OTT sporting broadcaster DAZN Group has sold its European football assets to Integrated Media Company (IMC).
Through this sale, the new digital publisher will acquire DAZN’s Goal.com, VoetbalZone and SPOX websites.
DAZN’s sale will include most of its football assets, with the fee involved circling around the $100 million mark.
IMC backed by TPG
IMC is a new sports publishing service with the backing of TPG Capital, a private equity fund in San Francisco. The company has said that it will seek advertiser propositions on all three portals, which combined attract 150 million monthly users.
DAZN has endured a challenging year, with the havoc wreaked by COVID-19 on Europe’s major football leagues having an impact. In May, the Financial Times reported that Len Blavatnik, who is the company’s lead enterprise investor, had ordered his team of investors to consider all options related to the future of DAZN.
Onboarding high-profile football websites
DAZN’s former operating company Perform Group had acquired German-facing SPOX, Dutch website VoetbalZone and multilingual Goal.com in 2011. These acquisitions were made so that DAZN would have an existing audiences when its OTT services went live.
IMC Managing Director Ori Winitzer had the following to say about the sale from DAZN.
“There are four billion soccer fans on earth. Their passion transcends borders and limits though the media serving them does not.
“We see a significant opportunity to expand the platform’s reach and engagement through new content verticals, products, and experiences. We’re excited to partner with DAZN to serve all constituents in the soccer world.”
