Yahoo to buy online sports site Citizen Sports

Yahoo Inc. on Wednesday announced that it has agreed to buy Citizen Sports, a U.S. startup company that develops sports-related applications for social networking sites and mobile devices.

The acquisition is expected to boost Yahoo's sports content and is seen as part of the Internet company's ongoing efforts to integrate social networking features into its core businesses.

Founded in 2004 and based in San Francisco, Citizen Sports is billed as the most popular online social sports company.

The company offers a range of applications for Facebook, iPhone and mobile devices running Google's Android operating system, and its products allow users to play fantasy sports, check live scores and read up-to-the minute news on sports including football, hockey, soccer, baseball, racing, rugby, hockey and cricket.

Yahoo, already one of the major online sports destinations, said that its sports content will be integrated into Citizen Sports products following the acquisition.

"Sports has been among the earliest online categories to experience rapid social proliferation, and the combination of Citizen Sports leading products with our world-class sports experience on Yahoo! Sports is a win-win for sports fans globally, " Bryan Lamkin, a Yahoo senior vice president, said in a statement.

Without disclosing financial terms, Yahoo said the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010.

Source: Xinhua