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NASCAR.COM broadens reach to with NASCAR.COM en Español

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nascar_espanol.jpgNASCAR.COM announced today the launch of NASCAR.COM en Español, a tailored Spanish-language web site featuring all the latest news, highlights and action that fans have come to expect. NASCAR.COM en Español will use the same format as NASCAR.COM with a home page, news page, video page and archive section to deliver up-to-the-minute news as well as articles and features about the all the action and excitement of NASCAR.

“The launch of NASCAR.COM en Español signifies the importance and relevance of diversity not only in racing, but in all online sports media,” said Lenny Daniels, Turner Sports senior vice president of production and new media. “We are excited to launch the new site to provide pertinent and entertaining NASCAR coverage and an interactive platform to Spanish-speaking race fans throughout the world. As partners of NASCAR, we will continue to support their mission to reach the ever-expanding NASCAR audience and engaging the international community by developing platforms such as NASCAR.COM en Español.”

Originally posted on September 17, 2007 @ 1:56 pm

ESPN’s Cricinfo.com taps AdMob as mobile ads provider

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admob1.jpgCricinfo.com, the world’s largest cricket content source, has selected mobile advertising network AdMob to monetize its mobile Internet traffic. AdMob will deliver ads globally for Cricinfo, while allowing advertisers to reach users in local markets using sophisticated targeting. This marks one of the first global and local mobile advertising partnerships.

AdMob will serve ads on Cricinfo pages, connecting its advertiser base of hundreds of brands to the Cricinfo demographic. In August, AdMob served over 350 million ads in India alone across its network of over 2,000 mobile Web publishers. AdMob serves both global and market-specific advertisers, offering industry-leading ad targeting.

Cricinfo launched ads with AdMob just in time for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, which is expected to draw millions of fans searching for information via their mobile devices from around the world. Mobile Web users visit Cricinfo for up-to-date match scores, schedules, results and more.

Originally posted on September 12, 2007 @ 8:40 am

Active Network, online sports and recreational community, raises $65 million funding

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The Active Network has raised a whopping $65 million worth of funds led by the Canaan Partners, backed up by ESPN and four other returning investors.

Based in San Diego, Active Network is an online community designed to reach out to active people whose interests include sports and recreational activities, lifestyle, nutrition, and fitness. It has the largest directory of facilities, venues and classes, and other recreation-related listings, and provides weekly and monthly newsletters, online tools, and related content. Being a social network in itself, members are also allowed to create personal profiles, upload videos, and interact with other members.

PEHub reports that, in an informal talk with Norman Dowling, Active’s CFO, the fund raised will be used to acquire more small niche sites instead of big ones that have already made a name for themselves.

Originally posted on September 10, 2007 @ 10:19 pm

ESPN founder launches CollegeFanz.com

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collegefanz.jpgBill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN, announced the launch of CollegeFanz.com, a compelling interactive online experience. The site is rich in sports content and information, providing a rewarding experience for collegiate fans, their friends and alumni. Rasmussen has taken the art of distributing sports information to a new level with a layered business model supported by great content, a high degree of creativity and sophisticated technology. CollegeFanz.com offers every college and university an interactive online presence to highlight a virtually unlimited variety of programs designed specifically for their fans.

College fanz will find countless exclusive features and innovations throughout the site. The Registrar, FanzRoom, FanzFone, Sports Talk, Campus Store and Sports Venues combine with photo and video galleries to create this unique online environment. CollegeFanz.com welcomes each visitor to a virtual campus bustling with seasonal collegiate activities. As the college year progresses, fanz will experience an ever changing campus featuring seasonal sports and activities from countless campuses.

Originally posted on September 8, 2007 @ 11:19 am

Beckham boosts traffic to major league soccer website

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beckham.jpgcomScore announced worldwide traffic figures to mlsnet.com, the official website of the leading U.S. soccer league, attracting over one million unique visitors in July, 2007– up 117 percent on the previous year. This growth can be accounted for by the arrival of former England captain, David Beckham, who was signed by MLS side LA Galaxy at the start of the year. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star is reported to have signed a deal alleged to be worth around $250 million, making him one of the highest paid sports stars of all time.

By the end of 2006, traffic to mlsnet.com had slumped to 230,000 unique visitors, down from 478,000 in July. However when LA Galaxy announced the signing of David Beckham in January, traffic immediately jumped to 808,000 unique visitors– a 252 percent month-on-month increase.

With the unveiling of Beckham as a Galaxy player at the club’s ground on July 13th, and his subsequent playing debut in a friendly match against Chelsea on July 21st, worldwide traffic to the site rocketed to over one million unique visitors.

Originally posted on August 30, 2007 @ 3:32 pm