Websites: www.sbnation.com and www.athleticsnation.com

Interview With: Tyler Bleszinski

When did you start SB Nation and Athletics Nation?

SB Nation and Athletics Nation kind of have the same birthday as Athletics Nation was the first site in the family. Course AN started in November 2003 and SB Nation didn’t launch other companion sites until December 2004.

What made you start them?

My best friend bugged me to start a blog about the Athletics because he told me that I needed an outlet for my unhealthy A’s obsession. I didn’t realize he had a grandiose plan for creating the strongest sports blogging network on the planet.

Is blogging your full time career yet?

Actually running SB Nation is my full-time job. We have about 140 blogs at this point and I manage the growth of the network, oversee quality control, pay bills and pretty much anything else that needs to be done.

What was your tipping point? What put you on the map?

I think my first interview with Billy Beane put AN on the map. Still, to this day, I don’t know of any other sports blog that gets the kind of access AN gets.

How were you able to organize the community of bloggers with SB Nation?

We worked on recruiting the best bloggers out there and thankfully, the sports blogosphere was still relatively infantile when we began recruiting. We started with baseball since it was the most mature blogging-wise. We just have grown and grown from there. We now reach more than a million unique people a month.

How does the partnership work with the community bloggers and SB Nation?

It’s essentially an advertising split. We also don’t really regulate what they write and give them a ton of freedom.

Is it tough to manage all the bloggers?

Yeah, it can be. But we also have league managers who help me out. We’ve simply grown too big for me to do it by myself.

What type of blogging software do you use?

We use scoop but we’re moving to a new platform in early 2008. I think it’s going to blow people away.

What ad network do you use?

We currently use Federated Media.

How much money do you make off your site(s) monthly?

Me personally? Not very much. This is more for the love of the game right now.

Are we missing anyone that has enough traffic to be in STN’s Top 25 Sports Blogs?

There are quite a few SB Nation blogs that have surpassed AN in terms of traffic. Is that your main reason for listing AN? Regardless, Minor League Ball, Bleed Cubbie Blue, Viva El Birdos, Golden State of Mind, Burnt Orange Nation, Bruins Nation, Blogging the Boys are all up there.

Besides blogs on SB Nation, what is your favorite blog to read? And what is your most hated blog? Why?

Oh man, that’s tough. I love Kotaku because I’m a video game fanatic. But probably Fire Joe Morgan in the sports area. I don’t get to read as many blogs as I’d like because I’m always checking on the SB Nation blogs.

As for most hated, I don’t really have one. The truth is if I don’t like a blog, I simply won’t spend any time or energy reading it.

STN’s Take:

For A’s fans Athletics Nation is a must read. For fans of sports blogs in general good luck trying to read SB Nation’s 140 blogs, but one should definitely try and find your team’s blog on there. Their bloggers are very experienced and most of them have been at for a while. One would have to think that Tyler has entertained some type of purchase from another media organization. Over a million unique visitors a month must get them a ton of attention. The only issue is figuring out how someone who wants to purchase them can incorporate 140 bloggers into their business. I see a smaller upstart sports media business trying to buy them to get into the game.

Lastly, it is great to hear that they will be launching a new platform in 2008 because we really can’t stand the current look of all the blogs on SB Nation.