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Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
85
GRADE
B
FIX
1
REVIEW
2
PASS
6
INFO
0
Probed from Madrid, Spain
301 Moved Permanently
Checks
9
6 PASS 2 REVIEW 1 FIX
D
Redirect Chain
Action
3 redirect(s), 213 ms total
FIX
3 redirect(s), 213 ms total
Warning::
3 redirects before reaching final URL
Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.
Info::
WWW normalization redirect
Info::
Uses 302 (temporary) redirect
If permanent, use 301 instead.
Got: https://www.history.com/
Info::
Cross-domain redirect detected

https://history.com

5 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.history.com/

29 ms · HTTP/1.1

302

https://www.aenetworks.tv/

89 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.hearstnetworks.com/

90 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://history.com3015 msHTTP/1.1Varnish
2https://www.history.com/30229 msHTTP/1.1Varnish
3https://www.aenetworks.tv/30189 msHTTP/1.1cloudflare
4https://www.hearstnetworks.com/20090 msHTTP/1.1

See the visual redirect chain in the HTTP Probe tab →

Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.

Why this matters

Redirect chain — each hop adds latency; combine into one redirect where possible.

Source: Google Search Central / web.dev

If permanent, use 301 instead.

Why this matters

302 (Found) is for genuinely temporary redirects — if this redirect is permanent, switch to 301 to preserve SEO equity.

Learn more ▾

Search engines treat 302 as temporary, keeping the original URL indexed and not transferring full link equity to the destination. Use 301 (Moved Permanently) for permanent redirects (HTTP→HTTPS, www-vs-non-www, URL restructures).

Source: Google Search Central

C
Crawlability
Action
robots.txt present, sitemap with 0 URLs
REVIEW
robots.txt present, sitemap with 0 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 10240 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Warning::
sitemap.xml contains invalid XML
Search engines may not be able to parse the sitemap. Fix XML validation errors.
Warning::
sitemap.xml is empty — no URLs found
An empty sitemap provides no value. Add <url> entries for your pages.
Info::
robots.txt does not reference a sitemap
Add a 'Sitemap:' directive to robots.txt so search engines can discover your sitemap.

Search engines may not be able to parse the sitemap. Fix XML validation errors.

Why this matters

An unparseable sitemap is silently ignored by Google — the URLs it advertises are never queued for crawl.

Learn more ▾

Google's sitemap parser is strict about XML validity. A single unescaped `&` or unclosed tag invalidates the whole file. Run your sitemap through a validator (Search Console's Sitemaps report flags it) and fix the offending entry. Most generators escape correctly; mistakes usually come from manually-written entries.

Source: sitemaps.org / Google Search Central

An empty sitemap provides no value. Add <url> entries for your pages.

Why this matters

An empty sitemap signals 'no content to index' to Google — actively harmful versus having no sitemap at all.

Learn more ▾

Google compares URLs in the sitemap against URLs it has crawled. An empty sitemap on a site with thousands of pages signals abandonment. Either populate it correctly (most CMSes auto-generate) or delete the file and let Google crawl normally.

Source: Google Search Central / sitemaps.org

Add a 'Sitemap:' directive to robots.txt so search engines can discover your sitemap.

Why this matters

robots.txt omits Sitemap: directive — crawlers must fetch /sitemap.xml by convention; reliable but missing the explicit hint.

