Turner Broadcasting Acquires Popular Sports Site Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report has amassed an audience of more than 10 million unique visitors, according to the company

Turner Broadcasting has acquired Bleacher Report, one of the web's most popular sports media outlets, the two companies announced on Monday.

According to Bloomberg, Turner paid just shy of $200 million for Bleacher Report, which has raised a reported $40 million in venture funding.

Turner just lost control of the Sports Illustrated website to Time Inc. – another subsidiary of Time Warner – a dip in audience that Bleacher Report can help fill.

Having built a network of "more than 2,000 core contributors" since its founding in 2006, Bleacher Report offers a wide range of sports content on its own site and on those of major newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and USA Today through syndication deals.

“Bleacher Report is a strategic acquisition that further enhances Turner’s portfolio of sports offerings, as well as reflects our continuing commitment to bring fans greater content across all screens throughout the entire year,” David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports for Turner, said in a statement.

Also Read: Bleacher Report Adds YouTube Series on NFL Draft, Football Recruiting (Video)

“We have added another dimension to our portfolio of digital and mobile properties that will enable us to offer our advertising partners integrated opportunities across all screens and demos that will enhance our ability to monetize sports programming throughout the entire year,” Levy added.

Bleacher Report CEO Brian Grey will continue to oversee day-to-day operations out of the company’s San Francisco offices and will report to Lenny Daniels, EVP and COO of Turner Sports. Grey will work closely with Matt Hong, SVP and general manager of operations for Turner, in managing the site and integrating it into its new company.

Several Bleacher Report executives, including founder Dave Finocchio, will stay with the company and add new titles at Turner.

In addition to offering written content, Bleacher Report operates a YouTube channel as part of YouTube’s 100-channel initiative for original programming. 

Turner still manages sites for sports leagues like the NBA and has a sales partnership with Yahoo Sports. 

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