The Arena Group Announces Four New Sports Properties Will Launch on the Platform

Publisher Will Partner With Digital Properties For Expanded Coverage Of The NFL, College Sports, Professional Wrestling, And MMA

The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: AREN) and its sports media vertical, Sports Illustrated Media Group, today announced that it is partnering with four properties to grow and expand the publisher’s existing coverage across professional football, college sports, wrestling, and mixed martial arts. The four media properties will utilize The Arena Group’s robust set of platform capabilities, joining more than 200 brands benefiting from its technology infrastructure, enterprise-wide advertising opportunities, distribution, artificial intelligence capabilities, and more. Further, Sports Illustrated Media Group will add millions of users and advertising impressions to its footprint as a top-five U.S. sports property.

The new properties joining the Sports Illustrated Media Group are:

• AtoZ Sports is a local sports media network rapidly expanding across the NFL with 3 million unique users per month, according to Google Analytics in February. AtoZ provides NFL fans with real-time updates for their favorite team providing extensive analysis, reaction, live shows, podcasts, video, and more. The site covers the majority of NFL markets with expansion plans to cover all 32 teams this Fall. An example of AtoZSports.com’s in-depth team analysis is its Film Room, which breaks down the All-22 film of NFL Draft prospects and current players.
  
  
  
  
• College Football News is college sports fans’ one-stop shop for news, rankings, schedules, analysis, mock drafts, best bets, and more across college football and basketball. With a mixture of previews, predictions, and commentary, CollegeFootballNews.com engaged over 1.5 million monthly college sports fans according to Google Analytics during this past football season.
  
  
  
  
• MMA News provides in-depth, daily news coverage of professional Mixed Martial Arts. For more than 20 years, MMAnews.com has covered fight nights from every angle, including previews, live results, and post-show analysis, and according to Google Analytics, recorded 1.9 million unique users per month in February.
  
  
  
  
• SE Scoops has been an industry-leading source for news in the world of professional wrestling since 2004 with 1.5 million unique users per month in February per Google Analytics. In addition to the latest around-the-clock news, SEScoops.com conducts exclusive interviews with professional wrestling’s top stars, along with comprehensive coverage of broadcast television shows, pay-per-view spectaculars, and premium live events.

“As The Arena Group continues to expand its reach, we are excited to welcome these specialized sports properties to our platform, equipping them with a variety of publishing resources and monetization tools,” said Chris Pirrone, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Sports Illustrated. “These partners will allow us to further engage diversified sports fans with the in-depth, knowledgeable analysis and opinion they love, while also providing our advertising partners access to premium content and an expanded audience.”

“We're extremely excited to team up with The Arena Group and be a part of the Sports Illustrated Media Group,” said Zach Bingham, CEO of AtoZSports.com. “We believe this move will take us to new heights as a company to build more sports communities embraced by their passionate fans. The Arena Group gives us the ability to share our original content which includes articles about players and the latest breaking news, player film breakdown, social media posts, live broadcasts, and more!”

These websites join the same Arena Group publishing platform that powers Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, The Hockey News, Athlon Sports, The Spun, and Fadeaway World. Sports Illustrated Media Group now ranks #4 across Sports Media in the United States, according to Comscore, with close to 80 million monthly unique visitors.

To inquire about partnering with The Arena Group, contact inquiries@thearenagroup.net or visit thearenagroup.net.

Source: Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform, Desktop 2+ and Total Mobile 13+, January 2023, U.S.

About Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated (SI) is an unparalleled and influential leader recognized for shaping modern culture and uniting athletes, teams and fans worldwide. SI’s award-winning media enterprise brings powerful storytelling to life across platforms ranging from Emmy-winning video to the monthly print magazine with a 68-year heritage. Get in-depth features, probing profiles, and iconic and beloved photography from the best writers and photojournalists in the game at SI.com.

About The Arena Group 

The Arena Group creates robust digital destinations that delight consumers with powerful journalism and news about the things they love – their favorite sports teams, advice on investing, the inside scoop on personal finance, and the latest on lifestyle essentials. With powerful technology, editorial expertise, data management, and marketing savvy, the transformative company enables brands like Sports Illustrated, TheStreet, Parade, and Men's Journal to deliver highly relevant content and experiences that consumers love. To learn more, visit www.thearenagroup.net.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “forecast,” “guidance,” “plan,” “estimate,” “will,” “would,” “project,” “maintain,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “prospect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “believe,” “continue,” “opportunity,” “potential,” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, and include, for example, statements related to the expected effects on the Company’s business from the COVID-19 pandemic. These forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and impact on the demand for the Company products; the ability of the Company to expand its verticals; the Company’s ability to grow its subscribers; the Company’s ability to grow its advertising revenue; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions or low levels of economic growth; the effects of steps that the Company could take to reduce operating costs; the inability of the Company to sustain profitable sales growth; circumstances or developments that may make the Company unable to implement or realize the anticipated benefits, or that may increase the costs, of its current and planned business initiatives; and those factors detailed by The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. in its public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties, or facts materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Except as required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we do not have any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005146/en/