Source: sitemaps.org

robots.txt 200 OK
Size 10240 B Sitemaps referenced 0 User-agents Blocking No — crawling allowed
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" dir="ltr" prefix="og: https://ogp.me/ns#">
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
<noscript><style>form.antibot * :not(.antibot-message) { display: none !important; }</style>
</noscript><style>/* @see https://github.com/aFarkas/lazysizes#broken-image-symbol */.js img.lazyload:not([src]) { visibility: hidden; }/* @see https://github.com/aFarkas/lazysizes#automatically-setting-the-sizes-attribute */.js img.lazyloaded[data-sizes=auto] { display: block; width: 100%; }</style>
<meta name="description" content="Welcome to Hearst Networks EMEA is global broadcaster who reach audiences in over 100 countries, including the UK, Nordics, Benelux, Central &amp; Eastern Europe, Spain, Italy and Germany, Africa, and the Middle East." />
<meta name="keywords" content="hearsttn, hearstnetworks, hearstnetworks uk, hearstnetworks emea, history, history play, blaze, crimeandinvestigation, crime + investigation, crime + investigation play" />
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.hearstnetworks.com/" />
<link rel="shortlink" href="https://www.hearstnetworks.com/" />
<link rel="icon" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/favicon-500x500.png" />
<link rel="icon" sizes="16x16" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/favicon-16x16.png" />
<link rel="icon" sizes="32x32" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/favicon-32x32.png" />
<link rel="icon" sizes="96x96" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/favicon-96x96.png" />
<link rel="icon" sizes="192x192" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/favicon-192x192.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-60x60.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="72x72" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-72x72.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="76x76" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-76x76.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="114x114" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-114x114.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="120x120" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-120x120.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="144x144" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-144x144.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-152x152.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-180x180.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-57x57.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="72x72" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-72x72.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="76x76" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-76x76.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114x114" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-114x114.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="120x120" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-120x120.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-144x144.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="152x152" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-152x152.png" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="180x180" href="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/favicons/apple-icon-180x180.png" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Hearst Networks EMEA" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.hearstnetworks.com/homepage" />
<meta property="og:title" content="Homepage | Hearst Networks EMEA" />
<meta property="og:description" content="At Hearst Networks EMEA, our vision is to be famous for sharing stories that matter; unique, trusted, entertaining, and everywhere." />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://hearstnetworkscorp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/social_card/public/2024-09/Hearst_1920x1080px.jpg?VersionId=UkRvwERm.3YqHX5zz.iI512sEkredjqf&amp;itok=RGr6hbzo" />
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="At Hearst Networks EMEA, our vision is to be famous for sharing stories that matter; unique, trusted, entertaining, and everywhere." />
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@hearstnetworksuk" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Homepage" />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://hearstnetworkscorp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/social_card/public/2024-09/Hearst_1920x1080px.jpg?VersionId=UkRvwERm.3YqHX5zz.iI512sEkredjqf&amp;itok=RGr6hbzo" />
<meta name="Generator" content="Drupal 11 (https://www.drupal.org)" />
<meta name="MobileOptimized" content="width" />
<meta name="HandheldFriendly" content="true" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.cookielaw.org/consent/0191e4dc-7f63-72c7-9f06-554a1f4a4234/OtAutoBlock.js" ></script>
<script src="https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js"  type="text/javascript" charset="UTF-8" data-domain-script="0191e4dc-7f63-72c7-9f06-554a1f4a4234" ></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
function OptanonWrapper() { }
</script>
<script defer type="text/javascript" src="https://api.pirsch.io/pirsch-extended.js"
    id="pirschextendedjs"
    data-code="ZlPHezO4ug3JWqPyO48qdkgkGJvLLc0h"></script>
<script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-C0002" async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-YTEEGE7GXN"></script>
<script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-C0002">
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());

  gtag('config', 'G-YTEEGE7GXN');
</script>
<meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge" />

    <title>Hearst Networks EMEA</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_pUkrg7yi1QT2HvBbFSzJc0tsfUKr8SCN7QOhUrNJOQA.css?delta=0&amp;language=en&amp;theme=hearstnetworksemea&amp;include=eJyNy0EOwyAMBMAPEXhSZIIFqNhGtmmU37fqpVJOuexhdzaLuLnC3DOodkmEZlDR9rN1x5DvO0vBcIhiOoSmMLJbvKttI-T1kO2HjEVsTzlB59AQ1JzRT9GXISGkOiTD2Myv0bmGCQr1e26Wiq4JI_6buHiuPLo1LMEuc6SUwTC8O56WfhlJyhr4AR9Acoc" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_SO8aW-XJRPsIZSmqkaWdocKwukAk59Hg3s8zO0uePyU.css?delta=1&amp;language=en&amp;theme=hearstnetworksemea&amp;include=eJyNy0EOwyAMBMAPEXhSZIIFqNhGtmmU37fqpVJOuexhdzaLuLnC3DOodkmEZlDR9rN1x5DvO0vBcIhiOoSmMLJbvKttI-T1kO2HjEVsTzlB59AQ1JzRT9GXISGkOiTD2Myv0bmGCQr1e26Wiq4JI_6buHiuPLo1LMEuc6SUwTC8O56WfhlJyhr4AR9Acoc" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@300;400;600;700&amp;display=swap" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_ixbR3wDDa1tLqYVmiV5QaUthLFLhpVCJD4L1bS_kzeA.css?delta=3&amp;language=en&amp;theme=hearstnetworksemea&amp;include=eJyNy0EOwyAMBMAPEXhSZIIFqNhGtmmU37fqpVJOuexhdzaLuLnC3DOodkmEZlDR9rN1x5DvO0vBcIhiOoSmMLJbvKttI-T1kO2HjEVsTzlB59AQ1JzRT9GXISGkOiTD2Myv0bmGCQr1e26Wiq4JI_6buHiuPLo1LMEuc6SUwTC8O56WfhlJyhr4AR9Acoc" />

