• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 26, 2015

Ever since its spinoff by Time Warner last year, Time Inc. has worked steadily to diversify its online offerings through acquisitions and partnerships. The latest purchase is FanSided, a network of over 300 Web sites and online communities centered on sports, entertainment and lifestyle content.

FanSided will be integrated with Sports Illustrated, expanding its local sports coverage and increasing its reach among millennial readers.

Founded in 2009, FanSided includes Web sites and fan communities for local sports teams across the U.S. It draws on the expertise of local contributors to provide a closer look at relevant sports news, rather than national publications or even local newspapers, with the fans' perspective in mind. With over 1,500 editorial contributors, its content areas extend beyond sports to men’s lifestyles and entertainment, reaching 15 million unique visitors per month.  

In addition to the Web sites, FanSided also publishes content through its mobile app and personalized email newsletters. According to the company, mobile now contributes over half of the network’s total traffic.

FanSided founders Adam and Zach Best, who serve as CEO and COO, respectively, and CPO Matt Blake will continue to manage the business as a division of the SI Group.

As noted, this is just the latest in a series of digital acquisitions and new launches by Time Inc. In March, it launched Mimi, a new site that aggregates fashion-related content from social media and the Web, including Time Inc.’s fashion and beauty brands.

In January, Time Inc. launched The Snug, a Web site targeting millennials with do-it-yourself, crafting and décor content aggregated from Time Inc. publications, as well as dozens of partners, with an eye to distribution across social platforms.

And in December, the publisher announced a strategic partnership with technology firm IFTTT (which stands for “if this then that”) with the goal of boosting cross-channel distribution of its digital content.