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Bleacher Report

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Bleacher Report
OwnerTurner Broadcasting System (Time Warner)
URLBleacherReport.com
RegistrationOptional

Bleacher Report, also known as B/R, is an American digital sports media network serving a global audience of readers and several hundred niche communities of fans.

B/R's contributors publish upwards of 1000 original daily articles.[2] The network specializes in generating content about trending news topics, with an emphasis on delivering opinion-oriented analysis and multimedia programming via varied content formats and mobile technologies.[3][4][5]

Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System (a subsidiary of Time Warner) in August 2012 for an undisclosed sum reportedly near $200 million.[6] CEO Brian Grey has headed the company since July 2010.[7]

In addition to its headquarters at 153 Kearny Street in San Francisco,[8] B/R also maintains a satellite office in New York City.[9]

History

Founding

Bleacher Report was founded in 2007 by David Finocchio, Alexander Freund, Bryan Goldberg, and David Nemetz—four friends and sports fans who had been high school classmates at Menlo School in Atherton, California.[10][11]

Finocchio, Goldberg, and Nemetz remain at B/R as, respectively, Senior VP of Content and Product, VP of Revenue Strategy and Operations, and VP of Video and Business Development.[12] Freund is no longer with the company.[13]

Funding

B/R announced the completion of a round of Series A funding on the occasion of its public launch in February 2008.[14] The undisclosed sum came from Hillsven Capital, Transcoast Capital, and Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick.

Eight months later, in October 2008, B/R secured $3.5 million in Series B funding from Hillsven, Gordon Crawford, and SoftTech VC.[15] A Series C round in December 2010—this one led by Crosslink Capital—netted an additional $10.5 million.[16][17]

In August 2011, the company announced a $22 million growth round led by Oak Investment Partners, with participation from Crosslink and Hillsven.[18] At the time, Oak general partner Fred Harman—a board member at both the Huffington Post and Demand Media—characterized the investment as a bet on B/R's ability to keep pace with real-time fan interest across all forms of social media.[18]

Executive hires

The company named Brian Grey as its Chief Executive Officer in 2010.[7] Grey came to Bleacher Report from leadership roles at Fox Sports Interactive and Yahoo! Sports, and was hired to oversee the organization's "strategic direction and day-to-day operation."[12]

In the first year of Grey's tenure, B/R filled two more executive-level positions, adding Rich Calacci as Chief Revenue Officer and Drew Atherton as Chief Financial Officer. Calacci joined the company in May 2011; Atherton followed a month later in June.[19][20]

Calacci had previously served as CBS Interactive's Senior VP of Sales. Atherton's most recent experience had been at Demand Media, where he was COO and CFO of the company's registrar services division.[12]

Acquisition

B/R's sale to TBS was announced on August 6, 2012. Under the terms of the deal, Grey, Finocchio, Calacci, and CTO Sam Parnell all assumed official Turner Sports titles while retaining their management responsibilities at B/R.[21]

In a press release announcing the purchase, Turner president of sales, distribution, and sports David Levy cited B/R's rapid growth and loyal user base as key factors in his company's decision to make a deal—and also alluded to the potential value of B/R's multimedia platform as an outlet for Turner's various video resources:

As brand builders and content providers, we were attracted to Bleacher Report’s fast growth to a leading marketplace position and a valued consumer destination. The site will continue to innovate and provide users and sports fans with branded news and information. With our expansive digital rights and resources, Turner will further ensure Bleacher Report’s continued growth and success.[21]

Accolades

Forbes.com singled out Bleacher Report as a company "doing it right" in August 2011.[22] B/R was also named one of Time magazine's "50 Best Websites of 2011,"[23] and was picked by Adweek readers as 2011's "Best Sports Media Brand."[24]


Public relations

Criticism

Early criticism of Bleacher Report stemmed from the network's initial commitment to an open-source publishing model. Such critiques cited the fact that all registered B/R users were permitted to publish articles on the site, arguing that so lax a policy:

  • Resulted in a glut of low-quality content, which made it difficult for the network's readers to find credible coverage of their favorite teams and sports[25]
  • Tarnished the reputation of every writer associated with the B/R brand, which made it difficult for the network's more talented contributors to build loyal audiences[26]
  • Empowered unqualified writers without editorial oversight, which compromised the prestige and credibility of the sportswriting profession[27]

Since abandoning the open-source model in 2010, B/R has been the subject of continued criticism for its exploitation of unpaid contributors, its blanket policy prohibiting writers from breaking their own news, and its high-volume production of low-quality, search-optimized slideshow content.[28][29] These critiques found their strongest voice to date in an October 2012 SF Weekly article, in which tech columnist and entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa was quoted accusing B/R of "dumbing down of the web" with "custom-manufactured garbage."[29] In December 2012, a lampoon article in The Onion played on the same themes.[30]

Response

Bleacher Report attempted to address the concerns of its early critics by making substantive reforms to its editorial and personnel policies in 2010 and 2011. These reforms were aimed chiefly at the mechanics of B/R's Writer Program, with an emphasis on enhancing quality and credibility by:

  • Initiating a formal application process for all prospective writers, wherein only the top 20 percent of candidates earn the right to publish on the site[31][32]
  • Introducing educational resources for new and veteran writers, including the "B/R U" new-media training program[33]
  • Establishing a paid team of Lead Writers to headline the network's sport-specific writer communities[34]

Although some detractors likened such changes to "to spritzing a little room deodorizer after leaving a steaming deposit in the toilet and failing to flush,"[29] Forbes.com cited B/R's internal restructuring when praising the company in August 2011.[22] Apart from a published rebuttal disputing the objectivity and accuracy of the October 2012 SF Weekly article,[35] B/R has not mounted a substantive response to ongoing criticism of its contributor compensation structure, news-breaking policy, or search-optimization strategies.

