The Arena Group is adding to its portfolio.
On Thursday, the ex-Sports Illustrated operator announced that it has purchased the digital assets to Lindy’s Sports. The sports brand, best known for its annual football preview magazines, joins a collection of properties that includes Men’s Journal, Athlon Sports, Men’s Fitness, and The Spun, all of which currently exist under The Arena Group banner.
“We are thrilled to acquire the digital assets of Lindy’s Sports,” The Arena Group CEO Paul Edmondson said in a statement. “For decades, Lindy’s Sports has delivered trusted, high-quality sports coverage. We believe in the strength of the Lindy’s Sports brand and plan to relaunch the site by the end of October. This transaction reflects our continued strategy of acquiring strong, legacy brands that align with our asset-light entrepreneurial publishing model and offer significant potential for growth.”
Added Lindy’s publisher and founder Lindy Davis, who will continue to produce the print versions of Lindy’s offerings: “I am extremely excited to do this deal with The Arena Group as I know they will do a terrific job of growing the Lindy’s brand in the digital space.”
The purchase appears to follow the same strategy The Arena Group took with its 2022 purchase of Parade Media, the parent company of Athlon. A post from the popular SportsBall LinkedIn account earlier this year detailed how The Arena Group increased Athlon’s revenue from under $1 million per month to $3.2 million by drastically increasing its output to as many as 15,000 monthly articles.
The post noted that Athlon also moved away from salaried writers and currently relies on a revenue-sharing model based on the ad revenue generated by articles. At this point, it’s unclear whether the Lindy’s properties will follow a similar model. But it seems like a safe bet they will be increasing their output under their new ownership.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.