FanSided

FanSided is a fandom-focused sports, lifestyle and entertainment network of more than 300 websites. It was co-founded and launched in 2009 by brothers Zach Best and Adam Best.[1] FanSided is owned by Minute Media and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.[2]

FanSided
Type of site
Entertainment
Available inEnglish
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, United States
OwnerMinute Media
Founder(s)Zach Best, Adam Best
URLfansided.com
CommercialYes
Launched2009 (2009)

About

The FanSided network consists of more than 300 websites, and also has a dedicated mobile app and daily newsletters.[3] As of June 2016, FanSided was the fastest-growing among the top 15 digital sports networks.[2]

History

The idea of FanSided was born in 2007 when brothers Adam and Zach Best co-founded a Kansas City Chiefs blog called Arrowhead Addict. The FanSided network was officially launched in 2009.[3]

Over time, the site expanded to include other professional sports, as well as more topics, including general news, entertainment, lifestyle and fandoms like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Star Wars.[1]

Matt Blake joined the company as a partner and chief product officer in 2011.[4] Both Matt Blake and Zach Best serve as co-CEOs of FanSided.[5]

FanSided was acquired by Time Inc. on May 26, 2015. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.[6] Under Time Inc.’s ownership, founders Adam and Zach Best continued to oversee FanSided as a division of the Sports Illustrated Group.[7]

On March 2, 2017, Adam Best announced his departure from the company.[8]

On January 31, 2018, Time Inc. was acquired by Meredith Corporation, which assumed ownership of all of Time Inc.’s media brands, including FanSided.[9]

In January of 2020, FanSided was sold to Minute Media from Meredith Corporation. [10]

Partnerships

In August 2012, FanSided partnered with Sports Illustrated.[11] The partnership offered Sports Illustrated an opportunity to expand its local sports coverage and reach new customers via FanSided's digital network. As part of the partnership, Sports Illustrated's website featured links to content on FanSided websites. Time Inc. also sold ads on the FanSided websites with revenue shared between the two entities.[1]

The Action Network and FanSided entered into an agreement in October 2019, where The Action Network became the exclusive live odds provider for the FanSided Network, in addition to working together on articles, videos and more.[12]

Projects

Bam Smack Pow

Bam Smack Pow (stylized as Bam! Smack! Pow!) is a website owned by FanSided, discussing comic book-related news and commentary.[13][14]

FanSided Mobile App

FanSided released its IOS app on February 15, 2013 that allowed users to subscribe to any of the outlet's existing sites.[15] The Android version of the app was released on September 13, 2013.[16]

FanSided Fan of the Year

On November 6, 2015, in conjunction with Sports Illustrated, FanSided announced the FanSided Fan of the Year contest. The annual contest is aimed at recognizing the most dedicated sports fans. The five finalists are interviewed and profiled on FanSided.com and receive a one-year subscription to Sports Illustrated. The grand prize winner is featured in Sports Illustrated.[17]

FanSided 250

On November 1, 2016, FanSided announced Fandom 250, a subjective ranking of the best 250 fandoms in the world.[18] The yearly ranking is assembled by a panel of experts who evaluate more than 500 fandoms across multiple categories, including sports, technology, entertainment, lifestyle and more. The fandoms are evaluated based on their size, longevity, economic and media impact, as well as the passion of its fans.[19][20] For its fourth year, FanSided renamed the project the FanSided 250.

FanSided Chrome Extension

FanSided launched a dedicated extension for Google Chrome web browser on March 1, 2017. The extension enables users to create a customizable news feed and receive desktop notifications about new articles posted throughout the FanSided Network.[21]

FanSided FanSiders of the Year

On February 2, 2020, FanSided announced its first annual FanSider of the Year Awards, recognizing the best of the best at FanSided. The inaugural FanSiders of the Year for 2019[22] included:
NFL Expert (Editor) of the Year Brad Weiss .[23]
NCAA Experts (Editors) of the Year Jacob Lane.[24] and Presley Meyer[25]
NFL Contributor (Writer) of the Year Chris Wilson.[26]
NCAA Contributor (Writer) of the Year Zach Bigalke.[27]

Traffic

According to the June 2016 comScore report, the FanSided network averaged more than 10 million unique visitors per month.[28] As of October 2019, FanSided averaged over 21 million unique visitors, according to comScore.[12]

