Vinik's site reportedly will sell advertising and will not have a subscriber pay wall when it launchesGETTY IMAGES
Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik’s "ballooning portfolio" of business interests will now include TheIdentityTB.com, which is meant to "act as a sports and lifestyle hub for all things Tampa Bay," according to Richard Danielson of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The initial launch will include an "emailed newsletter but is expected to grow into a digital network with multi-platform video distribution through streaming appliances like Apple TV and Roku." The full launch, with "short videos and live event coverage, is months away." The site will "sell advertising and will not have a subscriber pay wall." While sports-centric, the site also will include "written and video content on local entertainment and lifestyle topics from around the region." The exact mix of coverage is "still to be determined, but it is expected to go beyond Vinik’s holdings" to include coverage of the Buccaneers and Rays -- and possibly prep sports (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/7). Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties Exec VP/Business Development, Corporate Partnership & Activation Bill Abercrombie said that the site's "first phase will last six months." Abercrombie: "We’re targeting cord cutters. We’re not trying to compete in the cable space. We do think there’s an audience there and a market in the Tampa Bay community." He said that TBEP will "produce original content for The Identity and is also in negotiations with local influencers" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/6).
