LA JOLLA, CA - January 29, 2002 - With its latest offering, The Active Network is proving an Internet company can take a free, viral Web service and produce a popular subscription-based offering for millions of paying customers. The new service targets the 750,000 sports teams, leagues and organizations accessing free services and Web sites on www.eteamz.com, the leading team sports Web community and a core property of The Active Network.
Launched just six weeks ago, eteamz PLUS has resulted in more than $75,000 in revenue with high year-end projections for the new service. Just one week after its launch, more than 350 teams signed up for the new service.
"We've had initial success doing something that has been very elusive for most Internet companies - turning a free service on the Web into a smart, fee-based subscription offering," explained Dave Alberga, president and chief executive officer, The Active Network. "This is a critical development for our team since it ensures our ability to continue to provide these popular tools to team sports participants and organizers spanning the globe."
Eteamz PLUS is designed to provide sports teams the extras they need to manage their Web sites the way they want. Among the top features, the service offers more disk space to hold photos, files and music; options to remove advertising banners and pop-ups; and the ability to create e-mail lists for team members. Eteamz PLUS users also receive priority status for customer service.
"A service like eteamz PLUS makes a lot of sense and its immediate popularity validates the need for the service," said Gregg Vincent, vice president of Team Sports for The Active Network. "It's so easy to set up and use, it really brings together all members of the team and league. Everything needed to get a team or league up and running can be found through eteamz PLUS."
eteamz PLUS offers monthly and annual pricing packages for teams, leagues, organizations, and even individual sites. The basic service for teams can be accessed for as low as $4 a month. The company will also continue to offer the free eteamz Web site service.
The Active Network acquired Los Angeles-based eteamz.com in December 2000. Prior to this, eteamz.com offered one of the most popular Web communities for team sports but had been unsuccessful at making revenue from the business. As a property under The Active Network, Alberga and his team lowered eteamz operating costs, ramped the service to more than half a million team sites and started work on a high-utility, subscription-based service. For more information about eteamz PLUS, visit www.eteamz.com/plus/
The Active Network
The Active Network, Inc. is a leading provider of technology and marketing solutions for the participatory sports and recreation industry. The company's network of online and offline properties, which includes Active.com (www.active.com), eteamz (www.eteamz.com), Myteam.com (www.myteam.com), RecWare (www.recware.com) and Active Sports Marketing Group, provide registration and data management tools, enterprise software systems, Web site development, advertising and sponsorship opportunities, and commerce and membership benefits. Located in La Jolla, California, The Active Network and its properties generate an estimated 50 million monthly page views, provide registration for more than 20,000 events and leagues worldwide, and deliver offline recreation management solutions to more than 1,000 park and recreation agencies in North America. For more information, visit www.theactivenetwork.com or call 1-888-543-7223.