• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 17, 2013

Van Wagner Communications’ Sports and Entertainment division is joining forces with CineSport, partly owned by Van Wagner, to create and distribute original sports video content to digital publishers that carry online sports news.
 
Under the terms of the deal, Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment will handle advertising sales, while CineSport will produce video content and help publishers monetize it, using proprietary technology that allows publishers to embed and promote video to build scale and engagement.

At launch the new partnership already has over 100 digital publishers lined up for the syndicated service, including newspaper Web sites from the New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
 
The partnership will help CineSport further expand its distribution network, which already includes partners in 20 of the top 30 U.S. media markets. Two CineSports series, #Hoops and Football Inside Out, are featured on Hulu. Meanwhile, Van Wagner’s Sports and Entertainment Division provides rotational signage used by many Major League Baseball and NBA teams, as well as NCAA schools.
 
Van Wagner recently expanded its signage portfolio to include more aerial assets. Last September, the company acquired blimp advertising operator Lightship Group and its fleet of 19 blimps, which feature a unique internal lighting system, including one for DirecTV that features a giant LED video screen.

The acquisition also included American Blimp Corp., which makes the blimps for Lightship. The acquisition augmented Van Wagner's Aerial Media Group, which operates banner-towing airplanes. Van Wagner blimps are currently help promote Universal Pictures’ “Despicable Me 2,” scheduled for release on July 3, including appearances at several major sporting events.