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NEWSCYCLE Solutions acquires MediaSpan cloud-based products to accelerate local media market expansion

Wednesday 14. May 2014 - Purchase of media software innovator adds SaaS expertise, large customer base and turnkey product line to NEWSCYCLE Solutions

NEWSCYCLE Solutions (NEWSCYCLE), a leading provider of software and services for the global news media industry, today announced that it has acquired MediaSpan Group, Inc., a media software innovator that provides solutions to more than 3,000 local newspaper and broadcast properties. NEWSCYCLE, which was formed through the combination of Atex, Inc., DTI and SAXOTECH, will now serve more than 8,000 media properties ranging from local community newspapers to the largest metropolitan news organizations in the world. MediaSpan brings a complete suite of cloud-based publishing software which has been widely adopted due to its Web browser user experience and out-of-the box functionality. With the addition of MediaSpan, NEWSCYCLE’s expanded software portfolio can manage all mission critical publishing applications for media companies of any size or level of business complexity.
“With the acquisition of MediaSpan, we have added the technology and talent to succeed with local media companies who are a key part of our growth strategy,” said Preston McKenzie, CEO of NEWSCYCLE Solutions. “By adding browser-based turnkey products, we can address the demand for out-of-the-box solutions across the newsroom, advertising and circulation departments. We are proud to welcome MediaSpan’s clients to our community of customers and our new MediaSpan colleagues to the NEWSCYCLE Solutions team.”
MediaSpan’s cloud-based products, AdManagerPro, CirculationPro, NewsEditPro, WebManagerPro, and ProductionManagerPro are immediately available for purchase from NEWSCYCLE. Current MediaSpan customers have the opportunity to add NEWSCYCLE’s Audience and Analytics solutions. The newly combined company has committed to MediaSpan’s worldwide customers that it will continue to provide the same levels and quality of service for all products.
“At Civitas, we welcome this news as a customer,” said Michael Bush, President and CEO at Civitas. “We chose the MediaSpan Pro products for our properties because the standardized browser-based SaaS approach got us up and running quickly and helped accelerate our consolidation projects. I can see how the synergy between MediaSpan and NEWSCYCLE will create a powerhouse partner and we are excited to be working with a company who continues to invest in our industry.”
MediaSpan was launched in 2001 through the acquisition of Harris Publishing Systems and Baseview Products. Harris and Baseview had established a long industry history that included the development of the first newspaper publishing system in 1968.
“It is exciting to become part of NEWSCYCLE Solutions which has clearly emerged as the one company with the strongest commitment to the news media industry. Together we have the resources, vision and experience to help our customers meet the challenges of competing in a digital world,” said Dan Roberts, Vice President of Business Strategy at NEWSCYCLE, and former CEO of MediaSpan. “Speaking for my MediaSpan colleagues, we are excited to be part of a winning team and we look forward to combining our efforts to offer an even wider range of innovative products and services.”
In acquiring MediaSpan, NEWSCYCLE Solutions has added approximately 75 employees and business operations located at MediaSpan’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan as well as in Florida, California, Canada and the United Kingdom. MediaSpan’s customer base includes a wide range of media companies including BH Media Group, Black Press, Civitas Media, Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc., GateHouse Media, Stephens Media, the Australian Radio Network and Radio Network New Zealand. MediaSpan customers also include community newspapers such as the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska, The Paducah Sun in Kentucky, and the Falmouth Enterprise in Massachusetts.