With ESPN.com, FOXsports.com and so many others well-entrenched in the online world, do sports fans really need another Web site?
That’s the big question awaiting Los Angeles-based SportsPage.com, which will launch Sept. 1 with the usual array of sports scores and player statistics.
“To put it quite frankly, sports Web sites aren’t fun it’s like going to a library and getting lots of data as opposed to the experience which should be fun,” said Dan Hoisman, SportsPage.com’s president and chief executive.
To distinguish itself, SportsPage.com will offer a weekly two-minute animated sports review show as well as push technology services that enable users to customize information tailored to their interests.
And it does have some heavyweights.
Financial backers include construction magnate Ronald N. Tutor and real estate/sports mogul Edward Roski Jr. It also will feature a daily column by veteran TV sports commentator Pat O’Brien.
“Why do we need another Web site?” O’Brien responds when asked about the new site. “Well, why would we need another television channel? There’s an explosion of media out there and we think we can be better.”
Some industry observers remain unconvinced.
“This isn’t a nascent market where one or two competitors will run roughshod. This is a mature marketplace that is difficult to penetrate,” said Mark Hardie, an analyst with Forrester Research.
“It isn’t an accident ABC/ESPN and CBS/SportsLine are leading sports sites,” he said. “On its own, a sports site faces a rather formidable task to out-position the majors, who aggressively use their broadcast resources to drive audiences.”
And push technology, which customizes data to individual users on a continuous basis, has lost popularity. “I may want custom news on sports teams, but I can go online anywhere so that makes customizing redundant work,” said Hardie. “Besides, fans appreciate the serendipitous nature of sports content; they see an article on one team, which leads to another.”
Roski, who owns a 5 percent stake in SportsPage, said the competition doesn’t daunt him.
“Sometimes it’s better to be smaller; we can be more reactive to the industry,” Roski said. “Sometimes the big guys can be slower to change or adapt to the changing needs of the industry.”
Hoisman hopes to exploit O’Brien’s name recognition as well as Roski’s ownership of the Los Angeles Kings and the Staples Center arena.
“We have to rely on the promotional value of our partners,” he said. “We think that will go a long way. Then we hope to go for a second round of financing, which will include a comprehensive ad budget in the next few months.”
SportsPage.com also is counting on its management team, which includes Abe Gottesman, senior vice president of operations, who already owns a couple of Web sites, and Bruce Gersh, senior vice president of sales and marketing, who is a former executive with NBC’s business development department.
Hoisman, who previously worked in post production at Post Logic Studios, bought the name SportsPage.com about two years ago for $100. Six months ago, Hoisman approached Tutor about the idea of a site and Tutor then approached Roski. Hoisman and other SportsPage.com employees retain about a 50 percent equity stake.
Even if SportsPage.com is an early hit, keeping the momentum up could be tough. SportsLine.com, which went public two years ago, recently enjoyed a good run resulting from major tie-ins during the recent baseball All-Star Game.
“Their valuation topped $900 million, but now it’s dropped to about $700 million,” said Ray Dirks, director of research for Security Capital Trading. “Basically, there’s lot of hype and publicity out there, but not a lot of sustainability.”
