ESPN, subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and The Hearst Corporation has launched a new sports social network called ESPNRise.com.  The demographic of ESPNRise.com is 14-18 year olds that play high school sports.   The name ESPNRise comes from ESPN’s acquisition of School Sports Inc.  School Sports published a magazine called RISE.  RISE is now called ESPN Rise and has a website called RISEmag.com.

ESPNRise will have features such as regional rankings, profiles, videos, podcasts, photo upload, blogs, etc.  ESPNRise’s competitors include TAKKLE and YourSports.com.  

Related Links:
1. ESPNRise
2. paidContent

Wasserman Media Group is rumored to be in talks with Comcast, ESPN, and FOX about a potential acquisition or investment for Sportnet.  Sportnet started in 2005 and is one of WMG’s subsidiaries.  WMG is one of the largest sports agencies with offices based in Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Carlsbad, and London. 

Sportnet was founded to aggregate websites and advertisers across various sports websites including motocross.com, and ryansheckler.com.  Montgomery & Co. has valuated Sportnet at $50 million.  WMG has also previously invested in Prep Sports Online and TAKKLE, two high school sports networks.

Information Source:
[1] paidContent: Wasserman May Sell Or Get Invetsment For Sportnet Online Sports Network