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SportsLine plans IPO

Internet-based sports media company SportsLine USA announces plans to float an initial public offering.

CNET News staff
Internet-based sports media company SportsLine USA today announced plans to float an initial public offering to raise working capital in an increasingly competitive field.

SportsLine, which signed up underwriters Robertson Stephens, Cowen & Co. and Montgomery Securities, has not yet set a pricing range or a number of shares to be offered.

The company provides branded, interactive information and programming and sells merchandise.

SportsLine generates the bulk of its revenues through advertising, with a smaller portion coming from paid subscriptions for some of its premium services.

The company last year reported revenues of $2.4 million, up from $52,000 the previous year, according to its securities filing. And in the quarter ending March 31, it reported revenues of $1.25 million, compared with $96,000 a year ago.

Meanwhile, it posted a net loss of $12.9 million in 1996, compared with a loss of $5.3 million a year earlier. Its most recent quarter resulted in a $4.75-million net loss, more than double the level of a loss of $2.3 million a year ago.

Last month, the company entered into a strategic alliance with CBS. SportsLine agreed to change its main Web site to include the CBS name in exchange for $57 million in advertising and on-air promotions for the next five years. CBS, meanwhile receives a 22 percent equity stake in SportsLine, with an option to increase the holding up to 33 percent.