Ingenious Media-funded user-generated sport content site Sportingo and its sister sites have sold to ticket price comparison site Tixdaq. The price was not disclosed. Started in Israel in early 2007, Sportingo works by hosting “fan-generated articles, opinions and news” – it’s one of the biggest sport UGC sites but has always been up against the pro-media rivals with on-the-ground reporting power.
The site acquired UK soccer blog CaughtOffside in ’07 by hiring author Chris Toy as its editor, before founder Ze’ev Rozov moved the operation to London later that year. Together, the content sites seem an odd fit with Tixdaq, one of the smaller online ticket sellers amid the growth of Ticketmaster, Viagogo and Seatwave. But Sportingo also owns GetSport.tv, a guide to where to watch upcoming sporting events – perhaps the greatest opportunities lay here.
Rozov wrote: “In the past few months, it become clear that with the current business climate our best chance to succeed would be by joining forces with another company.” Sportingo won £1.5 million from Ingenious after Rozov’s move in 2007.