ProSiebenSat. investing in world s leading soccer platform 90min.com and the live-streaming portal EverSport Media

ProSiebenSat.1 investing in world's leading soccer platform 90min.com and the live-streaming portal EverSport Media

Munich, London, Los Angeles - October 6, 2015. The ProSiebenSat.1 Group continues to expand its activities in digital operations, investing in the global soccer network 90min, which reaches more than 30 million users with both user-generated and semiprofessional content. The television group is thereby acquiring a minority interest in the company with headquarters in London and offices in Tel Aviv and Manila. It was founded in 2011 by Asaf Peled, who still acts as CEO.

The $15 million investment round is led by ProSiebenSat.1 Media and supported by current investors Battery Ventures, Dawn Capital, and Gemini Ventures. This brings total investment since founding to $39 million (US). ProSiebenSat.1 and 90min.com are setting their sights on a joint brand identity for the German soccer market as part of a strategic partnership.

Zeljko Karajica, Sports Director at the ProSiebenSat.1 Group:

This round of investment brings us into one of the worlds biggest soccer platforms. 90min. gives soccer fans a voice and allows them to be involved in the subject they love. The portal is the ideal strategic complement for our digital sports portfolio. We now intend to keep growing 90min. and to establish it as a leading brand in Germany.

Asaf Peled, founder and CEO of 90min:

We are very pleased to gain a first-class media company like ProSiebenSat.1 as a partner and strategic investor to continue our expansion in the areas of video, sports law, and also digital television. Even though 90min grew as a B2C brand in the past, with ProSiebenSat.1 as a partner we can demonstrate our focus on strategic media partnerships.

ProSiebenSat.1 is also acquiring a minority interest in EverSport Media, one of the leading digital platforms worldwide for live transmission of professional sports events. With offices in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, the company currently offers over thirty sports as live streams or on-demand videos at EverSport.tv and through EverSports SMART embeddable Videoplayer. These include popular sports leagues and events such as Serie A, La Liga, the Incheon Asian Games (the Olympic Games of Asian countries), Glory World Series (Mixed Martial Arts), and US college sports Pac-12 and Big-10. The ProSiebenSat.1 Group also hopes to stream its own content through EverSport and to distribute EverSport content through its digital network in the future.

Carl Kirchhoff, Co-Founder and President of EverSport Media:

We are excited about the investment and our partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 Group, which allows us to offer the widest selection of professional sports from around the world including football, US College Sports, Fight and Action Sports to fans in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and beyond via the internet, mobile and OTT.

For the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, the investments are another important step to expand its sports portfolio, which not only carries successful brands such as ran and the online platform Sportdeutschland.TV, but with SAM Sports also maintains its own Sport Management Agency and the rights to numerous sports events such as UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), NFL, and the BMW Open. In digital marketing, too, sports represent a central pillar for the television group, which markets no fewer than three of the best known sports brands with Sport1, bundesliga.de, and ran.de.

About 90min.com

90min.com is the largest fan-generated soccer platform in the world, linking more than 30 million users in Europe, Asia, and South America through websites, mobile apps, and social networks in 10 different languages. The site contains both user-generated content, semiprofessional content by independent journalists, and also syndicated partner content from large sports websites. In Germany alone, 90min.com generates 3.7 million online visits and 29 million page impressions per month (IVW; AGOF reported). In addition, the content shows intense mobile use. The companys open technology platform allows other publishers to install their content on the platform. Renowned cooperation partners include The Daily Mail, The Independent, Huffington Post, The Mirror, USA Today, and the official homepages of some Premier League Clubs such as Chelsea, Liverpool, and Everton. The business model of 90min bases its financing on a combination of native, video, and social advertising, producing custom content marketing campaigns for this purpose for global ad customers such as Paramount, Nike, Kia, and Heineken.

About EverSport Media:

Since its launch last year, EverSport has streamed more than 3000 live events, and now reaches more than 2 million sports fans each month (September 2015). EverSport allows rights holders to aim their content specifically at fans and to market it as pay-per-view, subscription model, or ad-financed. This model has already won over well-known customers such as MP & Silva, Lagardere Group, DENTSU, and FOX to EverSport. EverSport Media was founded by Carl Kirchhoff and Wayne Sieve, both of whom have worked in the sports business for more than 20 years.

LINK:	http://en.prosiebensat1.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/press-lounge/pr...
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