Digital Archives Featuring More Than 50 Years of SI Articles,
Photos and Covers Supported by Video Search Engine, Wikipedia Sports
Encyclopedia, Links to Memorabilia and More!
A First-of-Its-Kind Digital Platform for the History of the Modern
Sports Era
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Today, the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED GROUP will debut SI VAULT
(WWW.SI.COM/VAULT), a free and comprehensive digitized history of the
modern sports era since the birth of SI in 1954. The VAULT combines
the power of SI's voice and editorial integrity with state-of-the-art
technologies and will immediately become a daily destination for
sports fans.
The VAULT breaks new ground. In addition to offering the 150,000
stories, 2,800 covers and 500,000 photographs from the pages of SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED, SI VAULT unlocks sports history (players, teams and
sports) with new search capabilities that link video clips (powered by
Truveo), blogs and user-generated content (Wikipedia sports
encyclopedia) -- as well as collectibles and memorabilia from across
the Web (eBay). This is not a static archive.
"This is an opportunity for SI to weave historical perspective
into the daily conversation of sports," said Paul Fichtenbaum,
Managing Editor, SI.COM. "Passionate sports fans engage in debate,
trivia and comparison of one generation to another so for those fans
SI VAULT will be an invaluable resource of information."
SI editors will curate the site daily to reflect current issues
and topics, refreshing editorial themes within historical context and
perspective as breaking news warrants. By doing so the SI VAULT will
enable sports fans to relive great historic stories and performances
as they relate to the games and moments that matter most now.
"The SI VAULT is a gateway for sports fans in their journey to
enjoy their favorite sports through content from the modern sports era
as well as video. By combining SI archives with cutting-edge
technology, web tools and sport functionality search capability we
have created a destination that will grow through the active
participation of site visitors and through search engine discovery,"
said Jeff Price, President, SI DIGITAL.
DirecTV is the official launch sponsor of the VAULT, which will
attract millions of sports fans to a single destination where they can
relive great memories and fuel their passion for modern-day sports. It
will be the place to settle arguments, answer trivia questions and
weigh in on debates of the day. Features of SI VAULT include:
-- For the first time sports fans will have access to all SI
archives - articles, photos, covers and SI.com;
-- Video search capabilities powered by Truveo;
-- A Wikipedia component where fans can contribute memories,
useful information, etc.;
-- Cover-to-cover interactive views of SI issues 1954-1995
available immediately with remaining issues soon to be
installed;
-- Capability to search by name, sport, year, decade, team and
more;
-- eBay technology will link to popular memorabilia related to
specific search topics;
-- Contextual links between SI.COM and SI.COM/VAULT;
-- Daily updates of SI.COM content and weekly updates of magazine
content.
THE VAULT is also a case study in technological innovation. SI
partnered with Turner Digital for the site's construction which
included converting volumes of print material into a universal digital
template that would foster maximum flexibility in packaging and
presentation. Because of the dynamic nature of the site (SI will
continually update it with SI.com and weekly issue content) Turner
developed a sophisticated content classification system that will
support an infinite amount of site searches.
About The SPORTS ILLUSTRATED GROUP:
The SI Group is the most respected voice in sports journalism and
delivering the best coverage in the business, reaching a weekly
audience of nearly 25 million adults. SI DIGITAL is home to SI.COM,
DANPATRICK.COM, FANNATION.COM, TAKKLE.COM, SIONCAMPUS.COM, SI MOBILE,
mySI and SI ON DEMAND. The SI GOLF GROUP is the number one golf media
company, reaching users daily, weekly and monthly through GOLF
MAGAZINE, SI GOLF PLUS and GOLF.COM. The SI GROUP also includes SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED KIDS (www.sikids.com), SI BOOKS and SI EVENTS. Founded in
1954, the SI Group is a division of Time Inc., the world's leading
magazine company and a subsidiary of Time Warner.
The Sports Illustrated Group
Scott Novak, 212-522-2679
Scott_novak@timeinc.com
or
Bob Broderick, 212-522-7644
robert_broderick@timeinc.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
