Meredith Corp. sold Sports Illustrated this week for $110 million to Authentic Brands Group (ABG). What makes this deal intriguing is that ABG isn’t really a content expert, in the way that Sports Illustrated is the sovereign sports editor. Instead, ABG kept in place what was the best asset – editorial – and will build out marketing, business development and licensing. For the next two years, at least, Meredith will continue to manage editorial And there is a huge upside to the ABG contribution. Events, conferences, gaming, apparel, stores, TV and video. There’s SI kids” camps and SI-branded game tables for ping pong or foosball. . Why did Meredith sell? SI’s overall print and digital audience for March was off by almost 10%. so selling high seems to make sense. That, and ABG has a vision – Sports Illustrated is more a platform than a magazine. Look no further than the recent Varsity Blues scandal to know that affluent parents across the world are leveraging sports to gain exclusive academic entrance. Your kid’s rec league is now a $15 billion business. With that in mind, the $100 million price tag isn’t just for impression delivery. It’s the business value of a strong brand.
NBC Launches News App
This week NBC News launched NBC News Now, a streaming video news service. Content will be independent of that aired on MSNBC and CNBC. The real difference is that the content is specifically designed for the OTT experience. It will be free and ad supported. It’s also geared for younger, cord cutters with segments like that to the left: Comedians explain health insurance.