SportsLine USA hasn't "convinced" some analysts it can
"earn a place as the go-to sports site on the Internet"
because its "success has largely been in lock-step with the
exposure it gets" from partner CBS, according to Carrick
Mollenkamp of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. SportsLine USA saw
first-quarter revenue "soar" to $11.1M, up 63% from a year
ago, largely due to exposure provided by CBS during the NCAA
men's and women's basketball championships. But the "key
question ... is whether SportsLine can build its brand
enough to overcome the seasonality of CBS's sports
schedule," even though it may have to "hitch its wagon even
more tightly to CBS and take better advantage of the
promotional opportunities" provided in the partnership. FL-
based investment firm Raymond James analyst Phil Leigh: "It
gets at the crux of the issue on the stock. They really
need to develop their own brand identity." While SportsLine
spokesperson Larry Wahl "declined" to comment on whether the
company would "rely less on CBS," Mollenkamp reports that
CBS and SportsLine execs said that the two are "working more
closely than ever to make sure CBS hustles to promote" the
Web site, as SportsLine marketers "are part of any CBS
Sports sales pitch to advertisers." Wahl notes that CBS is
"very, very important" to SportsLine, but added, "There are
a lot of other things we do" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/16).
