YNOT – Westminster, Colo.-based BluMedia Inc., parent company of affiliate program IntenseCash, has signed an agreement to acquire gay publishing company JustUsBoys. The deal includes the company’s print magazine and the website JustUsBoys.com.“This will be huge for BluMedia,” President Mark Erickson said. “JustUsBoys has been one of our biggest affiliates for years, and I have a lot of respect for the guys that run it. In addition, I’m eager to take control of a national magazine that is targeted to our customer base. Having the magazine and one of the largest free gay sites in the world in addition to our IntenseCash affiliate program and GayMainStreet.com webmaster board will give BluMedia unprecedented marketing power.”
Operation of the website and magazine are not expected to change. To ensure a seamless transition of the new site into the IntenseCash affiliate program, gay adult industry veteran Andrew “AndyMike” Yancey will retain his current position as JustUsBoys.com webmaster. Additionally, Shannon Prewitt, one of the current owners of JustUsBoys, will continue to manage the magazine and coordinate consumer events and promotions for BluMedia.
“We’re very excited about 2010 and what these acquisitions will mean for our company,” Erickson said. “We intend to expand the circulation of the magazine. We [also] expect to expand the reach of JustUsBoys.com by mid-year and increase penetration throughout the Midwest and other underserved areas. Advertisers will benefit from exposure both online and in print, reaching more potential customers than with single media platforms.”
According to Prewitt, “The magazine will continue promotion of our advertisers’ products as well as BluMedia’s stable of adult sites. BluMedia is already the biggest advertiser in the magazine, because they truly appreciate the power of print when it comes to building consumer recognition.
“So many gay publications have closed their doors recently that we believe significant opportunities exist to expand our reach nationwide,” he added. “The readers are still there, but the challenge for print magazines going forward will be to keep costs low and to find an economic model that works. With BluMedia’s reputation, vision and resources behind us, we will print more copies, add distribution points and may actually lower prices for our advertisers. We’ll be announcing some great advertising packages shortly that will leverage the consumer reach of the magazine along with the webmaster reach of BluMedia’s GayMainStreet.com industry chat board.”
The other owners of JustUsBoys, B. Thomason and J. Going, said they do not plan to leave the adult industry. While mainstream projects take up most of their time these days, they will continue to operate the adult tube site RocketTube.com along with Prewitt.
“We’re going to miss our baby, JustUsBoys.com, which we’ve grown and nurtured over the past seven years,” Thomason said. “We’re very attached to the site and its members, hundreds of whom we’ve actually met at the many ‘JUB Meets’ held over the years. The genuine community and active discussion forums have always set JustUsBoys.com apart and made it far more than just another porn site.
“We couldn’t sell the site to just anyone,” he continued. “We had to be sure the new owner appreciated its personality in addition to its ability to generate revenue.”
Erikson added, “I promised them that our team here at BluMedia would take really good care of what they created.”
The exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Erickson said remuneration “is in the millions of dollars.”
IntenseCash’s other properties include BrokeStraightBoys.com, CollegeBoyPhysicals.com, BrokeCollegeBoys.com and BoyGusher.com.