    
  </head>
  <body class="layout-no-sidebars page-node-1 path-frontpage node--type-homepage">
    <a href="#main-content" class="visually-hidden-focusable">
      Skip to main content
    </a>
    
      <div class="dialog-off-canvas-main-canvas" data-off-canvas-main-canvas>
    <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000" />
<div id="page-wrapper">
  <div id="page">
  
    <header id="header" class="header" role="banner" aria-label="Site header">

              
        <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg" id="navbar-main">
          <div class="container">
              <section class="region region-header">
          <a href="/" title="Home" rel="home" class="navbar-brand">
              <img src="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/logo.svg" alt="Home" class="img-fluid d-inline-block align-top" />
            
    </a>
    
  </section>


                          <button class="navbar-toggler collapsed" type="button" id="c-button--mobile-nav" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#CollapsingNavbar" aria-controls="CollapsingNavbar" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation"><img class="c-nav-icon" src="/themes/custom/hearstnetworksemea/images/icons/menu-light.svg" alt="Menu"></button>
              <div class="collapse navbar-collapse justify-content-end" id="CollapsingNavbar">
                                  <section class="region region-primary-menu">
    <nav role="navigation" aria-labelledby="block-hearstnetworksemea-main-menu-menu" id="block-hearstnetworksemea-main-menu" class="block block-menu navigation menu--main">
            
  <h2 class="visually-hidden" id="block-hearstnetworksemea-main-menu-menu">Main navigation</h2>
  

        
              <ul class="clearfix nav navbar-nav" data-component-id="bootstrap_barrio:menu_main">
                    <li class="nav-item">
                          <a href="/our-culture" class="nav-link nav-link--our-culture" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/81">Our Culture</a>
              </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                          <a href="/our-purpose" class="nav-link nav-link--our-purpose" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/22">Our Purpose</a>
              </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                          <a href="/brands" class="nav-link nav-link--brands" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/20">Brands</a>
              </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                          <a href="/partnerships" class="nav-link nav-link--partnerships" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/84">Partnerships</a>
              </li>
                <li class="nav-item">
                          <a href="/news" class="nav-link nav-link--news" data-drupal-link-system-path="news">News</a>
              </li>
                <li
sitemap.xml 200 OK
Type URL Set URLs 0 entries Valid XML No
B
TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations
48 days until leaf cert expires — 3 issues to address
REVIEW

Certificate validity

48
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+

Recommended actions

  • Add the preload directive and submit to hstspreload.org once max-age + includeSubDomains are in place
  • Enable DNSSEC on your domain for DNS spoofing protection
  • Enable OCSP stapling on your TLS server to remove a CA roundtrip and protect user privacy
A+
DNS Records
4 A records, 36 ms lookup
PASS
4 A records, 36 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 4 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 151.101.66.168, 151.101.2.168, 151.101.194.168, 151.101.130.168
Info::
Has 4 IPv6 (AAAA) record(s)
Got: 2a04:4e42:400::680, 2a04:4e42::680, 2a04:4e42:200::680, 2a04:4e42:600::680
Info::
4 nameserver(s) configured
Got: pdns158.ultradns.org, pdns158.ultradns.com, pdns158.ultradns.biz, pdns158.ultradns.net
Info::
1 mail exchanger(s) configured
Info::
CAA records not checked
CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.
Info::
SPF record present in TXT
Info::
DNS resolution time: 36 ms
Got: 36 ms
A151.101.66.168, 151.101.2.168, 151.101.194.168, 151.101.130.168
AAAA2a04:4e42:400::680, 2a04:4e42::680, 2a04:4e42:200::680, 2a04:4e42:600::680
CNAME—
NSpdns158.ultradns.org, pdns158.ultradns.com, pdns158.ultradns.biz, pdns158.ultradns.net
MX
0 history-com.mail.protection.outlook.com
TXT
SPF v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com ip4:204.15.245.41 ip4:204.15.245.46 ip...
google-site-verification=aXJPRviM3Fp_WS1i8G69DbuoyYwN0AJxAzi3JcPQqss
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 36 ms

CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.

