Yahoo buys US sports media site Rivals.com boost its appeal to sports fans

Yahoo Inc. said on Wednesday it would acquire Rivals.com, a site for fans of college and high school teams, bolstering the Internet media company's place as the top U.S. sports site in audience terms.

Photo: Yahoo buys US sports media site Rivals.com boost its appeal to sports fans

Besides bringing Yahoo a base of 2 million to 2.5 million fans of high school and college football and basketball, the deal also is a measure of Yahoo's commitment to its media business following top-level management changes this week.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rivals.com, which is based in Brentwood, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, has developed an avid base among hardcore sports fans since it was founded in 2001. It operates 105 college team sites and another 48 regional sites for high school fans to track local sports, Rivals Chief Executive Shannon Terry said.

Rivals.com counts more than 180,000 subscribers. Its revenue comes from subscribers, advertising and e-commerce conducted on the site.

It will function as an independent unit in Yahoo Sports, a media site which attracts a monthly audience of 15 million visitors, according to audience measurement firm comScore Inc., Reuters reports.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based Rivals.com generates most of its revenue from subscriptions that cost anywhere from just under $10 (€7.45) per month to just under $100 (€74.48) annually.

The site currently has about 185,000 subscribers, said Rivals.com CEO Shannon Terry, who will be retained by Yahoo. Rivals.com's 85 employees also are expected to be absorbed by Yahoo.

Rivals.com has been steadily growing since its 2001 inception, with its monthly traffic peaking at 2.57 million visitors last September with the kickoff of college football season, according to comScore Media Metrix. Scout.com attracted 2.29 million visitors during the same month, Media Metrix said.

Moore predicted Yahoo's broader reach will add "rocket fuel" to Rivals.com's growth. Yahoo's sports section drew 15.1 million visitors last month to rank second in the category behind ESPN's 17.6 million, according to Media Metrix, the AP reports.

Source: agencies

Prepared by Alexander Timoshik
Pravda.ru