NEW YORK Yahoo! said it has reached an agreement to purchase Rivals.com, a college football and basketball-focused news and community site. While the company did not disclose terms of the deal, sources placed the value of the transaction in the neighborhood of $100 million.
Rivals, which launched in 2001, is one of the more popular online communities catering to fans obsessed with the constant recruiting wars for college sports, while also boasting a robust high school sports section. Besides Rivals.com, the company has relationships with over 100 local fans communities, such as the University of Florida-focused GatorBait.net, which Yahoo! Sports can now leverage for traffic and advertising revenue.
A Yahoo! executive said that going forward, the Rivals brand would remain intact, though it's likely that Yahoo! Sports content will be integrated into the site and its partners, and vice versa. Interestingly, Yahoo!'s board approved the sale on the same day that former CEO Terry Semel, who was criticized in some quarters for being slow on closing acquisitions, stepped down.
According to Scott Moore, Yahoo!'s svp and head of news and information, the deal delivers a built-in audience that Yahoo! Sports, which is continuously battling ESPN.com and other rivals for traffic supremacy on the Web, can build upon. "At the highest level, this is about strengthening our leadership position in online media," he said. "This deal puts in a solid number one position."
In addition, Rivals deepens Yahoo's embrace of social networking and community in a way that works for advertisers. "We love their social networking," he said. "There is no question that these guys know how to do community. And it's very advertiser friendly. College sports fans are a very desirable demographic."
