Sporting News Media Enhances Mobile Business

Sporting News Media (SNM), a PERFORM Group company and one of the leading digital sports brands in the U.S., has announced several advancements to its mobile business. SNM operates SportingNews.com, the Sporting News (SN) ePlayer, and Goal.com.

SNM’s “Universal Ad Takeover” brings to market an innovative, cross-platform advertising experience.  The Universal Ad Takeover (UAT) is the first successful cross-platform advertising format launched where the full desktop sponsorship treatment can be extended to mobile devices. UAT was developed to respond to advertiser demand for immersive brand experiences on mobile devices, an experience that has existed for years on desktop.

Sporting News Media’s focus on enhancing the multi-platform experience for consumers, leagues and advertisers comes as sports fans are increasingly shifting their sports content consumption to mobile devices.  According to SNM’s 2014 US Know the Fan Report, 42% of fans are now accessing sports content on mobile devices, a rate that has doubled since the first iteration of the study in 2011 (21%).

Microsoft is the first advertiser on board and using the Universal Ad Takeover to continue building brand awareness and consideration for its Surface tablet with passionate, engaged sports fans. Surface ads took over he SportingNews.com Homepage across all devices – desktop, tablet and mobile phones – on December 18.

Also announced, Sporting News Media’s mobile video offering has been expanded to now include:

• Geo-targeted game highlights from major professional U.S. sports leagues: Local sports fans can now access video of the best plays outside of the live broadcast window while on-the-go
• Daily Dish: a short-form, mobile optimized video series that highlights the most shared stories on social media
• SN 90 and Goal 90: a now cross-platform video series that catches viewers up on the three biggest stories of the day in 90 seconds or less from a multi-sport (SportingNews.com) or soccer perspective (Goal.com). In less time than it would take to read each story, a viewer will be caught up on the news of the day

Juan Delgado, CEO, Sporting News Media, commented: “Just as consumers are shifting more attention to mobile devices, we are shifting our business to address their needs – and the needs of our entire ecosystem, including the leagues, advertisers and our publisher partners.”