Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Opinion
  4. Features

Could SB Nation possibly be looking to buy GDGT.com?

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

Peter Rojas and Ryan Block
Ex-Engadget employees Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Image used with permission by copyright holder

After weeks of senior Engadget staffers fluttering away like the mature butterflies they are, it looks like AOL’s migrating monarchs have found a new home at SB Nation. The Washington-D.C.-based umbrella for over 300 individual sports blogs will provide a roof for the Engadget defectors to start a new tech blog, led by former Engadget Editor-in-Chief Josh Topolsky.

An interesting wrinkle in AOL’s ongoing plans for media domination? Sure, but SB Nation’s ties and finances paint an even more interesting story of where this corporate talent swap could go.

SB Nation CEO Jim Bankoff is both an AOL alumni (he originally pushed the company to buy Engadget in 2005, and left his position as EVP in 2006) and investor in gdgt.com, another tech site founded by former Engadget blood. That puts him in the unique and potentially conflicted position as both a gdgt investor and CEO of the company that will own an upcoming Engadget spinoff. What does this mean for Engadget’s defectors and gdgt? A lot of things, potentially.

GDGT SB Nation Could SB Nation buy GDGT?

Rather than getting torn in two different directions by similar interests, Bankoff could try to combine them by attempting to buy gdgt.

Only last month, rumors swirled that AOL would swoop in and buy gdgt, a portion of which AOL Ventures already owns. But with sites like Engadget, TechCrunch and Switched already under its wings, gdgt might just seem redundant. It could make the perfect foil to the upcoming Engadget spinoff, though, helping SB Nation establish its own line of tech blogs and avoiding any potential conflicts for Bankoff. Back in November, the company sucked up $24 million of third-round funding, which could give it the cash to pull it off. The biggest caveat: AOL Ventures already has money in gdgt, which could put a kink in a potential purchase.

Could AOL buy SB Nation?

Despite its surplus of tech blogs, AOL has yet to proffer a sports blog that can punch at the weight of Gawker competitor Deadspin. And it wants one. With an alleged 12 million unique visitors monthly across 300 individual blogs, SB Nation could fill that gap for AOL. With Topolsky & Co. at SB Nation, it could allow AOL to rope back in the runaways, too. Would they want to go? Who knows, but SB Nation CEO Jim Bankoff likely doesn’t care. He could see the upcoming site as a “value add” to prepare SB Nation for a potential acquisition, building it to sell it.

Nick Mokey
Nick Mokey
Former Editor in Chief
As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…
Topics
Doordash is acquiring Instacart. For you, that means one less subscription, eventually.
Doordash and Instacart ona laptop.

DoorDash has announced that it is acquiring grocery giant Instacart at an equity valuation of $17 billion, in a cash-and-stock deal. Subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, the deal is expected to close by the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028. DoorDash claims that, thanks to the deal, customers will have the flexibility to buy daily essentials from more stores, which also increases their chances of getting bargain deals and faster deliveries.

“The combined company will offer grocers and retailers of every size DoorDash’s delivery network and Instacart’s grocery and fulfillment technology, in both apps and on stores’ own websites, along with the advertising and AI tools each company has built,” the company said in a press statement. For an average customer, there are a couple of tangible benefits emerging from this multi-billion dollar deal.

Read more
AI has come for the psychics’ jobs and they are not happy about it
Human psychics are advertising AI-free readings, while one startup wants them to train their own digital replacements
ai psychics readings human pushback psychic

AI psychic readings are available around the clock, and human practitioners are having to explain why customers should still pay to speak with them.

The Guardian found psychics responding with AI-free promises and arguments that chatbots lack the human connection central to their work.

Read more
Google Chrome can now find what you need in Gmail before you even ask
Soon digging through your Gmail will be a thing of the past.
Google Chrome

Google Chrome's autofill has always been pretty handy for filling in addresses, passwords, and payment information. Now, the feature could be getting ever better thanks to better integration with Gmail. The company will soon allow the browser to dig through your Gmail inbox and pull out information you would otherwise spend several minutes hunting for.

According to Google's official announcement, Chrome's enhanced autofill can now use Gemini with Personal Intelligence to retrieve order numbers, package tracking details, and flight booking information directly from Gmail.

Read more