US sports streaming service, FloSports, has raised a US$47 million Series C funding round, led by current investor Discovery.
World Wrestling Entertainment and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments also participated in the round, along with existing financial backers Causeway Media Partners, Fertitta Capital, and DCM Ventures.
Founded in 2006, FloSports offers a direct-to-consumer solution for underserved leagues, governing bodies and independent rights holders, providing coverage of 25 sports that broadcast more than 10,000 live events annually.
In the first quarter of 2019 the company said it entered more than 55 new or extended rights deals, including with the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA); The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF); Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB); United World Wrestling; the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA); the German Bundesliga; and Eurosport.
In Q1 2019, FloSports also claims to have grown annual recurring revenue by more than 50% year-on-year and added more net subscribers than during all of 2018. It said it plans to use the funding to continue to investment in middle- and long-tail rights partnerships.
“We are excited to continue building on the momentum of our recent strong growth, including our best quarter ever,” said FloSports CEO and Co-Founder Mark Floreani. “With this new round of funding from our investors, we will further enrich underserved sports communities by broadening our existing coverage and expanding into new verticals.”
He added: “While live events are the centre of our offering, original programming is a cornerstone – we’re committed to providing our subscribers with engaging content out of season.”
Discovery’s Chief Development, Distribution and Legal Officer, Bruce Campbell, said: “We are big believers in the consumer appeal of OTT verticals like FloSports to serve passionate communities and fans.”
“FloSports aligns nicely with Discovery’s global direct-to-consumer strategy and provides us with opportunities to apply learnings to our own OTT products. We’re excited to deepen our participation in this growth and innovation story.”
