December 15 – OneFootball has acquired Dugout, one of the world’s largest digital football media businesses, taking over a key rival in a bid to expand its reach and digital footprint further.
Berlin-Based OneFootball said the acquisition would “reshape the football digital media landscape and form the world’s largest owned and operated digital football media business.”
Dugout was launched in 2016 and rapidly became a leader in the field of behind-the-scenes video content and highlight packages, with Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid tied to the business. Publishers, brands, advertisers and clubs formed the core pillars of Dugout to distribute content, with the company providing content for 80 clubs globally.
“OneFootball acquiring Dugout brings together two great, complementary businesses with the most talented people in the industry and establishes the world’s largest B2B and B2C football media company,” said Dugout chairman Elliot Richardson (pictured left). “The newly combined business is now in a strong position to accelerate expansion and support our partners through the rapidly changing digital football landscape.”
As part of the deal, Richardson will remain on board. OneFootball has reportedly raised around €50 million from investors to help finance the deal. OneFootball was founded in 2008 and claims to reach 70 million football fans around the world, with a combination of both pay-per-view and free content.
“Since forming OneFootball, our ambition has been to become the ultimate destination for everything football, both on and off the pitch, and our acquisition of Dugout reflects this,” said OneFootball CEO Lucas von Cranach (pictured right).
“This move will benefit the whole football ecosystem with clubs, federations and leagues able to increase audience reach and harness our powerful data insights to gain a deeper understanding of their fans’ engagement.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1731804564labto1731804564ofdlr1731804564owedi1731804564sni@o1731804564fni1731804564