Internet providers eye Europe

The US appetite for sport online shows no sign of diminishing. More than 29 per cent of Americans used their PCs to check sport scores last year, against 10 per cent in 1998. But even as the US market expands, some of the best known providers of Internet sports have eyes set firmly on Europe.

Sportsline, 20 per cent owned by CBS, the US network broadcaster, has announced the formation of Sportsline Europe, a joint venture with Intel, Media One and Reuters.

"We want to replicate the American model, but as six or seven smaller sites in native languages," says Mr Mike Levy, founder and chief executive of CBS Sportsline.

Its task has been made easier by the huge stock market valuations and access to venture capital US Internet companies enjoy. "We have $250 million in cash to spend," says Mr Levy, who will be setting up Sportsline Europe's headquarters in London.

Sportsline's stock price has risen more than 30 per cent since the announcement. The new subsidiary will acquire the Reuters Sportsweb site and aims to use Media One's 3m-strong cable subscriber base in the UK, Belgium and the Czech Republic to deliver streamed audio and video sports.

The rush of US money into European sport has continued with Mr Mark Cuban's company Broadcast.com, acquired by Yahoo! in March this year, announcing its plans to bring video distribution technology to European sports content on the web. Quokka, a San Francisco- based sports events producer, has also opened an office in London and is looking for European sports.

But the US players looking to extend their empire into European sports will need all of their dealmaking savvy to navigate through the jungle of alliances. "The barriers to entry in European sport are significant," says Mr Rob Hersov, founder of London-based sports portal Pangolin. He has raised £25 million of European venture capital to begin his network.

"In each country there are major sports media, newspapers and broadcasters that are delivering content of value right now, and the picture is fragmented by culture, by language and by people's interest," says Mr Hersov. Pangolin has just announced the acquisition of a Danish Sports site www. infosport.dkfor DKr20 million. Infosport is the fourth most popular Danish language site and the top Danish Sports site, but its value is in its association with the Danish Sports Federation (DIF). "They deliver results from 11,000 matches each week - it's a grass roots site not like the top-down American ones," says Mr Hersov.