Sporting News Media Hires NFL Host, Analyst and Former NFL Player Ross Tucker as its Lead Pro Football Columnist and Video Analyst

NEW YORK and CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sporting News Media, a PERFORM Group Company, which owns SportingNews.com, the Sporting News (SN) ePlayer and the US and Canadian editions of Goal.com, has today announced the hire of Ross Tucker as its lead pro football columnist and video analyst.

Ross will give fans unique and timely analysis across multiple platforms, including a weekly interactive featured column to be published Tuesday mornings in which fans can become part of the discussion later that afternoon via a Google+ Hangout. He'll also be creating a series of web videos to provide more excitement and color commentary around his weekly column.

Tucker is a 2001 Princeton graduate who played seven years in the National Football League for five teams, including the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns. In 2003, he was named to the USA Today All-Joe team. Tucker played 42 games in the NFL before officially retiring in 2008.  In addition to being a columnist for Sporting News, Tucker is the morning host for SiriusXM NFL Radio and an analyst for "Pro Football Talk" on the NBC Sports Network.

Sporting News Executive Editor, Scott Ridge commented: "If you love football, Ross' insights are a must. What Ross brings to our audience is authenticity and a knowledge base that comes from playing the game at the highest level. He gives you unvarnished opinion on key issues and detailed information that can only come from being inside film studies, locker rooms and huddles. Those qualities and the fact Ross loves to have fun with his audience makes him a great addition to our coverage."

Sporting News Media President, Jeff Price added: "Ross Tucker is joining Sporting News at an exciting time in our evolution.  We're developing new and attention-grabbing content with top professional sports talent, including Tucker and Hall of Fame Quarterback Troy Aikman – and we're now delivering this premium editorial and original video content to tens-of-millions more sports fans across platforms, devices and of course at our destination hub, SportingNews.com." 

About Sporting News Media
Sporting News Media is a PERFORM Group Company and a market leader in the creation, distribution and monetization of premium sports media content for digital audiences in the US and Canada, reaching an audience in excess of 30 million sports fans each month.

Sporting News Media owns and operates SportingNews.com, the US and Canadian editions of Goal.com and the Sporting News (SN) ePlayer, which syndicates professional and collegiate digital video from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA Tours, MLS, WTA, ATP, UFC, SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC conferences across 250 leading national and local publisher sites in North America.

Sporting News Media is ranked number one in digital sports video viewership in the US (comScore Video Metrix, April 2013) and fifth overall in digital sports media in the US (comScore Media Metrix, Multi-Platform, April 2013).

About PERFORM Group PLC
PERFORM is a leader in the commercialization of multimedia sports content across internet-enabled digital platforms. Through production, technical and commercial solutions, PERFORM powers digital channels that distribute content in a number of forms - video, editorial, audio and data – across multiple platforms, to millions of sports fans around the world. PERFORM Group PLC is a FTSE250 listed business on the London Stock Exchange.

www.performgroup.com

SOURCE Sporting News Media