ESPN Snags Student Sports In Effort To Reach High School Market

ESPN has reached an
agreement to acquire Student Sports, Inc., a premier high
school-focused digital media and event production company based in
Torrance, CA.
Founded by grassroots sports marketing
and media pioneer Andy Bark, the company’s president and CEO, Student
Sports has been a leader in high school sports content for 22 years.
Student Sports assets include StudentSports.com and DyeStat.com, and
more than 160 events such as Elite 11, Area Code Baseball and Nike
Combines/Nike SPARQ Mini Camps, all of which will be integrated into
ESPN’s recently announced high school initiative ESPN RISE. In
conjunction with the acquisition, ESPN will enter into a licensing and
content sharing agreement with SPARQ, the dynamic athletic training and
assessment company based in Portland, Ore.
“It is an exciting time for ESPN RISE,”
said James Brown, senior vice president, ESPN RISE. “Adding Student
Sports to our organization enhances our position in high school sports
significantly. This acquisition is in lock step with our goal to
celebrate high school athletics, utilizing the expertise across all of
our assets – representing a collection of more than 40 years of
experience in this space.”
ESPN RISE is a multimedia brand that
will deliver high school sports content across all of ESPN’s platforms
including programming and events, digital media and publishing.
“Andy Bark has been an innovator and
leader in high school content for more than 20 years,” said John
Kosner, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Digital Media.
“Adding Andy and the Student Sports team will enable ESPNRISE.com to
offer rich coverage to fans and athletes across high school sports — a
great complement to the assets we have in Scouts, Inc., RISEMag.com and
Hoopgurlz.com.”
Bark said: “We have served millions of
students who play sports – as well as their parents, coaches and fans –
for many years, and to continue to do so as a part of ESPN and its
authentic and integrated platforms is a dream come true.”