Why Time Inc. just bought MySpace

Talk about a blast from the past. On Thursday morning we woke up to the news that Time Inc. now owns MySpace after buying its parent company Viant.

Beyond the forgotten social network, Viant also runs a profitable advertising technology business and a handful of other online properties. The deal should provide Time Inc. with more user data and new cloud technology for running the ad network.

“This acquisition is game changing for us,” said Time Inc. Chairman and CEO Joe Ripp. “Marketers are selecting media partners that have either data-driven capabilities or premium content; we will be able to deliver both in a single platform, and will stand apart from those that offer just one or the other.”

Viant currently boasts over 1 billion users for its online ad platform. Speaking to TechCrunch, the company said that MySpace is “intrinsic” to the rest of its business. However, the social network barely makes an appearance in the official announcement besides a brief mention at the very end.

So we’re definitely not expecting Time Inc. to reboot MySpace anytime soon. After all, this deal is really about combining publisher’s content with a strong ad network.