website=XDA-Developers.com |access-date=December 20, 2012 |archive-date=May 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501194620/http://www.xda-developers.com/announcements/new-portal-launches-today/ |url-status=dead }}

Their forum site underwent major redesigns in 2010, 2013, late 2014 (named XDA 2015) and late 2020 (named XDA 2021). The 2013 layout distinctively indicated the number of active and total registered users at the top right, and the 2015 layout supported responsive web design and was available with a dark-on-light color scheme option.

As of 2020, the website features 3 themes, namely XDA, XDA Dark and XDA Classic. The older layout options for XDA 2013 and XDA 2015 were removed in XDA 2021. The website transitioned from vBulletin to XenForo on December 1, 2020, along with a major layout redesign, named XDA 2021.{{cite web |title=Welcome to XDA 2021! |url=https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/welcome-to-xda-2021.4197018/ |website=xda-developers |date=December 1, 2020}}

In February 2007, when the Microsoft Windows Mobile OS was widely used on mobile phones, Microsoft asked XDA Developers to remove all ROMs created by OEMs.{{cite news |url=http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1018935/microsoft-stomps-xda-developers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224190310/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1018935/microsoft-stomps-xda-developers |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 24, 2019 |title=Microsoft stomps on xda developers |last=Dennis |first=Tony |date=February 16, 2007 |work=The Inquirer |access-date=May 22, 2011}}{{Cite web|url=http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=294142|title=xda-developers ROM image archive will be taken down – xda-developers|date=August 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080823113944/http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=294142 |archive-date=August 23, 2008 }}

In 2008, CNET Asia suggested that XDA Developers offers potential solutions to problems with many Android-based mobile devices. In other mobile phone reviews, testers at CNET preferred using XDA Developers' ROMs when carrying out detailed reviews.{{cite news |url=http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/handhelds/0,39001709,62036929,00.htm |title=HTC and the case of the missing drivers |last=Chan |first=John |date=January 23, 2008 |work=CNET Asia |access-date=May 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106201913/http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/handhelds/0,39001709,62036929,00.htm |archive-date=November 6, 2008 }}

According to TheWrap, Valnet prioritzes "mass quantity over quality to churn out mind-numbing SEO bait." Once websites are acquired by Valnet, the permanent staff are usually replaced by contractors, who are paid significantly less (reportedly around $19 for 1000 words at GameRant) than the former tenured staff. One former contributor described Valnet website Collider to TheWrap as "a content mill, borderline like almost sweatshop-level", while another writer suggested that Valnet forced contractors to create "junky clickbait" content. Valnet writers who complain about payment or working conditions or reveal payment rates are alleged to be blacklisted by the company.

• List of Internet forums

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