Type of site Internet portal Website www.nine.com.au Commercial Yes | Owner Mi9 Alexa rank 1,144 (April 2014) | |
Created by Nine Entertainment Co., Microsoft | ||
Nine.com.au (formerly Ninemsn) is an Australian website owned by Mi9, a subsidiary of Nine Entertainment Co., in partnership with Microsoft. It was originally established as a 50:50 joint venture between Microsoft and PBL Media (now Nine Entertainment Co.) in 1997 as "Ninemsn". Microsoft sold its stake in the venture to Nine Entertainment in 2013. The website was rebranded to its current name on 28 June 2016.
The website serves as the main website for the Nine Network. While Ninemsn was jointly owned by Microsoft, it also replaced the main MSN website in Australia and was the website that automatically appeared when Australian users signed out of Outlook.com. Microsoft have since developed an Australian version of MSN.
History
The venture was established in 1997, with a combined investment of $50 million, which brought together all the online assets of Microsoft and all the media assets of PBL, which include the Nine Network, Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) and other PBL assets.
In December 2005, Ninemsn acquired Australian content syndication and mobile publishing leader HWW Limited, who currently syndicate television, movie, music, restaurant and gig guide listings.
In 2006, Ninemsn purchased 5th Finger Pty Ltd, a leading Australian SMS and mobile marketing service provider.
Ninemsn introduced a new logo and a major redesign in mid-2011, allowing users to customise the site to their own preference.
Microsoft sold its 50% stake of Mi9 to Nine Entertainment Company in 2013. As part of the arrangement, Microsoft signed a long term strategic partnership agreement, whereby Mi9 will continue to represent Microsoft’s suite of advertising products.
Ninemsn introduced a new look homepage in late 2014. Following the rebranding of its television assets in November 2015, Nine Entertainment rebranded Ninemsn to Nine.com.au on 28 June 2016.