CVG

22/04/10 – Future, the special-interest media group, has today revealed record growth for its flagship games news website, CVG ( http://www.cvg.co.uk) following an extensive editorial refocus, which pushed breaking news and user comment to the fore of its content strategy. The site has also announced its first-ever US News Editor.

According to figures from Google Analytics, CVG’s monthly unique user number has soared to an impressive 2,265,823– a 68% increase year-on-year to March 2010, with its UK unique user base leaping by 26% to 639,424 in the same period. The results were derived from de-duplicated figures for Future’s CVG Network, which includes websites for Official Xbox ( http://www.officialxboxmagazine.co.uk) and Official Nintendo Magazine ( http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/).

CVG is the UK’s longest-established games media brand and was first published as a magazine back in 1981, before going online only in 2005. The reinvigoration of CVG.co.uk began in late 2009, as Future appointed new Editor, Tim Ingham - who joined from respected games industry bible, MCV to work alongside long-serving Editor-in-Chief, John Houlihan and Associate Publisher, Mark Cantwell.

As Future continues to develop CVG, the site appoints Mike Jackson as its first-ever US News Editor. The CVG veteran crosses the Atlantic in May and will post stories throughout the night UK time from the West Coast of the USA.

With CVG’s new commitment to breaking news and generating user comment, the number of stories posted to the site increased by 37% in the first quarter of 2010. User comments grew by 35 per cent in the quarter - with more than 12,500 comments on CVG stories in March 2010 alone.

Tim Ingham, Editor of CVG, said:

“I’m delighted that gamers love CVG’s return to its core competencies. As one of the original games media powerhouses, we want to re-establish CVG as the number one destination for consumer games news. To see such a massive rise in visitors and user comment proves our editorial refocus is beginning to pay off. We’ve got some ambitious plans to further develop our team and expand the site throughout 2010 – as CVG cements its reputation as the home of news to get your teeth into.”

Mark Cantwell, Associate Publisher of CVG, added:

“With our new senior team and a leading group of writers working to deliver our focused strategy, CVG continues to go from strength-to-strength as Future’s flagship games news website.

“CVG and GamesRadar will continue to present their monthly traffic figures with clear geographical breakdown, highlighting exactly how our incorporated sub-domains contribute to our overall Network traffic to ensure advertisers know that their money is being spent against the right audiences and territories."”

ENDS

About Future

Future plc is an international special-interest media group that is listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol FUTR). Founded in 1985 with one magazine, today we have operations in the UK, US and Australia creating over 180 special-interest publications, websites and events for people who are passionate about their interests. We hold strong market positions in games, film, music, technology, cycling, automotive and crafts. Our biggest-selling magazines include T3, Total Film, Digital Camera, Fast Car, Classic Rock, Guitar World, Official Xbox Magazine, Official Playstation Magazine, Nintendo Power, Maximum PC and MacLife. Our websites include gamesradar.com, bikeradar.com, techradar.com, and musicradar.com. Future produces over 4 million magazines each month; we attract more than 18 million unique visitors to our websites; and we host 25 annual live events that attract hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts. In addition, Future exports, syndicates or licenses its publications to 90 countries internationally, making us the UK’s number one exporter and licensor of monthly magazines.

For more information

Will Guyatt, Media Relations Manager, Future UK, 01225 822517