CBS buys sports site MaxPreps.com
Cory Bergman March 20th, 2007
High school sports is red hot right now, and CBS has acquired one of the leaders in the field. MaxPreps will become part of CBS-owned College Sports Television (CSTV) and its network of websites. “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,” said Brian Bedol, President and CEO of CSTV Networks. MaxPreps.com has over a million high school athletes registered in its database. Press release with more details follows below, and thanks Cameron for the tip!
PRESS RELEASE — CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS and CBS.A) 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.
8 Comments Add your own
1. Carl | March 22nd, 2007 at 11:39 am
CBS should look into acquiring Collegiate Sports of America as well. CSA / Prepstar is used by more than 17,000 coaches at more than 2,000 colleges and universities throuhout the nation. CSA also publishes Prepstar magazine which is considered the #1 high school football recruiting magazine in the country. CSA / Prepstar is the leader in college recruiting with over 40,000 student athletes recruited since 1981. They would make a nice fit with CBS and MaxPreps.
2. Detrick J. Andrews | April 16th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Will “MAX PREPS” Continue Displaying Rivalry games in South Georgia?, Like ” The Winner’s Ville Classic( Valdosta Vs. Lowndes Co; Or Feature Other Rivalrys Like Down the road 84 west to the ” The Rose City Rumble” ( “Thomasville High “Bulldogs” Vs. Thomas County Central “Yellow Jackets”)? Or Other schools.
3. JD Healy | May 9th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
CBS should look to acquire NMAA.TV
They have a great deal of video content from High (and Mid) Schools throughout the state of New Mexico. It is pretty cool and definitely raises the profile of the kids as they perform in their respective activities.
JD Healy
4. Jane Lenz | August 20th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Have you been watching what we are doing here in Minnesota? Did you know since 2002, Crystal Clear Sports is the leading broadband video solutions company based in Minnesota? The Crystal Clear Sports Company is a complete broadband business which integrates robust technology, application services and delivery into exciting entertainment, enabling your school to effectively distribute your content ( games, competitions, debates, plays, musicals, graduation,
etc.) via the proven Crystal Clear Sports broadband network. Crystal Clear Sports Webcast supports distribution to multiple IP-enabled platforms. Crystal Clear Sports Webcast offers a flexible, powerful and complete system, transforming video assets into dynamic, engaging and profitable broadband experiences.
Dave Nelson, Head Football Coach of Minnetonka High School states, “We are extremely excited about our partnership with Crystal Clear Sports.
They have done a great deal to increase the exposure and add to the excitement of high school athletics across the state of Minnesota.
Crystal Clear Sports has a real passion for what they offer.”
Dark Star, AM830 WCCO’s Radio Personality, boasts, “What a thrill it is for me to work with Crystal Clear Sports. Young people, big energy, great content; all the stuff you always wanted to see and never got the chance is now online at http://www.CrystalClearWebcast.com.”
The internet and webcasting is the future of communication. The future is today Crystal Clear Sports has your content. Call Jane Lenz 651-248-7772 to learn MORE!
5. Scott | August 30th, 2007 at 8:45 am
The Crystal Clear Sports team of webcasters are very busy as they prepare to connect fans from around the globe with their favorite Minnesota High School football teams. The 2007 Minnesota High School season officially begins tonight August 30, 2007. The schedule promises to be robust and dynamic as the season progresses.
Are you ready for some football? More than sixty-five (65) regular season games are on the schedule to be webcast. Each game will have a Play-by-Play and personality adding “Color” comments. People from around the world will be able to log-on to http://www.CrystalClearWebcast.com and “get into the game”.
New for the 2007 football season the http://www.CrystalClearWebcast.com games will allow viewers to game hop from game to game all for the price of one PPV ticket. This means you can log-onto http://www.CrystalClearWebcast.com at 6:45pm and watch pre-game in one High School stadium then jump across town to another school for kick-off and catch what could be the play of the night.
Grinning ear to ear with excitement, Randy Luedtke, President of Crystal Clear Sports, tells football fans regularly, “Webcasting Minnesota Football is the best thing that has happened to the internet since its inception; I can be at my son’s Fridley High School game in Spring Lake Park, watch Dave Nelson coach in Minnetonka, be on the sidelines of Eden Prairie all while I check-out Totino-Grace playing in Chisago Lakes.” Luedtke continues to boast, “Its the internet- anything is possible, capabilities today let you get games on your laptop, 42” Big Screen television and cell phone; this is going to be another break through year.”
“The Minnesota High School Football Coaches’ Association (MHSFCA) is proud to recognize Crystal Clear Sports as one of our significant partners,” Ron Stolski told Association leaders,” in a meeting this week. The shared vision of the MHSFCA and Crystal Clear Sports will enrich and enhance the football experience for those near and far.”
Visit http://www.CrystalClearWebcast.com for the latest information. Games being August 30th with pre-game at 6:45pm
For more information:
Randy Luedtke
O. 612. 418-6102
C. 612. 363-8969
6. Carl | November 28th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Got Game? Get Recruited!
csaprepstar.com
Check it out!
7. Kim | March 28th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
CSA / PrepStar Rocks!
8. JD Healy | April 2nd, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Crystal Clear has a nice layout but http://www.NMAA.TV actually has content both live and VOD. They average 4 games per week and plan to have at least two per day before the end of the school year. The picture is bigger and very clear and the site has a great traffic flow. For instance, the State Basketball Championship games lasted 5 days (72 games) and had up to 300,000 viewers in a game and an average well in excess of 100,000/game throughout the tournament. It’s AWESOME!!
Leave a Comment
(Please keep URLs out of the comment body or the spam filter will block you.)Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed