Universal Uclick

Universal Uclick is an American entertainment company owned by Andrews McMeel Universal. Universal Uclick is the world's largest content syndicate and provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various other content. Some of the company's most well-known features include Dear Abby, Doonesbury, Ziggy, Garfield, Ann Coulter, Richard Roeper and News of the Weird. The company is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Universal Uclick was formed in July 2009 with the merger of Universal Press Syndicate and the digital entertainment company Uclick.

Universal Press Syndicate was founded in 1970 by Jim Andrews and John McMeel. The company began syndicating Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury comic strip in October 1970. Trudeau won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1975 for his work on Doonesbury, and the strip is now syndicated in more than 1,400 newspapers worldwide. Over the following decades, the syndicate added other well-known comic strips including Ziggy, Cathy, For Better or For Worse, Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Foxtrot, Baldo, The Boondocks, In the Bleachers, NonSequitur, Stone Soup, Real Life Adventures, Cornered, Lio, Cul De Sac, Thatababy, Wumo, editorial cartoonists and columnists.

Uclick LLC was founded in the late 1990s by Andrews McMeel Universal to explore opportunities in the digital realm. The company syndicated comic strips, cartoons, games, puzzles and text columns to online news organizations and other websites, on desktop computers and mobile phones.

In July 2009, Andrews McMeel Universal founder, chairman and president John McMeel, explained why the two companies were combined:
 * The tradition and reputation that have made Universal Press Syndicate the destination for top-notch creative talents are now joining forces with the technological expertise, versatility, and new media innovations of Uclick. This is a historic move that brings together two industry leading companies to create a dynamic new organization capable of supporting today's renowned creative talents and the superstars of tomorrow, propelling them to new levels of popularity and success, as well as looking to the future by creating new distribution channels and outlets for this beloved art form.

Comic strips and panels
Well-known comics currently and formerly syndicated by Universal Uclick include For Better or For Worse, FoxTrot, Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, The Boondocks, Doonesbury, Cathy, Pooch Cafe, Baldo, What the Duck, Ink Pen, Liō, Cul de Sac, Ziggy, Tom the Dancing Bug, The Far Side and Peanuts (since February 27, 2011) in newspapers, calendars and books.

Universal Uclick also owns and operates GoComics.com, a comics aggregate website featuring comic strips currently syndicated in print, online and on mobile devices by Universal Uclick, as well as discontinued titles such as Calvin and Hobbes, The Boondocks and Bloom County, webcomics such as Pibgorn and Kliban, plus a selection of syndicated comic strips from Creators Syndicate and Tribune Media Services.

In October 2008, Uclick launched a GoComics gadget for iGoogle which allows users to read comic strips on their iGoogle pages.

On February 24, 2011, Universal Uclick signed a deal with United Media to handle syndication of the latter company's 150 comic strip and news features beginning in June 1.

As a result of this, Universal Uclick has become one of the largest print syndicators in the United States, as United Media was the company's main competitor in the industry (it is not quite a monopoly, since King Features Syndicate and Creators Syndicate still have extensive operations).

Editorial cartoons
Universal Uclick syndicates the editorial cartoonists Don Asmussen, Tony Auth, Stuart Carlson, Lalo Alcaraz, Glenn McCoy, Pat Oliphant, Ted Rall, Ben Sargent, Tom Toles, Matt Davies, Matt Bors, Matt Wuerker, Ruben Bolling and Kerry Waghorn.

Puzzles and games
Universal Uclick distributes daily puzzles and games in newspapers and other print media. The company also distributes puzzles and casual games online through consumer and news web portals as well as through its own puzzle and game portals, PuzzleSociety.com and UclickGames.com. Universal Uclick products include crossword puzzles and games edited by Timothy Parker and Pat Sajak, number placement puzzles like Sudoku and Kakuro, jigsaw puzzles and other casual games. Universal Uclick distributes the daily Jumble online (but not in print, where Tribune Media Services distributes the puzzles).

Syndicated columns and text features
Universal Uclick syndicated columns and text features are distributed in newspapers and other print media worldwide and online through consumer and news web portals, as well as through the Universal Uclick syndicated column and text feature consumer site, uExpress.com. Popular Universal Uclick columns and text features include the advice columns Dear Abby and Miss Manners, conservative columnist Ann Coulter, film critic Roger Ebert, and News of the Weird.

Comic books and manga
In 2006, Universal Uclick launched the United States’ first comic book reader application for mobile phones. The introductory line of titles included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Five Fists of Science, Godland, PvP and Too Much Coffee Man. Universal Uclick has also published mobile versions and iPhone applications featuring comic book titles from Devil's Due Publishing, Image Comics, IDW Publishing and Jeff Smith’s Bone series.