Why this matters

Informational: CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) records weren't checked in this scan.

A+
IPv6 Readiness
IPv6 reachable (1 ms)
PASS
IPv6 reachable (1 ms)
Info::
IPv6 is configured and reachable at 2a04:4e42:400::680, 2a04:4e42::680, 2a04:4e42:200::680, 2a04:4e42:600::680
Got: 1 ms connect
IPv6 Ready
AAAA Records 2a04:4e42:400::680, 2a04:4e42::680, 2a04:4e42:200::680, 2a04:4e42:600::680 Connection Reachable (1 ms)
A+
URL Variants
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
PASS
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
Info::
www/non-www redirect configured correctly (preferred: non-www)
Info::
HTTP correctly 301-redirects to HTTPS

www / non-www

302https://www.history.com/
200https://history.com/

Preferred variant: non-www

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://history.com/ → https://www.history.com/

Consistent

A+
Domain Intelligence
history.com — via CSC Corporate Domains, Inc., 31 years, 11 months old
PASS
history.com — via CSC Corporate Domains, Inc., 31 years, 11 months old
Info::
Domain registered until Oct 31, 2026 (6 months remaining)
Info::
DNSSEC is not enabled
DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.
Info::
Registrar: CSC Corporate Domains, Inc.
Warning::
Registrar lock is NOT enabled
The domain can be transferred without an unlock step. Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) in your registrar's control panel to protect against unauthorized or accidental transfers.
Domain expiry

108 days

October 31, 2026

SSL certificate

48 days

Issued by Let's Encrypt

Domain age

31 years, 11 months

Registered November 1, 1994

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

Unknown

2a04:4e42:600::680

Registrar

CSC Corporate Domains, Inc.

Unlocked 4 NS records
Expiry timeline
Today
+1 year
Domain expiry SSL expiry Danger zone (≤30 days)
Recommended actions
  • Enable DNSSEC to protect visitors from DNS spoofing
  • Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) to block unauthorized domain transfers
Registrar CSC Corporate Domains, Inc.
Created November 1, 1994 (31 years, 11 months ago)
Expires October 31, 2026 (6 months)
Last Updated October 27, 2025
Name Servers pdns158.ultradns.biz, pdns158.ultradns.com, pdns158.ultradns.net, pdns158.ultradns.org
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 2a04:4e42:600::680
Data source: rdap (0.1s)

DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.

Why this matters

Without DNSSEC, an attacker who can poison your DNS can hijack your domain — and SSL certs alone don't stop them.

Learn more ▾

DNSSEC adds cryptographic signatures to DNS records, preventing forged responses from poisoning resolver caches. Without it, an attacker who controls the network path can redirect your domain to a malicious server before any HTTPS handshake happens. Most modern registrars (Cloudflare, Google Domains, Route 53) enable it with one toggle.

Source: ICANN / RFC 4033

The domain can be transferred without an unlock step. Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) in your registrar's control panel to protect against unauthorized or accidental transfers.

Why this matters

Without registrar lock, an attacker who phishes your registrar credentials can transfer the domain in minutes — total brand hijack.

Learn more ▾

Registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited, clientDeleteProhibited) requires extra verification before any transfer/update/delete. Every major registrar offers it free. Combined with 2FA on your registrar account, it's the strongest defense against domain hijacking.

Source: ICANN / domain-security best practice

A+
HTTP Probe Timing
Total 41 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
PASS
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
37 ms
TCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
0 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
3 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
41 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
41 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 37 ms TCP Connect 0 ms TLS Handshake 3 ms Server Processing 1 ms Content Transfer 0 ms
A+
CDN & Delivery
Fastly (HIT)
PASS
Fastly (HIT)
Info::
Site is served via Fastly CDN
Got: x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350025-TOJ
Info::
CDN cache status: HIT
CDN Detected: Fastly
Provider Fastly Cache Status HIT Evidence x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350025-TOJ
All checks on this page are automated. Results are estimates - run targeted manual reviews when the score affects a release decision.

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