The largest independent sports media website is no longer independent. Bleacher Report officially announced today that it has been acquired by Turner Broadcasting Systems for a rumored price tag of $180 million dollars, although some reports place the number higher.
A ton of business-minded websites are covering this story but very few sports websites are considering the impact this will have on independent online sports media.
Turner, which is a part of Times Warner company, broadcasts many top sports leagues and sporting events, in addition to managing their websites. Buying Bleacher Report means that they have taken the first step into their online sports coverage. It will be interesting to see what happens to Bleacher Report and independent sports media coverage. Times Warner is a huge corporation with almost unlimited resources.
According to Turner Sports President, David Levy, Bleacher Report’s NCAA college football coverage was a vital reason behind the acquiring the website.
Bleacher Report does not currently have reporters or attend press opportunities at sporting events as ESPN and FoxSports do but it has over 2,000 contributors who submit content from the “fans” point of view. It has been a huge launching point for sports journalists who are just beginning their careers because they offer editors, copyedits, feedback and an internship program. Bleacher Report does not do live on-site coverage allowing journalists to work from anywhere in the world.
Turner Sports will incorporate sports footage and other content Bleacher Report‘s current website content. Turner manages Sports Illustrated‘s website SI.com but says that they will allow each website to maintain their own aims and idenity with the acquisition…