Brand of Interest: Presidio Sports

Presidio Sports is an online sports website based in Santa Barbara, California which covers local sports and those athletes or events with some form of connection to the region.  The site has found success in its goal to be one of the first regional sports websites to effectively replace its printed newspaper counterpart, an achievement rooted in its ability to capitalize on the increasing limitations of printed journalism.  Presidio Sports emerged as a viable alternative to other sources of sports news coverage in the Santa Barbara area by offering what both local newspapers and national media outlets could not.

Unlike local newspaper coverage, Presidio Sports had the ability to offer readers the benefits of real time reporting and free news coverage, two significant advantages local newspapers are unable to offer its readers.  Unlike national media outlets, whether online websites such as ESPN or national newspapers such as the L.A. Time, Presidio Sports brand and operations are deeply rooted in the Santa Barbara community and focused solely on local sports stories and local event coverage from the high school to professional level.

In some cases, national sports stories are featured when there is some connection to the Santa Barbara area, for instance, when a professional sports figure gains national attention and grew up in the area of attended UCSB, Presidio Sports will cover such stories without deviating from the brands focus on local sports coverage.

Founder, John Dvorak, came up with the idea for the website while working in the sports section of the Santa Barbara News Press.  Frustrated with the limitations of printed media and the dwindling readership that was increasingly impacting newspapers both locally and nationally, he took his passion for sports reporting and brought it to the Internet, a transition that was ahead of its time when the site launched but is now the trend followed by almost all printed media publications.   Now century old media brands such as Newsweek have only just recently transitioned their publications to an online only format.

Through local strategic partnerships, the integration of audio-visual content, real-time reporting, strong relationships with local sports programs and the schools where they are based, and the hard work of a small but talented group of local journalists, Presidio Sports is not only a case study for the successful transition to online news reporting, but also exemplifies the increasing need for news publications to successfully monetize their websites as advertising revenue is being redistributed from printed newspapers to other advertising platforms.

Presidio Sports has weathered the first few years since its launch and has found success by embracing the online media platform that was the premise behind the brand since its inception.  Given its growing readership and its ability to offer those benefits afforded to the users of online platforms (live streaming of sporting events, lower overhead, and more creative advertising opportunities), Presidio Sports is well situated to become not only a viable alternative to local and national newspapers in the Santa Barbara area, but the leader in local sports coverage in Southern California.  Don't be surprised to see many other publications follow suit, and be ready for Presidio Sports to one day be the trusted source of sports journalism in your area as well. 

Click here to take a look at the Presidio Sports website.