Sportal
Encyclopedia
Sportal was one of the leading companies in the dotcom boom at the end of the 1990s. Founded by Rob Hersov, and backed by BSkyB and Silvio Berlusconi
's Fininvest among others, the company, originally called Pangolin, voraciously acquired rights to host a plethora of official websites of Europe’s leading football clubs (including Real Madrid
, Juventus, AC Milan and Bayern Munich) as well as lower-profile sites across a number of other sports. It also opened offices across Europe
and in South Africa
and Australia
.
In December 1999 it was valued at $
170 million, and in the summer of 2000 it was named as the Sunday Times’s
#1 web company at the same time it ran the website for Euro 2000, attracting record numbers of visitors. Negotiations were taking place with Vivendi Universal
to sell the company for an estimated £
275 million, but those coincided with the internet bubble bursting and the deal collapsed.
The bloated staffing, number of offices and poor deals meant that money was being haemorrhaged and as the world woke up to the reality that the web was not a licence to print money, the cash fast ran out.
By the end of 2000 the company were engaged in an endless round of fund raising (by then there had already been one round of redundancies) and more people were laid off throughout 2001. In August it was bailed out by a £5 million investment from Bernard Arnault
's Europatweb vehicle and the staff – down to 60 from more than 300 - were put on notice.
In November, what remained of the company was sold for £190,000 to 365 Media Group
(then known as ukbetting plc). 365 initially continued Sportal as sports content site then in 2002 relaunched the brand as a multi-sports broadband video portal sportal.com. The website continues in that guise to this day and continues to develop the content available.
The South African and Australian operations continued as independent entities from 2001.
Sportal Australia has established itself as a major player in the digital media space in Australia. In 2005 it established a subsidiary, Sportal New Zealand, and in 2006 it acquired Champion Data, a sports data business specialising in Australian Football.
Sportal also has forums, including having 21000 Australian and Kiwi members, who talk over a variety of sporting things.
In 2008, Sportal also opened its office in Mumbai and their India-centric website, www.sportal.co.in, was launched in November 2010.
related to a sports team. These web portals, called 'Sportals' are sports websites that bring together all information about a professional sports team. These sports portals are created by the fans, for the fans.
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
's Fininvest among others, the company, originally called Pangolin, voraciously acquired rights to host a plethora of official websites of Europe’s leading football clubs (including Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, Juventus, AC Milan and Bayern Munich) as well as lower-profile sites across a number of other sports. It also opened offices across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
In December 1999 it was valued at $
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
170 million, and in the summer of 2000 it was named as the Sunday Times’s
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
#1 web company at the same time it ran the website for Euro 2000, attracting record numbers of visitors. Negotiations were taking place with Vivendi Universal
Vivendi
Vivendi SA is a French international media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the Internet, and video games. It is headquartered in Paris.- History :...
to sell the company for an estimated £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
275 million, but those coincided with the internet bubble bursting and the deal collapsed.
The bloated staffing, number of offices and poor deals meant that money was being haemorrhaged and as the world woke up to the reality that the web was not a licence to print money, the cash fast ran out.
By the end of 2000 the company were engaged in an endless round of fund raising (by then there had already been one round of redundancies) and more people were laid off throughout 2001. In August it was bailed out by a £5 million investment from Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault
Bernard Arnault is a French business magnate who is best known as the chairman and CEO of the French conglomerate LVMH. According to Forbes Magazine, Arnault is the world's 4th and Europe's richest person, with a 2011 net worth of US$41 billion.-Education and business career:Arnault was born...
's Europatweb vehicle and the staff – down to 60 from more than 300 - were put on notice.
In November, what remained of the company was sold for £190,000 to 365 Media Group
365 Media Group
365 Media Group is sports media company employing over 100 people in Leeds, England and Cape Town, South Africa.Between 2001 and October 2006, the company was known as ukbetting plc and grew through the acquisition of a number of businesses including: ukbetting.com Ltd, PA Sporting Life Ltd, the UK...
(then known as ukbetting plc). 365 initially continued Sportal as sports content site then in 2002 relaunched the brand as a multi-sports broadband video portal sportal.com. The website continues in that guise to this day and continues to develop the content available.
The South African and Australian operations continued as independent entities from 2001.
Sportal Australia has established itself as a major player in the digital media space in Australia. In 2005 it established a subsidiary, Sportal New Zealand, and in 2006 it acquired Champion Data, a sports data business specialising in Australian Football.
Sportal also has forums, including having 21000 Australian and Kiwi members, who talk over a variety of sporting things.
In 2008, Sportal also opened its office in Mumbai and their India-centric website, www.sportal.co.in, was launched in November 2010.
Sports Portals
A Sportal is also a reference to a web portalWeb portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
related to a sports team. These web portals, called 'Sportals' are sports websites that bring together all information about a professional sports team. These sports portals are created by the fans, for the fans.
External links
- Sportal.com (UK)
- Sportal.com.au (Australia)
- Sportal.co.nz (New Zealand)
- Sportal.co.in (India)
- (Sportal Australian Forums)
- Sportal.sk (Slovakia)
- Sportal.rs (Serbia)
- Sportal.bg (Bulgaria)
- Sportal.se (Sweden)
- sportal.de (Germany)
- Sportal.it (Italy)
- Sportal.es (Spain)
- Sportal.fr (France)
- Sportalpolska.pl (Poland)
- Sportalkorea (Korea)
- Sportal.tv (Video)
- Sportal.fm (Radio)
- ProSportals.com (Sports websites)