In a major shake-up of European Web sports
media, SportsLine USA
is to purchase SportsWeb from Reuters, while forming a new
subsidiary called SportsLine Europe.
The American company,
which already publishes Soccernet,
GolfWeb and the highly popular
cricket site CricInfo,
will own approximately 80 percent of the new company, with
Intel, MediaOne Ventures and Reuters taking minority interests.
SportsWeb, one of Europe’s leading sports sites on the Internet,
will now be integrated into the SportsLine network. The new
SportsLine Europe will open during the summer of this year.
“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, MediaOne 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.”
“An early
supporter and current 7 percent shareholder of SportsLine USA,
we expect them to become equally if not more successful in
the European sports market,” added Tom Cullen, president of MediaOne Ventures.
Intel welcomed the deal by noting that the explosive growth
of the Internet in Europe is being fuelled by the provision
of wide-ranging content such as that coming soon from
SportsLine Europe.
