To use a sports analogy, sports blog network SB Nation has been racking up a lot of singles. The service’s initial funding and launch, single. A deal with the NHL, single. The SportsStream, single. The 20 regional sites, single. Slowly but surely, they’ve turned that output into a lot of runs. And the result is some very impressive traffic growth. Today brings two more hits to keep the runs coming in.
First, SB Nation has acquired a property: SportingNews’ The Sporting Blog. Launched in 2007, The Sporting Blog is meant to be a slightly more fun take on sports news. But as SportingNews, an outfit that is well over 100 years olds, is moving towards a more comprehensive coverage approach, they believed SB Nation would be a great new home for their blog.
While SB Nation has been putting a lot of work into their regional sites, The Sporting Blog content will help maintain their flagship site and inject some fun into it. The Sporting Blog archives will also be maintained a preserved, SB Nation CEO Jim Bankoff says. Terms of the deal were not disclosed — though we hear from sources close to the deal that little, if any, cash exchanged hands.
The second maneuver SB Nation is making today is the launch of a new Tumblr blog. While the point of this may not be immediately apparent since SB Nation is already a network over over 270 blogs, SB Nation is following in the footsteps of companies like Newsweek, who have been able to leverage the unique blogging platform to extend their content.
SB Nation has hired Anthony De Rosa, the Channel Manager at Thomson Reuters, to run this blog. Bankoff notes De Rosa’s fandom, and also his popular Tumblr blog, Soup, as the reason for the move.
