HealthCentral acquires Wellsphere

HealthCentral has acquired Wellsphere, a health and wellness information and technology firm. Wellsphere will add close to four million unique viewers (UV) per month to HealthCentral’s network. Terms of the deal were not disclosed as of press time.

Wellsphere brings an aggregated 1,500 health and wellness bloggers into the fold, in addition to its “Health Knowledge Engine” which identifies and organizes related health content for consumers, according to Jeremy Shane, president and COO at HealthCentral. 

Wellsphere’s bloggers may be monetized through the placement of banners and other advertising, said Shane, but the bloggers will also deliver “access to an audience of influentials, that can potentially redistribute HealthCentral’s messaging.”

In that capacity, a stable of bloggers would complement HealthCentral’s professional writers, whose medically reviewed columns drive content, and carry banner inventory for pharmas, explained Shane. 

Wellsphere’s organizational technology deciphers specific content and serves it to consumers, pairing individual inquiries with longtail health information for actionable results, he said.

With the addition of four million unique visitors per month, HealthCentral’s network could reach nearly 10 million UV in the coming months. However, Shane said UV count isn’t everything. “It’s about performance of scale, not ‘the biggest is the best.’ That’s the game,” he said. 

HealthCentral now owns more than 30 condition-specific sites.