Time Inc. Acquires GOLF.com
24 January 2006 - 2:19AM
PR Newswire (US)
Gives Time Inc. the Largest Print and Online Reach in Golf NEW
YORK, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Time Inc. has acquired ownership of
the website GOLF.com and the company that operates it, SirenServ,
Inc., it was announced today by John Squires, co-chief operating
officer of Time Inc. With an average of 1.3 million unique visitors
monthly, GOLF.com gives Time Inc. and its existing portfolio of
GOLF MAGAZINE, GOLFONLINE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, SI Golf Plus and
SI.com's Golf Plus the widest print and online reach in golf, a
sport which counts more than 100 million enthusiasts worldwide.
"This acquisition not only gives Time Inc. the best URL in golf,
but also an unprecedented offering of the most powerful and trusted
brands in the sport," said Squires. "The combination of GOLF.com's
popular handicapping feature, the strong service journalism of GOLF
MAGAZINE and the news and analysis of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and
SI.com's Golf Plus delivers the most complete coverage of the game
however fans and players demand it." GOLF.com will be run by the
company's Time4 Media division under GOLF MAGAZINE publisher Chris
Wightman. SirenServ's founder and CEO Michael Lazerow, 31, will
become general manager of GOLF.com and GOLFONLINE. Time Inc.
acquired the company from a holding company owned by a consortium
of owners including its founders, NBC Universal, Inc., The New York
Times Company and private investors. Financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed. GOLF.com offers extensive coverage
of news and developments from the PGA, LPGA, Champions' and
Nationwide tours, including hole-by-hole leaderboard results, as
well as extensive content for recreational players. In addition to
the free content, there is a fee-based membership program that
allows eligible golfers to establish and maintain a USGA Handicap
Index and track playing performances. GOLFONLINE, from the editors
of GOLF MAGAZINE, combines the title's strong service journalism in
instruction, equipment, travel and real estate with the
interactivity of the internet. The site offers multiple branded
features including Private Lessons tailored to golfers' games from
the world's leading golfing authorities; ClubTest to help them find
the right equipment; and Golfcourse.com, the most comprehensive
online resource for golf travel, covering more than 20,000 courses
worldwide. GOLF MAGAZINE has a monthly circulation of 1.4 million
and a readership of 6.15 million. In May, the magazine will present
the "St. Joseph Pressure Challenge," a reality golf competition on
CBS. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED's SI.com Golf Plus offers users fresh
content on a daily basis with web-exclusive stories, vivid
photo-galleries and in-depth analysis from SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and
SI.com writers. As part of its coverage, SI.com's Golf Plus content
includes Golf Plus Rankings, SI.com's weekly top 10 golfers; and
Golf Truth and Rumors, SI.com's golf version from the web site's
Scorecard Daily section. Time Inc. is the world's leading magazine
publisher, publishing over 150 titles that are read more than 300
million times worldwide on a monthly basis and account for nearly a
quarter of the total advertising revenues of U.S. consumer
magazines. Time Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner
Inc., a leading media and entertainment company, whose businesses
include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment,
television networks and publishing. Ali Zelenko, Time Inc.
212.522.1502 Samara Mormar, Time4 Media 212.779.5222 DATASOURCE:
Time Inc. CONTACT: Ali Zelenko, Time Inc., +1-212-522-1502, ;
Samara Mormar, Time4 Media, +1-212-779-5222, Web site:
http://www.aoltw.com/ http://golf.com/ http://si.com/
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