Derek Jeter’s Players’ Tribune Agrees on Sale to Minute Media

(Bloomberg) -- Digital media company Minute Media agreed to acquire the Players’ Tribune, Derek Jeter’s website that offers professional athletes a venue for their insights and opinions.

In an essay Thursday on the site, Jeter said the pact gives the Tribune “the ability to reach a wider audience on a global scale. Minute Media will provide our athletes with one of the world’s fastest-growing technology platforms, as well as large-scale distribution in Europe, Asia and South America.”

Jeter said he would remain involved as a founder and as an active board member, and that the Players’ Tribune would continue to operate independently. The former shortstop founded the website in 2014 after he retired from a two-decade career with the New York Yankees.

“Adding the brand’s athlete community, authentic storytelling and premium content offering to our portfolio is an incredible asset,” Minute Media Chief Executive Officer Asaf Peled said in a statement. Terms weren’t disclosed, and the parties expect the deal to close by the end of the year.

Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that the companies were in exclusive talks.

Minute Media, which owns websites including Mental Floss, said in March that it had purchased the sports publication Big Lead from Gannett Co.

Consolidation Wave

The transaction comes amid a wave of consolidation in the growth-strapped media business. Vice Media Inc. agreed to buy online publisher Refinery29 last month, and Vox Media Inc. acquired New York Media, publisher of New York magazine, in September.

Jeter is currently a part-owner and CEO of the Miami Marlins.

The Players’ Tribune aims to give athletes a platform to connect with fans that bypasses traditional media. The site has had viral posts, including by basketball stars Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, but has struggled to draw consistent traffic.

The website raised $40 million in funding in 2017 from investors including IVP, New Enterprise Associates and GV, Alphabet Inc.’s venture capital arm, according to a statement at the time. It has raised about $60 million since its founding.

Minute Media has raised $120 million to date from investors including Battery Ventures, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Dawn Capital, Qumra Capital, Vintage Investment Partners, Gemini Israel Ventures, Hamilton Lane and Maor Investments, according to a spokeswoman.

To contact the reporter on this story: John J. Edwards III in Boston at jedwardsiii1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III, Crayton Harrison

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