International Bowling Industry

What International Bowling Industry does

International Bowling Industry (IBI) is a private trade publication serving the bowling and family entertainment center (FEC) industry. Operating from Marco Island, Florida with 1-10 employees, the company publishes a print magazine, maintains the bowlingindustry.com website, distributes an email newsletter (via Constant Contact), hosts digital magazine content on Issuu, and runs an annual "What's Hot and Trending" product/resource guide. The publication covers industry news, revenue strategies, customer experience, operations, marketing, and marketplace topics for bowling center and FEC operators, with editorial authored by experienced industry practitioners.

Name

International Bowling Industry

Legal name

International Bowling Industry

Website

https://bowlingindustry.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

International Bowling Industry is a private trade publication serving bowling center and family entertainment center operators through a print magazine, digital website, email newsletter, annual resource guide, and preferred vendor marketplace.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Publication / Industry Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Subscription & Fulfillment Services (Print & Digital) (MPAJAKAB), Digital Newsstand & Aggregation Platforms (Magazine/News Apps, Bundles) (MPAJAKAE)

Keywords

• Trade publication media
• Bowling industry news
• Entertainment center magazine
• Vendor directory listings
• Industry trade advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Marco Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Physical magazine subscriptions for bowling and family entertainment center operators, facility owners, and industry professionals
2. Digital Advertising: Banner advertisements on bowlingindustry.com website and sponsored content placements
3. Newsletter Advertising: Sponsored content and ad placements within the IBI newsletter distributed via Constant Contact
4. Preferred Vendor Program: Featured placement in the Preferred Vendor List marketplace for industry suppliers and equipment manufacturers
5. Annual Guide (What's Hot and Trending): Annual product and resource guide for bowling and FEC operators published via Issuu platform

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

International Bowling Industry publishes a print and digital trade magazine serving bowling center and family entertainment center (FEC) operators, alongside an annual product guide, an email newsletter, and a Preferred Vendor List directory. The publication delivers operator-focused editorial on revenue, customer experience, operations, marketing, and industry news, and sells advertising and subscriptions to industry suppliers and venue operators.

Product overview

International Bowling Industry is a trade publication serving the bowling and family entertainment center (FEC) industry. The company operates primarily as a content publication, offering its International Bowling Industry Magazine as the core product alongside digital reading through Issuu. Related offerings include the annual 'What's Hot and Trending' resource guide, a Preferred Vendor List marketplace, and an email newsletter. The publication covers industry news, revenue strategies, customer experience, operations, and marketing topics through articles and feature content on its website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IBI's What's Hot and Trending: Annual product and resource guide for bowling and FEC operators

