Competitor Group Inc (CGI), a leader in endurance sports media and events in the US, has landed in Europe. CGI, which owns popular US titles such as Triathlete Magazine, Inside Triathlon, and VeloNews has formed a European joint venture called Competitor Media UK.
Under the umbrella of Competitor Media UK, a new European edition of Triathlete Magazine, Triathlete Europe, will launch this summer in conjunction with the London Triathlon. Initial distribution will be in the UK, Ireland and Netherlands.
The rolling out of Triathlete Europe into the UK, provides UK triathletes with an unprecedented four dedicated magazines to choose from. This year UK publishing houses Future and Rodale have both geared up to launch new titles for the UK multisport community.
Future launched its magazine, Triathlon Plus, in April. Triathlon Plus joined well established and leading UK triathlon title, 220 Triathlon, from Bristol based Origin Publishing, on the newsstand. The third title vying for the attention of UK triathletes is Triathlete’s World, the new publication from Rodale Publishing, the same team behind the success of Runner’s World magazine.
A fourth triathlon magazine may seem excessive! However, according to CGI Publisher John Duke, Triathlete Magazine has always been "in great demand in Europe."
"Shipping costs have always made widespread distribution cost-prohibitive. Thanks to Competitor Group’s joint venture with Competitor Media, European readers can now enjoy the great content of Triathlete magazine, along with rich local content at an affordable price," Duke added.
Jim Peskett will head up Competitor Media UK and brings 20 years of experience and knowledge in specialist sports media, having launched, amongst other titles, The Surfer’s Path, Whitelines Snowboard Magazine and Sidewalk Skateboard Magazine.
"Triathlon has now become one of the ‘must do’ sports," said Peskett. "Triathlete Magazine has been the voice of triathlon worldwide for more than 25 years and is written by the sport’s most talented journalists. The UK market will now have a magazine to reflect the achievements, growth and interest being shown in triathlon today."
Ian Osborne will become Triathlete Europe’s Editor, having worked on cycling and triathlon magazines for the past decade.
Founded in 1983, Triathlete magazine is the world’s largest multisport publication. International versions of the magazine have been published in various languages.
Competitor Group Inc (CGI) itself is headquartered in San Diego, California. It is a force to be reckoned with for the European triathlon industry. A portfolio company of Falconhead Capital, CGI is comprised of the following brands: Competitor Magazine, Triathlete Magazine, Inside Triathlon, VeloNews, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, Muddy Buddy and VeloPress.
CGI owns and operates 26 national events across the US delivering more than 250,000 professional and amateur participants in 2009. CGI’s four magazine titles have a combined monthly circulation of approximately 1 million, and CGI plans to launch an endurance community web presence via competitor.com in Q2/Q3 2009.
www.competitor.comwww.competitor.com
