SI Digital launches newly designed FanNation.com

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent
Time Inc.'s Sports Illustrated Group has relaunched FanNation.com, its new social networking and sports news aggregation platform, it was announced by SI Digital President Jeff Price. FanNation.com delivers up-to-the-minute information for sports fans, fantasy game players and bloggers from across the web through a user-friendly design that is built to enable a rich, personalized community experience.

The site's NewsScout feature, an engine (programmed, in part, by editorial recommendations) that searches the web and floats the best and most relevant stories to the top, enables sports fans to effortlessly track information about players & teams, create blogs, join fan groups and comment on the news. The redesigned site gives the SI Group and its portfolio of digital assets - most significantly SI.com and GOLF.com - a platform to deliver an unmatched user experience in the sports community space and further enhance engagement of its online audience.

Paul Fichtenbaum, Managing Editor of SI.com, and Ken Fuchs, VP/General Manager of FanNation.com, will direct day-to-day operations for the site which is part of the SI Digital Network, overseen by Price. The Sports Illustrated Group is led by SI President Mark Ford and SI Group Editor Terry McDonell. FanNation is supported by technology developed by Sports Technologies Inc. (STI). As part of the pending acquisition of FanNation.com, Time Inc. also acquired a minority interest in a newly-formed subsidiary of STI which owns the remaining assets not sold to SI.

"FanNation.com delivers an unparalleled experience for millions of passionate sports fans who want all of the most relevant and timely news and information about their favorite players and teams from across the web, This platform also lets our loyal readers and new fans engage more meaningfully in the debate and discussion that are such an important element of the Web 2.0 space." said Price.

"The unique combination of the site's innovative technology and architecture and the original, entertaining content users generate will provide fans with a multi-dimensional sports experience that they can't get anywhere else," Fichtenbaum said.

SI is a multimedia sports brand that takes the consumer into the heart and soul of sports. The SI franchise is anchored by Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism which reaches a weekly audience of nearly 21 million adults, and SI.com, the magazine's 24/7 sports news website that delivers more than 150 original stories to its users each week.

Time Inc., a Time Warner company, is one of the largest content companies in the world. With 130 magazines, it is the largest magazine publisher in the U.S. and U.K.

Sports Technologies, Inc., the creator of FanNation.com, was started in April 2006. STI's main focus is creating innovative products and features targeting fantasy sports, sports fans and other online communities.