In an attempt to increase its presence in the Web 2.0 space, Time Inc. via its Sports Illustrated Group has acquired Web property FanNation.com.
FanNation has the typical aggregation of major sporting news and a fantasy aspect, but also included with the property is the aggregation tools, community platforms and fantasy-game engines, which Time Inc. bought a minority stake in. Sports Illustrated will get priority on using the tools, but it won't be limited to them alone, as Time has plans to use them in other parts of their businesses.
"This acquisition will enable the SI Group to compete in the Web 2.0 space, deliver an unparalleled experience for the millions of sports fans who visit SI.com each month and attract new fans interested in this engaging platform," said Mark Ford, president-publisher of the SI Group.
The SI.com site had 7.1 million uniques in December, while FanNation.com didn't have enough traffic to be measured by Nielse//NetRatings.
For Sports Illustrated itself, this should be a strong move. Sports fans love to communicate concerning their various passions and the technology, which seems to be the real story here, will give them, and other Time Inc. properties the chance to move into this much quicker than if they had started from scratch. I'm surprised it's taken them this long to do it.
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