Community sports-writing site Bleacher Report picked up a round of investment capital as it emerged from beta status with over 400,000 unique visitors stopping by each month.
Bleacher Report co-founder Dave Nemetz is a Bay Area sports fan. At this point in time, one can append the words “long-suffering” as the glory days of teams like the 49ers and the Raiders have become something only seen on ESPN Classic.
Despite the suffering of fans on the West Coast, they still follow their teams. Many of them know their beloved lineups far better than the major sports media, which misses plenty of stories with its East Coast bias.
Since teams like these don’t get the coverage, and many of their fans have the time and ability to analyze their teams well, it made sense to Nemetz and his fellow founders to establish an open community for them.
Bleacher Report has a built in audience now, a significant point of difference over starting up a blog and trying to grow the readership beyond a few people. As the site continues to grow, fans arriving with a desire to write and fill in the gaps in analysis for their teams will find elements like video and podcasting in Bleacher Report’s future.
The growth will help legitimize fans opinions as valid analysis, as much as any part time beat writer provides for a team that isn’t scorching the standings with its play. Not everyone roots for the Red Sox (thankfully), so why should the sports news world be dominated by endless reporting of one or two teams?
People can trust a devout sports fan to provide a passionate opinion. Nemetz thinks they can be trusted to speak insightfully for their teams. If they come through for Bleacher Report and keep drawing more readers, the site’s backers could find themselves part of a big deal in social media.
