Minute Media operates a user-generated, syndication-based publishing platform that powers multiple mostly-sports media properties. It runs a centralized open CMS that has hosted as many as 20,000 contributors and publishes under 1,000 curated pieces per day across its sites. Its holdings include 90min.com, FanSided, The Players’ Tribune, Mental Floss, 12up, DBLTAP and The Big Lead. Revenue is roughly split between advertising and licensing/syndication (around 50/50), and the company grew about 100% last year and is on track for $200 million in revenue this year. Minute Media plans to use new capital to invest in its publishing platform, invest in properties it already owns and make further acquisitions. The company describes itself as based in New York; its founding team are from Israel and it grew initially in London, where its CEO currently lives. Minute Media operates a user-generated sports content platform that aggregates articles and videos from roughly 5,000 contributors and distributes them via its own sites and partner brands. Its network of sites draws about 80–90 million monthly users, with flagship 90min alone attracting roughly 60 million monthly visitors. Video is a growing area with approximately 200 million video views per month, while licensing content to partners (Sports Illustrated, MSN, ProSieben, Yahoo Sports) accounts for about one-third of revenue. The company ingests 4,000–5,000 pieces of content daily and publishes roughly 1,000 items after curation; all contributors are paid. Minute Media is headquartered in London, traces its engineering roots to Israel, and employs about 180 people, roughly 80 of whom are engineers. The startup plans to use new capital to expand into markets such as China and to begin exploring content beyond sports; it has raised $77 million to date and completed a $17 million Series F in the current round. Minute Media is a fan-driven sports media and technology company that enables fans to create, publish, share and distribute sports content across a family of destinations including 90min and 12up. Its platform delivers over 20,000 pieces of original, socially-driven and curated editorial in 11 languages to users in more than 200 countries. The company grew monthly users from 30 million to 70 million over the last 12 months, earning prominent comScore positions in the US, UK and other top global media markets. Minute Media plans to expand into key global markets ahead of the 2018 World Cup, introduce several new sports brands and launch an esports brand, while enlarging editorial and commercial teams. The new $15 million growth round, bringing total funding to $60 million, will support development in existing and new offices including London, New York, Tel Aviv, Manila, São Paulo, Singapore and Tokyo. Founded in late 2011, the company is backed by venture firms and strategic investors such as Battery Ventures, Dawn Capital, Gemini Ventures, North Base Media, ProSieben and Qumra Capital. 90min is a contributor-driven football media platform that relies largely on unpaid, volunteer writers to produce large volumes of fan-created content. The site publishes what it says are 4-500 pieces of original content daily and attracts about 30 million unique users per month across Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The company emphasizes a technology-first approach to enable large-scale content creation in 10 languages and across rich formats and devices. 90min competes with mainstream sports publishers as well as digital-first brands like Bleacher Report and SB Nation, but differentiates itself by remaining an open platform for fan contributors and allowing publishers to auto-embed its content. The recent funding will support growth and a strategic push into new markets via a partnership with a European media owner.

Total raised

$87M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Feb 2020