INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
When it comes to the internet, content may be king, but in many cases, the emperor has no clothes
That is to say, the masses may click on interesting stories, video, music and other media, but building a lucrative business around that
content can be a struggle, with advertising-based models often providing little in the way of margins except for the very biggest properties
founding team are out of Israel and it grew initially in London, where its CEO current lives) with participation from other unnamed previous
Media, La Maison, Remagine Ventures, Hamilton Lane and Maor Investments) the funding brings the total raised by Minute Media to $160
million.The startup is not disclosing its valuation, but last year we understood from a source very close to the company to be between $200
Given that it grew around 100% last year, and currently is on track for revenues this year of $200 million, that likely puts the current
valuation closer to $400-$500 million.On the shoulders of giantsMinute Media may not be a name you know very well, but if you are a consumer
of sports content online, you may have come across some of its properties or articles
bigger picture of the media industry today: titles are created, gain an audience and brand recognition, and then get passed around in the
world of online publishing when the previous owner has not been able to make the business case for the site work.For example, FanSided came
that her name has been making waves because of her speech at the Bryant memorial service, plus her heroic work on the court
through a printed version at Central Perk), lost its way after Facebook algorithm changes
Now its home is also at Minute Media.On the surface, this might look mainly like an aggregator media play, or on an M-A level something
based on the private equity model of hoovering up a lot of tired or slow growing brands with the aim of optimising them and moving on.But
neither is actually accurate
As Peled describes it (and as VCs apparently believe), there is a technology story, and corresponding interesting business model,
underpinning what Minute Media has built that spans, B2C, B2B and C2C publishing and distribution.For starters, there is the centralised
TechCrunch.While this has had as many as 20,000 contributors on it at one time, contributing articles in a variety of languages beyond
Only the most prolific and longstanding contributors get paid; others contribute for free
this is only one piece of how the company makes money
That same platform is also a licensing-based B2B and B2C play: it links up to about a dozen or more other publishers and media partners,
which use it both to syndicate content out and bring in content from other places
The logic here is that bringing in syndicated content from elsewhere can help the other publishers bring down their operating costs while
still continuing to expand the content (and thus traffic) on their own sites; hence why they partner with (and pay) Minute Media.Last
for good reason.Sports content has shaped up to be an extremely important segment in the world of online media
If they like what they see, they will come back again, and again
fits into that bigger picture with its own take on how to build and scale a sports publishing empire
Without some of the overhead that has weighed down other online publishing plays, the startup has built a concept for publishing that
