Sports Illustrated Gets Social
Time Inc.'s Sports Illustrated Group has signed an agreement to purchase sports oriented Web site FanNation.com from Sports Technologies, Inc. The site aggregates sports information and allows users to generate content.
"This acquisition will enable the SI GROUP to compete in the Web 2.0 space, deliver an unparalleled experience for the millions of sports fans who visit SI.com each month and attract new fans interested in this engaging platform," said Mark Ford, president and publisher of the SI GROUP.
As part of the deal Time will acquire a minority interest in the remaining assets of Sports Technologies, including its aggregation tools, fantasy-game engines and community platforms. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
STI technologies will be used first by the SI Group but will eventually be incorporated across other major Time Inc. online properties.
"Time Inc.'s investment in STI is perfectly aligned with our digital strategy - to enable consumers to access our content across all digital platforms and engage with our brands through personalized and customized online experiences," said Time Inc. Executive Vice President John Squires. "STI will be invaluable to Time Inc. as we move beyond conventional publishing online into social forms of media, an area of major emphasis for us this year."
FanNation will be run by the Sports Illustrated Group under Ford and will report to Jeff Price, President of SI Digital.
SI.com had close to 7.1 million unique visitors in December, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. SI.com has trailed behind other popular sports sites like ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports, and CBS SportsLine.
"We couldn't have asked for better partners than Sports Illustrated and Time Inc.," said Chris Nicholas, President of STI. "The acquisition of FanNation.com, which STI will continue to support, will enable SI to add another dimension to sports fans' experience on the Web."
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