Time Inc. transfers control of SI.com to Turner Sports

• 7/12, "Time Inc. gives up on sports sites, transfers SI.com to Turner," Business Insider, J. Hansen

"Time Inc. has recognized that it can't compete and is transfering the property (SI.com), according to the WSJ:

For the magazine unit, Time Inc. executives say Sports Illustrated's website isn't popular enough to compete for some big marketers, and they can't afford the rights to the sports video that people increasingly expect online.

"We need scale," said Mark Ford, president of the Time Inc. news and sports group. "The competition is getting bigger, so we needed to move now," he said, citing among other rivals Comcast Corp.'s pending takeover of NBC Universal, which together would own a raft of TV-sports rights.

This deal also gives Time Inc. a sure profit stream at an uncertain time for print advertising. People familiar with the matter say as part of the deal, Turner agreed to guarantee $15 million to $20 million of annual net income to Time Inc. Mr. Ford said he also will look to collaborate within Time Warner

for other brands he oversees, including Time and Fortune, as Mr. Bewkes pushes Time Inc. to further expand beyond print."...via Huffington Post, SBD

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