NBC Sports Acquires App Player Sport Ngin, Diving Into Youth and Amateur Sports Market – Variety

NBC Sports Group has acquired Sport Ngin, which claims to have more than 5 million active users of its app for youth and amateur sports leagues to stay connected on the latest schedules, scores and activities.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. With the acquisition, NBC Sports is rebranding the startup as SportsEngine. Sport Ngin, based in Minneapolis, had raised about $39 million from investors including Causeway Media Partners, El Dorado Ventures, Univision Communications, Piper Jaffray and Rally Ventures.

SportsEngine competitors include Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated Play, which has a community of 10 million monthly users dedicated to youth sports, which also provides an app with scheduling and notification tools, including real-time posts, updates, live game scoring and communication/chat capabilities with other parents and team members.

“We have long recognized the importance and benefits of youth participation in sports and are excited to impact customers through this new technology platform,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports Group, in announcing the deal Monday. “We believe that by combining SportsEngine’s leading platform with our breadth of national and local multiplatform assets that reach millions of sports fans and participants every day, we can create something truly unique and powerful.”

The SportsEngine app lets team managers stay connected via text or email notifications, maintain schedules and player availability for practices, games and events, provide live score updates, and communicate to families with schedules and team updates.

The company was founded in 2008 by Justin Kaufenberg, Carson Kipfer and Greg Blasko. SportsEngine currently has more than 230 employees; according to NBC, Kaufenberg and his executive management team, including his co-founders, will remain in place post-acquisition and will retain equity in the company alongside NBC Sports Group.

“Together, SportsEngine and NBC Sports Group will continue to serve fans by encouraging kids to play sports, and will help improve the participation experience for millions of organizers, coaches, parents and athletes across the country,” Kaufenberg, CEO of SportsEngine, said in a statement.