Yahoo! buys US college sports website
Thursday, 21 Jun 2007 11:48
Exciting times at Yahoo!
Yahoo! has announced the acquisition of US college sports website Rivals.com.
Today's deal, the financial details of which have not been disclosed, comes in the same week that Jerry Yang replaced Terry Semel as the internet search engine's chief executive.
Mr Semel's surprise departure arrived at a time when then firm's share of internet traffic is dwindling in the face of competition from Google, while online advertising revenues continue to fall.
The capture of Rivals.com is the firm's attempt to tap into the hugely popular American college sports internet community, with the website network charging 185,000 subscribers $10 (£5) a month to register.
"Yahoo!'s acquisition of Rivals.com exemplifies Yahoo!'s mission to connect people with their passions, communities and the world's knowledge," said the company's senior vice president and head of news Scott Moore.
"Among the more than half billion people who touch the Yahoo! brand every month, we find that sports fans are among the most passionate. We're now best-positioned to serve this important audience in the US."
And the chief executive officer at Rivals.com, which focuses mainly on American football and basketball, Shannon Terry, added: "We are bringing together two of the leading brands in online sports and I look forward to further developing the most vibrant sports community online."