Israeli contributor-driven soccer media platform 90min (formerly FTBpro.com) has closed a $15m Series D investment round. The round was led by German media group ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, joined by existing investors Battery Ventures, Dawn Capital and Gemini Ventures. The company has raised $39 million to date including the latest financing round.
The proceeds will further boost 90min’s global expansion, introduce new sports brands, and enrich its technology-enabled platform with focus on mobile and multimedia content. Following the round, 90min and ProSiebenSat.1 will launch a strategic co-branded joint venture targeting the German football market with a combined digital offering.
Founded in 2011 by Asaf Peled, 90min is now headquartered in London with offices in Tel Aviv and Manila. Through its worldwide contributor network and authentic fan-generated content, 90min delivers 400-500 daily pieces of original, socially-driven content to over 30 million unique users a month in 10 languages across Europe, Latin America and South East Asia. The company will also launch a new American Sports brand, targeting the US consumer arena with an additional office based in New York.
90min’s content includes a wide variety of multimedia formats such as video, text, listicles, slideshows, social round-ups and interactive polls. The company’s open technology platform allows other publishers to feature or embed its rich content. Outlets utilising 90min content include the Mail Online, The Independent, Huffington Post, USA Today and German sports site Ran.de, as well as a number of official Premier League club sites such as Chelsea, Liverpool and West Ham.
90min monetizes through a combination of native, video and social advertising and produces customized content marketing campaigns for global advertising partners such as Paramount, Nike, Kia and Heineken.
Peled said, “We are very proud to have a top tier media group like ProSiebenSat.1 join us as a strategic investor and partner, in line with our expansion into video, sports rights and eventually digital TV. While 90min has been growing as a consumer brand, teaming up with ProSiebenSat.1 reflects the company’s enhanced focus on strategic media partnerships driven by our open technology platform”. ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE Chief Officer Sports Business Zeljko Karajica said, "We are excited to lead this investment round and partner with one of the world's largest football content platforms. It is a great strategic fit for our digital sports portfolio and we look forward to establishing 90min as a leading brand in Germany."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 6, 2015
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