Controversies

Fictional columnist Burt Gertson

On September 29, 2016, Burt Gertson, who was listed as one of FanSided's writers, got into a Twitter argument with former adult film actress Mia Khalifa, who at the time was a regular sports columnist at FanSided. It soon turned out that Gertson was not a real person despite initial claims by FanSided former Editor-in-Chief Jim Cavan. Shortly after, FanSided admitted in a series of tweets that Gertson was not real and his column was meant to be fictional satire.[29] FanSided issued a statement on October 1, 2016 announcing that it had fired Cavan.[30][31]

References
  1. Gounley, Thomas "Fan-focused websites started by Hillcrest grads acquired by publisher of Sports Illustrated", Springfield News-Leader, June 9, 2015.
  2. Lazare, Lewis "How Time Inc.'s FanSided.com network is putting down roots in Chicago", Chicago Business Journal, September 9, 2016.
  3. Steigrad, Alexandra "Time Inc. Buys FanSided, Talks Future Deals", Women's Wear Daily, May 26, 2015.
  4. Marthis, Rose "Nine Questions with Zach and Adam Best", 417 Magazine, October, 2105.
  5. Executive Leadership page, FanSided. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  6. Zacks Equity Research "Time Inc. Expands Media Coverage with FanSided Acquisition", Nasdaq, May 27, 2015.
  7. "Time Inc. acquires FanSided, a sports and entertainment digital network", Sports Illustrated, May 26, 2016.
  8. Bucholtz, Andrew "FanSided CEO/GM/co-founder Adam Best announces his departure", Awful Announcing, March 2, 2017.
  9. "Meredith Corporation Announces Completion Of Time Inc. Acquisition And Reports Fiscal 2018 Second Quarter And First Half Results", Meredith Corporation, January 31, 2018.
  10. "Minute Media Acquires FanSided from Meredith Corporation". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  11. Lopez, Freddy "FanSided: An Oral History of the Next Big Sports Media Network", Sports Techie, December 2, 2013.
  12. FanSided. "FanSided To Partner With The Action Network To Provide Live Odds And Sports Betting Content". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  13. "Bam Smack Pow Podcast". Listen Notes. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  14. https://www.whois.com/whois/bamsmackpow.com
  15. Allen, Patrick "FanSided Releases New iOS App", FanSided, February 15, 2013. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  16. Allen, Patrick "FanSided Releases New Android App", FanSided, September 13, 2013. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  17. Tirado, Luis Jr. "FanSided Fan of the Year contest, get on Sports Illustrated!", FanSided, November 6, 2015. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  18. "Time Inc’s FanSided announces inaugural 'Fandom 250'”, FanSided, November 1, 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  19. Quinn, Dave "Which Star Beat the Kardashians for the Best Celebrity Fanbase of 2017? (Hint: He Rocks!)", People, December 12, 2017.
  20. Burgess, Janita "This Week in Fandom, Volume 66", Organization for Transformative Works, November 14, 2017.
  21. "FanSided launches personalized Chrome extension for sports fans", FanSided, March 3, 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  22. Michael Collins [@MCFansided] (2 February 2020). "Congrats to the 2019 @FanSided FanSiders of the Year from my divisions: NFL expert @BWeiss2330 from @JustBlogBaby NCAA experts @JacobLane_BRL and @meyer_presley from @TheBigRedLouie NFL contributor @cgawilson from @SFNinerNoise NCAA contributor @zbigalke from @SaturdayBlitz" (Tweet) – via Twitter. |date= mismatches calculated date from |number= by two or more days (help)
  23. "Author Profile: Brad Weiss". Just Blog Baby. FanSided. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  24. "Author Profile: Jacob Lane". Big Red Louie. FanSided. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  25. "Author Profile: Presley Meyer". Big Red Louie. FanSided. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  26. "Author Profile: Chris Wilson". Niner Noise. FanSided. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  27. "Author Profile: Zach Bigalke". Saturday Blitz. FanSided. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  28. Ringle, Hayley "Time Inc. sports and entertainment fan website network expands to Scottsdale, hiring", Phoenix Business Journal, August 30, 2016.
  29. Laird, Sam "The strange saga of the ex-porn star and the fake sports columnist", Mashable, September 30, 2016.
  30. Lombardi, Matt "FanSided Announces It’s Fired Its Editor-In-Chief After Mia Khalifa Controversy", The Spun, October 1, 2016.
  31. "To Our Fans:", FanSided, October 1, 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
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