At this point, everyone reading this post is probably aware that Fantasy Sports Ventures has acquired the sports and entertainment blog TheBigLead.com for a sum in the “low seven figures.” According to Clay Walker, though, we should expect to see more over the next year and a half.

“We have established a very aggressive growth plan for FSV over the next 18 months as we strive to become the No. 1 digital sports property in the U.S.,” the executive VP and chief affiliate officer told FSB.com. “We will be involved in many interesting initiatives to drive greater audiences and revenues.”

The acquisition, of course, follows the purchases of other noteworthy online properties, including fantasy sites Baseball HQ, The Huddle and KFFL.

FSV isn’t giving details on the purchase price beyond the aforementioned ballpark. Previous reports, however, attached the same “low seven figures” label to deals with Baseball HQ and Hoopshype.com, so it seems safe to assume all three acquisitions live in the same neighborhood.

The Big Lead brings an audience that has climbed to more the 200,000 unique visitors a month and will continue to be run by Jason McIntyre, the creator with fairly extensive experience in major sports and entertainment media.

TBL became an affiliate of FSV and joined its Fantasy Players Network two years ago. Walker says acquisition talks began about two months ago and finally closed on Tuesday. In the press release, FSV CEO Chris Russo praised what McIntyre has built.

“Jason McIntyre has created one of the most compelling sports news and pop culture sites on the web, and we are very excited to work with him and his team,” Russo said.

At the same time, both sides acknowledge the potential that lies in FSV’s larger pool of resources (re: money and the network).

“We’re excited about expanding the relationship with The Big Lead because we believe that the site will benefit from additional content resources that we can provide,” Walker said Wednesday.

“I look forward to working with FSV to take The Big Lead to a new level.” McIntyre echoed in the release. “With the added resources of FSV, we will bring new elements and features to the site while preserving The Big Lead’s independent spirit.”

Fantasy Sports Ventures now counts more than 600 sites among its network of owned or affiliated properties. April comScore numbers rank it fifth among American sports outlets (15 million uniques for the month).

Tags: fantasy players, fantasy sports, fantasy sports business, fantasy sports industry, fantasy sports ventures, jason mcintyre, the big lead

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