Sporting News Media this summer will release a series of digital video programming initiatives, representing the first major content step for the company since the recent creation of a joint venture between American City Business Journals and Perform Group.
The company will develop “Hot Reads with Troy Aikman” featuring the hall of fame quarterback; “Fantasy Source Waiver Wire Watch”; “’Round the Track with Bob Pockrass” covering NASCAR; “First & 10 with Matt Hayes,” covering college football; and “Hot Corner with Anthony Witrado,” featuring a sabermetrics-influenced look at baseball.
In addition to being available at SportingNews.com, the original video content will be part of Sporting News Media’s syndicated ePlayer, which helped the company lead the entire sports category in comScore’s digital video metrics during April. The ePlayer aggregates game highlights from nearly every major sports property, including the four major U.S. pro leagues, and distributes the content to hundreds of news outlets.
“We’re taking a different approach with this content by putting it next to our highlights and into a much broader distribution platform within ePlayer,” said Juan Delgado, Sporting News Media managing director. “By putting all this material together and taking a big step beyond just the game highlights into analysis and thought leadership, it becomes a much more compelling proposition for both users and advertisers.”
In March, Perform struck a deal with ACBJ to become the majority owner of Sporting News Media, with ACBJ retaining a 35 percent share in a deal that values the new venture at $200 million. ACBJ is the parent company of SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily.
Additionally, Sporting News Media has hired Rich Routman as its new chief revenue officer. Formerly a senior executive with Silver Chalice New Media, XOS Digital and Collective Images, Routman will start July 1 and lead the company’s sales efforts. Before the ACBJ alignment, Perform had been partnered with Silver Chalice on the Season digital advertising network.
