Time Inc. Acquires Golf.Com


January 23, 2006. Time Inc. has acquired ownership of the website GOLF.com and the company that operates it, SirenServ, Inc., it was announced today by John Squires, co-chief operating officer of Time Inc.

With an average of 1.3 million unique visitors monthly, GOLF.com gives Time Inc. and its existing portfolio of GOLF MAGAZINE, GOLFONLINE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, SI Golf Plus and SI.com's Golf Plus the widest print and online reach in golf, a sport which counts more than 100 million enthusiasts worldwide.

"This acquisition not only gives Time Inc. the best URL in golf, but also an unprecedented offering of the most powerful and trusted brands in the sport," said Squires. "The combination of GOLF.com's popular handicapping feature, the strong service journalism of GOLF MAGAZINE and the news and analysis of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and SI.com's Golf Plus delivers the most complete coverage of the game however fans and players demand it."

GOLF.com will be run by the company's Time4 Media division under GOLF MAGAZINE publisher Chris Wightman. SirenServ's founder and CEO Michael Lazerow, 31, will become general manager of GOLF.com and GOLFONLINE.

Time Inc. acquired the company from a holding company owned by a consortium of owners including its founders, NBC Universal, Inc., The New York Times Company and private investors. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

GOLF.com offers extensive coverage of news and developments from the PGA, LPGA, Champions' and Nationwide tours, including hole-by-hole leaderboard results, as well as extensive content for recreational players. In addition to the free content, there is a fee-based membership program that allows eligible golfers to establish and maintain a USGA Handicap Index and track playing performances.

GOLFONLINE, from the editors of GOLF MAGAZINE, combines the title's strong service journalism in instruction, equipment, travel and real estate with the interactivity of the internet. The site offers multiple branded features including Private Lessons tailored to golfers' games from the world's leading golfing authorities; ClubTest to help them find the right equipment; and Golfcourse.com, the most comprehensive online resource for golf travel, covering more than 20,000 courses worldwide. GOLF MAGAZINE has a monthly circulation of 1.4 million and a readership of 6.15 million. In May, the magazine will present the "St. Joseph Pressure Challenge," a reality golf competition on CBS.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED's SI.com Golf Plus offers users fresh content on a daily basis with web-exclusive stories, vivid photo-galleries and in-depth analysis from SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and SI.com writers. As part of its coverage, SI.com's Golf Plus content includes Golf Plus Rankings, SI.com's weekly top 10 golfers; and Golf Truth and Rumors, SI.com's golf version from the web site's Scorecard Daily section.

Time Inc. is the world's leading magazine publisher, publishing over 150 titles that are read more than 300 million times worldwide on a monthly basis and account for nearly a quarter of the total advertising revenues of U.S. consumer magazines.

Time Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., a leading media and entertainment company, whose businesses include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks and publishing.