CBS Corporation Acquires MaxPreps, To Be Part of CSTV

CBS Corporation today announced the acquisition of MaxPreps, the leading nationwide high school sports network online. The business will become part of CBS-owned CSTV (College Sports Television). The announcement was made by Brian Bedol, President and CEO of CSTV Networks, Inc.

“MaxPreps is the leader in serving millions of participants who are passionate about high school sports,” Bedol said. “From the professional sports covered by CBS Sports and CBS Sportsline to the collegiate athletics covered by CSTV, this acquisition expands CBS’s portfolio of sports programming and brings a spirited community of athletes and a highly desirable demographic into our reach. The company is a terrific complement to CSTV’s local and regional assets. At the same time, its content will help make CBS’s local television stations and web sites the “go-to” place for local sports content in communities across the country.”

“Sports fans and participants are among the greatest beneficiaries of the advancements in video delivery technology,” Bedol continued. “Athletes, their families and members of their communities can now experience personalized sports programming, following the teams and games they care most about. What’s more, our affiliate partners will benefit from the availability of this great content to feed their broadband and VOD channels.”

Over 7 million students participate in high school athletics each year. MaxPreps’ primary users are males Age 14 to 18. Drawing from a network of over 10,000 coaches from all 50 states, MaxPreps.com provides a single source of information on nearly 80,000 high school football and over 500,000 boys and girls basketball games played each year. The data is combined with over 400,000 photos taken by MaxPreps photographers. Currently, MaxPreps.com has over a million high school athletes registered in its database.

“We are thrilled to join the CBS family,” said Andy Beal, President and CEO of MaxPreps. “Our mission is to celebrate high school sports by documenting the accomplishments of all high school athletes, not just the stars. This new arrangement will open up many new ways to inform and entertain millions of people who are involved in high school sports, while building communities around the high school sports experience.” Beal will continue to manage the Sacramento-based company, reporting to Bedol.