CBS Interactive Advanced Media and Learfield's Sidearm Sports to Partner in College Sports
Partnership Will Produce 1,100 College and High School Properties, Stream More than 14,000 Live Events and Deliver Unrivaled Value to Collegiate Athletic Programs and Sponsors
NEW YORK, N.Y.(12 Feb 2018)
CBS Interactive Advanced Media and Learfield’s Sidearm Sports today announced a new partnership to jointly produce and operate more than 1,100 college and high school athletic websites and stream more than 14,000 live events each year.
The partnership will offer unrivaled value to the combined group of clients, including 85% of Power Five schools, by bringing Sidearm Sports’ industry-leading content management and delivery systems, innovative mobile platform and creative design solutions together with CBS Interactive Advanced Media’s cutting-edge video streaming capabilities and video distribution expertise for live events. Expanded live video reach for clients will include CBS Sports Digital’s subscription streaming service, SportsLive, which gives fans unlimited access to thousands of live events and on-demand videos across schools and sports. In addition, the collaboration will open up exciting new monetization opportunities for clients and advertisers across platforms.
Sidearm Sports, the leading provider of collegiate athletic web solutions, will manage the website and mobile platforms while providing the hosting and infrastructure for all of the schools. The Sidearm platform delivers engaging fan experiences focused on driving revenue opportunities, promoting brand awareness and efficiently delivering timely athletic department digital content. Sidearm will now provide the digital platform for nearly 800 NCAA colleges, universities and conferences.
CBS Interactive Advanced Media will manage video infrastructure and distribution as well as end-to-end advertising operations for all of the schools. A division of CBS Sports Digital, CBS Interactive Advanced Media is the category leader in the delivery of integrated multimedia and digital solutions for clients primarily focused on sports and entertainment. The division streams thousands of live events each year.
“Sidearm’s leading platform development and hosting services complement our strengths in video and advertising, and this partnership allows us to better serve the digital needs of an expanded roster of schools,” said Jeff Gerttula, Executive Vice President and General Manager, CBS Sports Digital. “Together, we offer unparalleled expertise in collegiate digital operations, and we look forward to joining forces to provide the highest quality solutions for each of these athletic programs.”
“We’re really excited about this, our respective companies coming together in what we view as a true partnership in every sense of the word,” said Sidearm Sports’ President and CEO Jeff Rubin. “Our schools without question will get the best of both worlds as our services and solutions in these areas will perfectly complement one another. We’re honored to pair with such a highly respected company as CBS Interactive and their many entities and look forward to this partnership kicking off in the coming months.”
About CBS Interactive Advanced Media
CBS Interactive Advanced Media, a division of CBS Sports Digital, is the category leader in the delivery of integrated multimedia and digital solutions for internal clients across CBS verticals and external clients primarily focused on sports and entertainment. The division streams thousands of live events each year through a proprietary video streaming platform.
About CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation, is the world's largest publisher of premium digital content and a perennial top 10 Internet company. CBS Interactive's brands span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news and gaming. Properties include the websites, apps and streaming services of the CBS Television Network such as the CBS All Access subscription service, the 24/7 digital news network CBSN, and CBS Sports’ digital brands as well as digital-first properties in key content verticals, including CNET, TVGuide.com, GameSpot, Last.fm, Metacritic and Chowhound. Follow CBS Interactive on Twitter at twitter.com/cbsi and on Facebook.
About Sidearm Sports
Acquired by collegiate marketer Learfield in June 2014, Sidearm Sports is the nation’s leading digital provider serving more than 1,000 partners. Based in Syracuse, N.Y., SIDEARM Sports was founded in 2000 by Jeff Rubin, who continues to lead the business. Clients applaud Sidearm for its service, reliability and customization, and its easy-to-use interface allows schools to customize their content streams and digital presence. As a leader in collegiate athletic web solutions, Sidearm Sports provides the software and technology that powers websites, mobile applications, live stats, social presence and video streaming for its school and conference partners. Learfield is a diverse media enterprise anchored by its core collegiate business managing multimedia rights and sponsorship initiatives for nearly 130 institutions, conferences and arenas nationwide.