FloSports is set to “expand and enhance coverage in new and existing sports” thanks to a $47 million series C funding venture backed by Discovery and WWE, among others, the digital streaming platform announced Monday.
“We are excited to continue building on the momentum of our recent strong growth, including our best quarter ever,” FloSports CEO & Co-Founder Mark Floreani said in the press release. “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.”
With ESPN+ and DAZN in the market for exclusive deals, this investment will go a long way in allowing FloSports to compete in the streaming market. It certainly helps that these investors know how to build success through streaming, as Discovery has partnered with Tiger Woods in the past and the WWE Network has revolutionized the way the WWE works, both as a company and a product.
“We are big believers in the consumer appeal of OTT verticals like FloSports to serve passionate communities and fans,” said Bruce Campbell, Chief Development, Distribution and Legal Officer, Discovery, Inc. “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.”
FloSports is coming of a big 2018 landing 250 new or extended rights deals. In all the company serves 25 different sports which stream 10,000 live events a year. It also holds an expanding library worth over 2,000 hours of original content ranging from weekly studio shows to athlete features.
“While live events are the center of our offering, original programming is a cornerstone—we’re committed to providing our subscribers with engaging content out of season,” Floreani said. “As we continue to build a highly engaged audience, advertisers show increased interest in our unduplicated, passionate, digital-first communities. We are excited to further invest in new monetization opportunities around advertising.”