ARHE Network Launches

It seems like not long ago we got a tip about ARHE Network (pronounced ‘Air’), a site that is a database of information about African-American athletes.  Well last week, on Jackie Robinson Day in fact, ARHE launched.  It is indeed a wealth of information as we previously mentioned, including not only the typical information you would expect sports fanatics to crave like stats, contract information, career timeline, etc.  It also includes videos, commercials, and anything else you can find on the web from any specific athlete.  The sites’ founder Jason Woullard said this of the sites launch 8 years in the making:

“This site is very necessary; it allows the legacy of these great men and women to live forever. This is something the world made. I just happened to be the guy who wanted to pull it together,”

The sites main areas consist of a Blog, News, Highlights, Media, and Timeline.  While Blog and News are self explanatory Highlights may make you think of game or career highlights…it is actually that but is specific to the day, here is a quick clip of what today’s Highlight is for clarification:

The Media section is a collection of categories related to press, art, ads, video games, and more specific to an athlete.  A Sneaker Database is in the works as well and should be featured in this same category.

The Timeline is actually another item that will grow with the site.  Woullard explains “it will be the comprehensive history of African-American’s in sports dating back to around the 1700’s and will be update frequently.”

While the sharing and networking capabilities are few in its current Public Beta phase, Woullard says they plan to incorporate “mobile applications and mobile update messaging on your favorite athlete; Facebook connect; and the ability to allow portions of the site and an athletes profile to function as widgets and become readily sharable.”  Currently registered users are able to favorite specific content and profiles throughout the network.

When asked about his business model it was surprising to learn, in this day in age that he had put thought into one. Woullard plans to incorporate a few different streams of revenue and shared two with us.  One will mirror IMDB and another will incorporate professional services related to the site for athletes and agents.  While the potential for the site does look clear Woullard is still aware of what stage in the game he is in, “This is still the soft launch to test the idea and get feedback on it…we have a lot more that’s coming, it’s still the beginning.”