SPLN, excerpt from this mornings news
SportsLine USA, Inc. Establishes SportsLine Europe Limited to Create Major Force in European Online Sports
Subsidiary formed with funding from Intel, MediaOne Ventures and Reuters to Provide Localized European Sports Coverage
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 1999-- SportsLine Acquires SportsWeb from Reuters
SportsLine USA, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPLN - news) today announced that it has formed a new subsidiary, SportsLine Europe Limited, which will provide content, community and e-commerce to sports enthusiasts throughout Europe. SportsLine USA will own approximately 80% of SportsLine Europe, and Intel Corporation, MediaOne Ventures, a division of MediaOne Group (NYSE:UMG - news), and Reuters (NASDAQ:RTRSY - news) have acquired minority interests in the new entity. Separately, SportsLine Europe has agreed to acquire sportsweb.com, one of Europe's leading sports Web sites, from Reuters. SportsLine Europe will incorporate sportsweb.com into its network of sites. SportsLine Europe will launch during the summer of 1999 as a premier sports media company focused on becoming a dominant force in European online sports.
SportsLine Europe will benefit from the resources and experience of SportsLine USA, the publisher of some of the world's most popular sports Web sites, including CBS SportsLine (http://cbs.sportsline.com), Soccernet (www.soccernet.com), GolfWeb (www.golfweb.com) and CricInfo (www.cricinfo.org) to produce new sports Web sites focused on such popular European sports as soccer, motor sports racing, rugby, cricket and the NFL Europe League. SportsLine Europe will be headquartered in London and anticipates that it will establish local editorial bureaus throughout Europe. SportsLine Europe's strategy is to bring focused coverage of European sports to a local audience as well as to displaced fans around the world.
''We've already set a standard for global sports coverage with Soccernet and CricInfo, which generate a significant worldwide following,'' said Michael Levy, president and CEO of SportsLine USA and chairman of SportsLine Europe. ''Now, with the investment support of Intel, Media One Ventures, and Reuters we have an opportunity to extend the SportsLine brand around the world, by launching a family of European sports Web sites with a local focus.''
|
