Today is a really exciting day for the Disqus team as we welcome The A.V. Club back to Disqus!

Yes, that's right—after some time away The A.V. Club, that legendary hub of pop culture and entertainment news where the latest updates and juiciest headlines converge, has once again chosen Disqus as their comment provider.  

In doing so, The A.V. Club reclaims its place in the hearts and minds of a massive Disqus community of dedicated pop culture fanatics. The A.V. Club and Disqus—it's the return of the ultimate duo. 

Background

The A.V. Club, founded in 1993 as a sister publication to The Onion, was recently acquired by Paste Media Group, home to leading sites like Paste Magazine and Jezebel. According to the announcement press release, this exciting new partnership was created with the intention to "deliver engaging content that informs, entertains, and sparks meaningful conversations among their respective audiences."

That last part is where we come in. By bringing back Disqus, The A.V. Club is once again creating a space where audiences can dish on everything from the latest film sagas to the most binge-worthy TV shows and albums—so get ready to dive back into the buzz and banter that make The A.V. Club a beloved destination for pop culture enthusiasts everywhere!

Why The A.V. Club Came Back

The A.V. Club was a longtime Disqus publisher until it moved to another comment provider back in 2017. After the acquisition by Paste Media Group, there has been a renewed focus on building and engaging The A.V. Club's on-site community. 

Unlike other comment providers, Disqus alone has a userbase of millions of active commenters that our publishers can tap into. Aside from this, we also offer the right combination of features and service that enables The A.V. Club to:

  • Offer their audiences a hassle-free, maximum-fun commenting experience
  • Build a highly interactive relationship with their audiences that boosts loyalty, time-on-site, and return visitors
  • Drive meaningful gains in ad revenue both directly and indirectly

... all while re-establishing their reputation for being home to the most vibrant on-site community in the entire digital pop culture landscape. 

Paste Media Group Founder and President Josh Jackson had this to say about The A.V. Club's decision to return to Disqus: "One of the things that attracted us to The A.V. Club was its active community of commenters, and we kept hearing from readers that they missed the Disqus platform. It's been a seamless transition back to a commenting system they were already familiar with."

Partnership

The A.V. Club is now integrated with Disqus via our Preferred plan, which gives publishers access to all of our most robust features and enrolls them in a generous revenue-sharing program in which they earn a significant share of the revenue generated by ad placements in the Disqus comment section.

This integration allows us to provide the most user-friendly and enjoyable commenting experience to the The A.V. Club's audiences while also contributing to the sustainability and growth of The A.V. Club property as a whole. 

So far, The A.V. Club's community is responding enthusiastically to the return of Disqus. Here are some choice quotes from some of their commenters:

  • "Oh, thank GOD. We're back, baby!"
  • "Welcome back Disqus!"
  • "*sniffs air* Smells like disqus... I'll stay a while"
  • "DISQUS IS BACK I CAN COMMENT AGAIN BAYBEEEEEEEE"
  • "Oh it's nice to see Disqus back!"
  • " ...welcome back Disqus!"

I'm sure quotes like these are music to The A.V. Club's ears... they sure are to ours!

Why It's Important

In today's challenging digital landscape, opting for Disqus isn't just about managing comments—it's about creating a sustainable and lively online community that lasts

We encourage other publishers to take a page from The A.V. Club’s playbook—their return to Disqus highlights how choosing the right comment platform can reinvigorate reader engagement and provide an instant shot in the arm for an online community. 

Join The A.V. Club and millions of other publishers in making Disqus your preferred audience-builder to help your site stand out and thrive in the dynamic world of online publishing.

If you'd like to learn more about what Disqus can do for your site, please reach out to publisher-success@disqus.com. In the meantime, we're honored to once again be powering The A.V. Club's on-site community. We'll see you over in their comment section!