Major internet sports content site bought for $200 million

Media giant Time Warner Inc’s Turner Broadcasting unit has bought the US sports information website the Bleacher Report to boost its Internet sports presence, which includes websites such as NASCAR.com and NCAA.com. The Federal Trade Commission approved the deal last week.

Reuters reports that the terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source close to the matter who was not authorised to speak publicly about it said Time Warner was paying around $200 million for the San Francisco-based company.

A second source familiar with the Bleacher Report said that figure does not include $20 million in cash on the website’s balance sheet that Time Warner is paying back to Bleacher’s investors, which will push the consideration upward. However, Time Warner would not comment.

The sports website will now operate as part of Turner’s Sports division, the company said in a statement, revealing that Bleacher Report publishes more than 1,000 articles a day on its website, which drew 10.1 million total unique visitors in June, according to ComScore.

Bleacher Report was the ninth-most visited sports website in June in the United States in terms of total unique visitors, according to the independent traffic monitor. The top U.S. sports website is Yahoo Sports!, followed by ESPN.

Insiders told Reuters that Bleacher Report was on track to generate $30 million in revenue this year, increasing its revenue 100 percent year-over-year and now close to breaking even. The company had earlier raised $40.5 million in venture funding.

Turner also shares broadcast rights to the NCAA Division I Men’s basketball tournament with CBS Corp and has a deal to manage NCAA.com’s website until 2024.

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