SI has struck a partnership with Scout Media Inc. to create a content initiative around college football’s upcoming National Signing Day. “The Race to National Signing Day” will feature a variety of live and on-demand video programming, breaking news, player analysis and other digital reports appearing on both SI.com and Scout.com that will culminate with a live preview show on Feb. 2 and more than 10 hours of live programming on National Signing Day itself Feb. 3. The effort will feature editorial talent from both sites, and also incorporate SI’s college football destination, CampusRush.com. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal is a straightforward one based upon sharing of advertising revenue both sides will generate. SI and Scout briefly discussed such an alliance prior to last year’s National Signing Day before the arrival of current SI Digital GM Patty Hirsch, but did not complete a deal. “This is something we’ve been working on for a while, and we believe the combination of the two of us together makes for a very powerful partnership,” Hirsch said. The National Signing Day pact could also prove to be a forerunner toward a broader, more year-round partnership. “We’re starting simply with this, but the goal is definitely to figure out a longer-term deal,” Hirsch said. Scout.com has spent much of the past year gathering a large trove of footage of many of the expected top recruits, and will feature it throughout the partnership. Scout Senior VP/Content Craig Amazeen: “When somebody commits, we’re going to be able to show an incredible array of footage that really shows what that player can do."
