S.F.-based Quokka Sports President & CEO Alan Ramadan
discussed the company's recent acquisition of Golf.com and
said that there are about 30 million "golf enthusiasts" in
the U.S., making golfers a "high demographic category."
Ramadan, in noting the demo of golf enthusiasts, said, "It's
a very nice marketplace. Worldwide ... there's probably 90
million [golfers], and about a third of them [are] here in
the U.S., [and] half already are wired or online. ... As a
result, the advertisers and sponsors are really fascinated
by this marketplace and the ability to get a one-on-one
connection with these folks." Ramadan, on the company
turning a profit: "We did about $9.5 million in revenue in
[the first quarter of 2000] and that was up ten-fold from
[the same time period] the previous year. I think we were
one of the fastest growing Internet content companies today.
Of that $9.5 million, 85% is made up of ... sponsorships and
advertising. So these are business customers who want to
get access to the eyeballs or to the hearts and minds ... of
the sports enthusiasts that we have. The other 15% is made
up, today at least, of electronic commerce and ...
syndication, where we're selling our content to other
networks. ... [In addition], we're actively pursuing
additional financing as we speak" ("RadioWallStreet.com,
6/12). BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton reports that
NBCOlympics.com, a joint venture between Quokka and NBC
Sports, has inked seven of a "targeted" ten sponsors to low
seven-figure deals. New sponsors: GM, Ameritrade, GE and
adidas, who join A-B, Visa and IBM (BRANDWEEK, 6/12).