References

  1. ^ "Bleacherreport.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  2. ^ "Time Warner Said to Buy Bleacher Report for Under $200M". Bloomberg. 2012-08-06. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  3. ^ Kamelia Angelova (2011-07-20). "Bleacher Report CEO: Why Slideshows Are A Good Thing For Readers - SAICast". Business Insider. Retrieved 2012-07-17. {{cite web}}: Text "1,493" ignored (help); Text "5" ignored (help); Text "Jul. 20, 2011, 6:22 PM" ignored (help)
  4. ^ Sports Page Contributors (2011-03-08). "Why BleacherReport.com Is Killing ESPN.com By Leveraging Social Media". Business Insider. Retrieved 2012-07-17. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Friday, January 20th, 2012 (2012-01-20). "Bleacher Report Arrives On iPad With New Team Stream App". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Bercovici, Jeff. "Turner Buys Bleacher Report, Next-Gen Sports Site, for $175M-Plus". Forbes.com.
  7. ^ a b "Bleacher Report Taps Ex-Yahoo/Fox Sports Exec Brian Grey As CEO — paidContent". Paidcontent.org. 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  8. ^ "Contact Us". Bleacherreport.com. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  9. ^ "Bleacher Report : CJR's Guide to Online News Startups". Cjr.org. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  10. ^ "Company Overview". Bleacherreport.com. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  11. ^ "News » News". Menlo School. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  12. ^ a b c "Our Team". Bleacherreport.com. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  13. ^ Alyson Shontell (2011-09-23). "The Youngest, Most Successful Tech Founders". Business Insider. Retrieved 2012-07-17. {{cite web}}: Text "321,768" ignored (help); Text "4" ignored (help); Text "Sep. 23, 2011, 12:30 PM" ignored (help)
  14. ^ February 19, 2008 by Adam Ostrow 7 (2008-02-19). "Bleacher Report Launches Citizen Journalism for Sports; Raises Series A". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 (2008-10-28). "Bleacher Report Hunkers Down With $3.5 Million More". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Monday, December 20th, 2010 (2010-12-20). "Bleacher Report Raises $10.5M; Now Fifth Largest Sports Site". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Business Wire (2010-12-20). "Bleacher Report Completes $10.5 Million Series C Capital Investment". Business Wire. Retrieved 2012-07-17. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ a b Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 (2011-08-24). "As Football Season Kicks Off, Bleacher Report Raises $22 Million More". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Monday, May 23rd, 2011 (2011-05-23). "Bleacher Report Hires New Head of Revenue; Traffic Continues to Surge in May". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Industry Moves: Grantland; Bleacher Report; Payfone; Kenshoo; Kantar; Feed — paidContent". Paidcontent.org. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  21. ^ a b Monday, August 6th, 2012 (2011-05-23). "Update: It's Done. Time Warner Buys Bleacher Report, Price Reportedly $175M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ a b Dvorkin, Lewis. Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/lewisdvorkin/2011/08/22/whos-doing-it-right-bleacher-report-turns-knowing-fans-into-reporters/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ "The 50 Best Websites Of 2011". Time. 2011-08-16.
  24. ^ Beltrone, Gabriel. "Sports Media and Marketing MVPs". Adweek. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  25. ^ Sellathamby, Kevin (2010-07-14). "Bleacher Report Sucks - Battle of California". Battleofcali.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  26. ^ by Bassett on March 1st, 2010 at 11:54 am (2010-03-01). "Why BleacherReport Is Terrible: Part One of a Two Million Part Series". thejetsblog.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Indiana University School of Journalism (2011-02-04). "Archive » Waiting for the day readers march in and demand an end to the dreck » National Sports Journalism Center". Sportsjournalism.org. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  28. ^ by Larry Brown on August 22, 2011 (2011-08-22). "Bleacher Report Merely Window Dressing with New Hires". LarryBrownSports.com. Retrieved 2013-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ a b c Eskenazi, Joe (2012-10-03). "Top 5 Ways Bleacher Report Rules the World!". sfweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  30. ^ "Furious Bleacher Report Editor Will Make Staff Rank Things All Fucking Night If He Has To". theonion.com. 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  31. ^ Koo, Ben (2010-06-17). "Big Changes at Bleacher Report". Benkoo.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  32. ^ Bercovici, Jeff. Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/08/22/to-pay-or-not-to-pay-bleacher-report-finds-a-third-way/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. ^ Ellis, Justin (2012-07-11). "Bleacher Report ups its game by taking contributors to school » Nieman Journalism Lab". Niemanlab.org. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  34. ^ Published August 23, 2011. "Bleacher Report Adds Prominent Bloggers For "Lead Writer Program" - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal | SportsBusiness Daily Global". SportsBusiness Daily. Retrieved 2012-07-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ Kaufman, King (2010-10-05). "The many ways SF Weekly is wrong about Bleacher Report". blog.bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
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