LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Host Communications, Inc.
announced that it has sold certain of its high school marketing division
assets to its 37%-owned affiliate, iHigh, Inc., the "high school marketing
network". Host Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Bull Run Corporation (Nasdaq: BULL). As a result of this transaction, Host
Communications provides iHigh, Inc. the opportunity to become the marketing
partner for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
and select state associations, in return for a share of the revenues to be
derived from the assets sold.
iHigh, Inc. and Host Communications have collaborated on business
objectives and marketing efforts since July 1999, when iHigh was formed by two
former employees of Host Communications. With the assets changing hands, all
related activities will shift from Host Communications' various affiliate
offices to iHigh's Lexington, KY headquarters, and will be managed on a daily
basis by iHigh's network of field representatives in each state. iHigh also
represents 12 individual states for offline marketing.
"By teaming the assets of iHigh and Host Communications, we have built a
comprehensive marketing vehicle which includes on site presence, as well as
the Internet, to reach the elusive high school marketplace," said Rick Ford,
CEO of iHigh. "By integrating offline and online marketing solutions for
companies, iHigh is able to provide a complete marketing solution for the high
school marketplace."
Through this arrangement, iHigh will contribute to the overall marketing
initiatives of the NFHS and certain high school state associations, as well as
coordinate regional promotions that include the Florida-Georgia High School
Football Border Wars, The Kentucky Sweet Sixteen High School Basketball
Tournament and the BlueCross BlueShield Tennessee High School Football Bowl.
Marc Kidd, President and COO of Host Communications, also recognizes the
immediate synergy created by combining the high school division into iHigh.
"I'm delighted we're now concentrating everything we do in the high school
marketplace through iHigh. Transferring our business to them allows the
market to be better served by combining our efforts into a single platform.
We will also benefit through certain overhead cost savings to be derived from
the sale, while retaining a portion of the revenues to be derived from the
business we developed."
Lexington, Ky.-based Host Communications was named by SportsBusiness
Journal as one of the top five sports marketing companies in the world. Host
Communications, founded in 1972 as Jim Host & Associates, provides multimedia,
promotional and event management services support to universities, high
schools, athletic conferences, associations and corporations. More
information is available at http://www.hostcommunications.com.
SOURCE Bull Run Corporation and Host Communications, Inc.
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http://www.hostcommunications.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/232438.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 232438
CONTACT:
W. James Host, CEO of Host Communications,
Inc., 859-226-4202
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