Time Inc. wants to be a player in youth sports, and it's using the power of its Sports Illustrated brand to make sure that happens.
On Tuesday (July 7), the Wall Street Journal reported that Time Inc. purchased three digital sports companies and will integrate them to create "Sports Illustrated Play," a new digital youth sports platform.
Time acquired SportsSignup and LeagueAthletics.com, which provide youth sports leagues with online management tools so that parents, players and coaches can check team statistics and schedules. Those two companies serve roughly 8 million athletes across 300,000 teams and 8,500 leagues, Time estimated to the Wall Street Journal.
The third purchased company was iScore Sports, which sells apps at $9.99 apiece, providing baseball, soccer, basketball and football fans with digital scorecards and game trackers that follow games' live play-by-play.
The aim is for the three companies to work collaboratively for Sports Illustrated Play, which has already tabbed veteran EA Sports gaming exec Jeff Karp as chief executive of its new platform.
"We'll also talk to consumers, coaches and players to see what new features we want to scale over time," Karp told the Journal.
"This is about creating an opportunity in youth sports," Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp added. "If you're a parent you can understand how strong the passion is for youth sports."
This announcement comes after Time's May purchase of FanSided LLC, a sports blogging community, and subsequent integration of its content into various Sports Illustrated online channels. There has been an increased effort by big media companies to integrate digital sports into their corporate umbrellas, as seen by Comcast purchasing online fantasy sports hub FanDuel Inc. as well.
It isn't known how much Time Inc. spent on its three purchases.
