Red Ventures adding jobs as it integrates ViacomCBS' CNET Media Group

Red Ventures Charlotte 2
Red Ventures is headquartered in Indian Land.
Caroline Hudson
By Caroline Hudson – Banking and Finance Editor, Charlotte Business Journal
Updated

Indian Land-based Red Ventures closed on a $500 million deal last Friday with ViacomCBS' CNET Media Group. Integration efforts are underway, with executives navigating the change virtually.

Red Ventures, a digital brands and marketing company, plans to start onboarding CNET employees this week, said Marc McCollum, president of the media and technology group at Red Ventures. He said the team wanted to wait until after the presidential election to avoid disrupting CNET's work. CNET posts reviews, news articles, blogs and more on technology and electronics.

"It was probably one of the most exciting days that I can remember at Red Ventures and one of the most exciting days in my career," McCollum said of Friday.

The goal is to keep CNET's work moving ahead as usual, McCollum said. Red Ventures is hosting multiple joint meetings with CNET employees. Company leadership will share more about its culture and history. He said Red Ventures learns more about onboarding with each acquisition.

Some of Red Ventures' recent acquisitions include a $1.4 billion deal with Bankrate Inc. in 2017 and two deals in 2019 with HigherEducation.com and Healthline Media.

McCollum Marc
Marc McCollum, president of the media and technology group at Red Ventures
Red Ventures

McCollum said this latest deal will create about 50 local jobs in the next three to four months. About 20 Red Ventures employees are moving to the CNET side, with the company backfilling those positions. Then the firm plans to hire another 30 people to focus on CNET operations.

Available positions are in data engineering, digital marketing, search engine optimization, account managers and editorial and design, among others. Red Ventures has nearly 80 total positions open in the Charlotte area on its careers website — a list that includes multiple business segments.

The latest job additions set Red Ventures up for more aggressive hiring in the future, McCollum said. The firm has about 3,000 employees, including roughly 2,000 locally. Red Ventures doubled the size of its South Carolina headquarters a few years ago.

CNET will operate as part of Red Ventures' media and technology division. Its current leadership will stay intact but must also report to McCollum.

Next steps will include converting CNET's systems to the Red Ventures platform. About 900 employees are temporarily working in both systems, McCollum said. Red Ventures plan to complete its conversion in early 2021. About 200 engineers and data professionals are working on the transition, he said.

McCollum noted the transition's complexity. CNET was carved out as a part of the larger ViacomCBS. Working within another company's systems adds challenges.

The transaction was already unusual, moving ahead with due diligence and planning without in-person meetings. Remote work, plus an integration, can be stressful for employees. McCollum said monitoring employees' mental health is a high priority.

CNET's brands include GameSpot, Metacritic and TV Guide, among others.

"We have high aspirations for what these brands can deliver," McCollum said. "If we do our work well, we will be delivering for customers at scale across consumer technology, gaming and entertainment in ways that no other brands on a global basis are doing."

He wants to see those brands become No. 1 destinations for consumers, a process he thinks the Red Ventures team can achieve within three years. CNET also has the Roadshow brand to help consumers navigate car-buying. McCollum said he thinks Red Ventures can make that a leading brand in the next year.

Related Articles