CBSSPORTS.COM & THE SPORTS ILLUSTRATED GROUP LAUNCH INTEGRATED PRINT AND DIGITAL CONTENT PARTNERSHIP
MaxPreps.com, the leader in online high school sports, to become the official partner of Sports Illustrated's acclaimed "Faces In The Crowd" Franchise
A Collection of Sports Illustrated writers to be syndicated across CBSSports.com
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL & NEW YORK, NY Aug. 31, 2009 - CBS Interactive's CBSSports.com and MaxPreps.com, and The Sports Illustrated Group, including Sports Illustrated and SI.com, today announced a partnership in which both parties will share and distribute various digital and print assets, combining strengths from two of the largest brands on the sports media landscape.
MaxPreps.com, the online high school sports leader, will now be featured in SI.com's High School section front, as well as become the engine for the iconic Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd franchise both in print and digital. Additionally as part of this agreement, select Sports Illustrated writers, including David Feherty and Seth Davis, will be syndicated across CBSSports.com.
CBSSports.com will feature direct links across its site to SI.Com's award-winning writers, including Peter King and Tom Verducci. SI.com will promote live sports video on CBSSports.com such as SEC Live and Fantasy Football Today.
"We're thrilled to be partnering with Sports Illustrated for a deal that truly highlights the strengths of two very powerful brands in sports media," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com. "The increased exposure for MaxPreps.com through its association with Faces in the Crowd, as well as the content sharing with Sports Illustrated writers on CBSSports.com, should truly be a winning combination for both sides."
"The prospect of teaming some of the assets of The Sports Illustrated Group with CBSSports.com is truly exciting," said SI.com Managing Editor, Paul Fichtenbaum. "The combination will provide an outstanding service to users as well as shine a brighter light on our collective efforts."
Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd is one of the most recognized franchises in sports media. Many of the greatest athletes in the last 50 years came to national attention first in this feature. Former Faces include: Lew Alcindor, Earvin Johnson, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Jack Nicklaus, Andy Roddick, Ben Roethlisberger, Emmitt Smith, Bill Walton and Tiger Woods.
High school athletes will have the opportunity to become a member of this elite fraternity through MaxPreps.com, the fastest growing high school sports site on the Internet with a 120% increase in visitors in the past year (comScore MediaMetrix, June 2009).
About CBSSports.comCBSSports.com is a unit of CBS Interactive, the best online content network for information and entertainment. With more than 200 million people visiting its properties each month, CBS Interactive is the 8th largest Web property globally and the 5th largest Web property in the U.S. in terms of unique video viewers. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET, CBS RADIO and Last.fm, span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news and business.
More information about CBS and its businesses is available at www.cbscorporation.com.
About SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
SI is a multimedia sports brand that takes the consumer into the heart and soul of sports. The SI franchise is anchored by Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism which reaches a weekly audience of nearly 21 million adults, and www.SI.com, the magazine's 24/7 sports news website that delivers more than 150 original stories to its users each week. The SI franchise also includes Sports Illustrated Kids (www.sikids.com), a monthly magazine targeted to kids age 8 and up; Golf Magazine and www.Golf.com; www.FanNation.com, a social networking and sports-news aggregation platform;; SI Presents, the magazine's specialty publishing division; as well as SI Books, SI Pictures, SI Productions, SI Digital and SI Events. Founded in 1954, SI is a division of Time Inc., the world's leading magazine publishing company and a subsidiary of Time Warner.