The companies will sell ads across a network of sports sites, hoping to attract advertisers seeking to reach the whole audience of fans. Sites already covered by the deal include the official team sites of the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and San Francisco Giants, as well other sites such as College Hoops Insider. Combined, the sites reach millions of fans,
24/7 supplies online advertising to a network of hundreds of Web sites. Closely held American Cities creates Web sites and marketing programs for sports teams and organizations. "There are a lot of
advertisers looking for this audience," Mark Burchill, senior vice president of business development for 24/7 Media, said of online sports fans. "This is going to be another place to go besides ESPN and CBS SportsLine," he predicted.
The financial terms of the exclusive three-year agreement to co-market their services were not disclosed, although Burchill said the two companies would split up the revenues from ad sales on the sites using an undisclosed formula.
After the announcement, 24/7 shares were $1.13 higher at $27.75 in trading on the Nasdaq stock market Thursday afternoon.