Products and services

• International Bowling Industry Magazine Print and digital trade magazine providing news, insights, and resources on industry news, revenue, customer experience, operations, marketing, and marketplace topics for bowling center and family entertainment center operators.
• What's Hot and Trending Annual Guide Annual product and resource guide for bowling and FEC operators, featuring industry trends, product highlights, and supplier resources distributed digitally via Issuu.
• Online Magazine Reader (Issuu) Digital reading platform allowing users to read International Bowling Industry magazine issues online through the Issuu hosting platform.
• Preferred Vendor List Curated online directory of preferred vendors for bowling and family entertainment center operators, providing featured placement and category listings for industry suppliers and equipment manufacturers.
• IBI Newsletter Email newsletter subscription service delivering bowling industry news, operator updates, and sponsored content to subscribers via Constant Contact.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fun Bowling LeaguesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFun Bowling Leagues is an advertiser on the IBI website, appearing as a banner advertisement. The partnership provides marketing exposure for Fun Bowling Leagues' league management services to IBI's operator audience.
• Redemption PlusminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRedemption Plus is featured as an advertiser on the IBI website and mentioned in editorial content as a redemption merchandise partner for bowling centers. IBI provides advertising placement while Redemption Plus gains visibility among center operators.
• Brunswick BowlingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrunswick Bowling appears as an advertiser on the IBI website, promoting products including Spark operations tools, Duckpin Social, and StringPin pinsetters. The partnership provides Brunswick with advertising visibility to IBI's operator readership.
• Shaffer DistributingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerShaffer Distributing is mentioned as an author on IBI covering card system versus coin/token topics, and maintains advertising presence on the site. IBI provides content and advertising platform exposure.
• IAAPAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) is featured as an advertiser on the IBI website, reaching bowling and FEC operators who may serve or collaborate with amusement park attractions.
• Kids Bowl FreeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKids Bowl Free program appears as an advertising partner on the IBI website's Operations category page, promoting the kids bowling program to center operators and parents.
• IssuucoreTechnology or IntegrationIBI publishes its digital magazine content through Issuu's platform (issuu.com/bowlingindustry), enabling online reading of the What's Hot and Trending annual guide and magazine issues. Issuu provides the digital publication infrastructure.
• Constant ContactcoreTechnology or IntegrationIBI utilizes Constant Contact's platform (lp.constantcontactpages.com) for newsletter distribution and subscription management, enabling email marketing to its operator audience.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RePlay Magazine: RePlay Magazine is a long-running trade publication covering the coin-operated amusement, arcade, and family entertainment center industries. It is the closest direct peer to IBI, covering overlapping FEC operators, bowling center owners, and amusement suppliers with a similar mix of editorial content and advertising revenue.
• Funworld Magazine (IAAPA): Funworld is the official publication of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), which is itself an advertiser on IBI. It serves the same broader FEC and amusement industry audience, making it a directly comparable trade publication competing for similar advertising dollars.
• Amusement Today: Amusement Today is a trade newspaper covering the amusement, carnival, and FEC industry. It targets a similar operator and supplier audience as IBI, with overlapping coverage of bowling-adjacent venues and shared advertisers.
• Play Meter: Play Meter is a trade publication covering the coin-operated amusement, arcade, and entertainment industry. It serves a similar operator base that IBI targets in its FEC and arcade-focused content, making it a directly comparable niche trade title.
• Bowlers Journal International: Bowlers Journal International is the oldest bowling publication in the United States and covers competitive and recreational bowling. It overlaps with IBI's bowling-centric content, although it is more skewed toward competitive bowlers than center operators.

Regional players

• Bowling This Month: Bowling This Month is a digital bowling publication and equipment retailer targeting amateur bowlers rather than center operators. It is comparable to IBI in being a niche bowling-focused media property, but its audience is consumer bowlers rather than the operator/supplier segment IBI serves.

Broad incumbents

• Vending Times: Vending Times is a long-established trade publication covering the vending, coffee service, and unattended retail industries. While it does not focus on bowling, it reaches many of the same food-and-beverage and coin-operated equipment vendors that IBI's Preferred Vendor List also serves.

Others

• Foodservice Magazine: Foodservice Magazine is a trade publication for the restaurant and food-service industry. It is comparable to IBI only insofar as IBI's FEC operator content increasingly emphasizes food and beverage strategy (e.g., the 'Designed to Dine' article), making it an adjacent resource for the same readers' F&B decisions.
• Parks & Recreation Magazine (NRPA): Parks & Recreation is the magazine of the National Recreation and Park Association, reaching municipal recreation and parks operators. It is thematically adjacent to IBI because some municipal facilities include bowling or similar entertainment offerings, but it is not a direct competitor for the bowling/FEC audience.
• Brunswick Bowling (Brunswick Corporation): Brunswick is a major manufacturer of bowling equipment, including StringPin pinsetters and Spark operations software, and is an IBI advertiser. While Brunswick is a customer rather than a competitor, it is comparable because it increasingly provides direct operator content/services and is part of the same bowling industry ecosystem IBI covers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BowlingIndustryMagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bowlingindustrymagazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Bowling Industry