247sports buys Scout
It looks like one of the original 2 recruiting services is officially finished.
Sam will likely be heading over to 247.
https://www.thestreet.com/story/13975598/1/cbs-247sports-com-will-buy-s…
Scout's most valuable assets are its contracts with the publishers who operate those team sites and its analysts that track recruits. The "vast majority" of Scout's contracts will be assumed by 247, a person familiar with the matter told TheStreet.
Of the few contracts that aren't immediately assigned to 247, most will be renegotiated, according to the source, who declined to be named because 247 and Scout have not yet finalized which contracts will be assigned. Any publisher contracts that remain with Scout's bankruptcy estate could be sold at a later date.
Scout's websites will operate on the debtor's web platform for six months as they get transferred over to 247, the debtor said in court.
February 5th, 2017 at 12:47 PM ^
Sucks for Scout, but if Webb makes the transition, him and Lorenz will make Michigan's 247 site the best recruiting resource in the country.
February 5th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^
I might actually purchase a buy 1 month get 2 free deal and cancel by month 3 if Sam indeed moves over to 247.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:09 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:16 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 3:58 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^
Because it hasn't been updated since September.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:45 PM ^
Scout and 247 are both going to continue as is. If you want to know more about it from 247's CEO and one of CBS' VPs (CBS owns 247), you can read this interview they gave with their plans a few days ago.
WD is full of shit and jumping to conclusions.
February 5th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^
That's not how its going to work. They are planning on keeping both sites running. So there will still be a Scout 300 and a Top 247. Also and Steve will write for 247 while Sam will continue to write for Scout.
February 5th, 2017 at 4:25 PM ^
I wonder how long they will keep that up?
I've been through a number of these in the corporate world, and they almost all end up with one entity being fully digested by the other.
February 6th, 2017 at 10:55 AM ^
My guess is not much longer than a year. While having two sites for a popular team like Michigan might make sense and bring in more profit, having duplicates of things like scouting to fuel dual Scout 300 and Top 247 rankings makes zero sense.
February 5th, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^
Something like this already happened with Scout. Or did they just file for bankruptcy?
February 5th, 2017 at 1:42 PM ^
They filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy back in December with plans to sell off the business at auction. CBS/247 won the auction last week with a winning bid of $9.5M. They were the only bid. The guy that founded Scout tried to ask for more time to put together a bid, but was denied.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:01 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:05 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:11 PM ^
hmmm hmmm????
February 5th, 2017 at 1:21 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:30 PM ^
This is not a one or the other option. It could make sense to operate 2 front end sites for a while and combine back end activity. Thus you keep both revenue streams. A lot of people probably are both Scout and 247 customers. 247 will be able to make that analysis now.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:55 PM ^
Its more similar to running a car dealership that sells both Cadillac and Chevy. Separate brands, people may own both, but they share the same parent company and backend overhead.
February 5th, 2017 at 4:34 PM ^
But it's more like selling Chevy and Chevy.
Is there really an entirely different market segment for Scout than 247?
The College football recruiting sites market with only 4 major competitors does not seem like it has multiple sub-markets in it.
February 6th, 2017 at 10:54 AM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:21 PM ^
"until we figure out who to fire and capture other synergies". There will be only one site pretty soon.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 8:41 PM ^
change. Why have totally separate scouting departments when you can share costs and save money? Also, how are 247Sports subscribers going to feel if Scout breaks stories and keeps the information to that board when 247Sports subscribers pay more?
I can see a couple of purposes in trying to keep both money. First, there are likely some people paying for both sites. Secondly they may not want to open a gap for Jim Heckman to step back in.
Michigan has two strong sites, although from what I have heard, most hate Scout's technology on their site. I'm not sure how this necessarily works in some other locales. My guess is that if they continue with two sites, Scout will be a basic site with 247Sports as a premium if you pay more. Premium members may get Steve and Sam while basic members get only Sam.
Anyone who thinks the current format stays is having delusions of the money tree in Sam's back yard.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:10 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:17 PM ^
He never should have sold his trusty horse. Scout deserves better than the glue factory.
Guess who's walking, Tonto?
RIP, Scout!
February 5th, 2017 at 1:38 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:38 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:20 PM ^
I like 247 much more than Scout, so I'm very OK with this - assuming Sam simply moves over the 247. I'd much hear him talk about 247 ranking because that is the only one I follow.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:22 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^
Consumers initially think they'll get the best of both worlds in one place but usually the parent company consolidates stuff to save money. My ballz say that 247 will think it's over-kill having both of them in one spot. I just started listening to Sam and think he's great. Wondering if Sam might be better off starting his own thing. He's connected enough and does enough to support it.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:31 PM ^
Is that just total speculation. Why did you make that statement?
February 5th, 2017 at 3:19 PM ^
Just speculation based on how buy-outs usually work. Hope I'm wrong. I like Scout and specifically the job Sam does.
February 5th, 2017 at 1:33 PM ^
You're pretty far off here, WD. Scout isn't going anywhere. Read THIS interview with 247's CEO.
“[We’ll] absolutely keep running both of them,” he said. “These are two separate brands, two separate companies if you will within the CBS Sports family. Back in technology, marketing, sales, things of that nature, you know, we will share resources, but our first order of business is to give the Scout customers a great product and to stabilize that business for the employees. Fortunately for us, there isn’t a lot of overlap. We’re really strong in a market that they’re really weak in pretty much across the board. We have no plans of shutting down any site or merging them at this time. That’s something that we will discuss way down the road, once we get the business thriving.”
February 5th, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 2:15 PM ^
Thanks, buddy.
Still doesn't change the fact that WD is wrong and full of shit.
February 5th, 2017 at 8:38 PM ^
February 6th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
What he said is probably eventually correct. Running two buisnesses at the same time that do the same thing makes no damn sense. He probably had to come out and say something like this because you don't want employees looking over their shoulder, thinking they might have their job taken from someone else.
Making a logical conclusion based on evidence doesn't make him "Full of shit." Sam will probably move over. What is the problem with that?
February 5th, 2017 at 1:52 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 1:58 PM ^
their Scout business, along with his sources?
February 5th, 2017 at 2:10 PM ^
(his competiton).
The content in parenthesis is optional.
February 5th, 2017 at 2:40 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 3:26 PM ^
server space, web development and all that but it seems like a perfect opperotunity to start their own company. Their relationships are the entire value of the business which I doubt could be seen as a non compete unless of course they just signed some document recently.
February 6th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^
I would love to see him make themichiganinsider.com site his own. The only reason I even follow Scout is because of Sam.
February 5th, 2017 at 3:24 PM ^
February 5th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^
Same overall market and combined some portions of management and production, but there are two different readership bases, hence the two different papers.