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Twenty First Century Fox Invests in Social Broadcasting Platform Caffeine
6 Sep, 2018 / 05:55 am / Reeny Joseph

Source: http://www.omnesmedia.com

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Continuing to prepare for life after the Disney deal, 21st Century Fox said it has led a $100 million fundraising round for a yet-to-launch social broadcasting platform called Caffeine.

The round also included participation from existing Caffeine investors Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners, as well as other undisclosed partners. Along with the funding, Caffeine also announced a deal with Live Nation to bring live music concerts to the social broadcast platform in the fourth quarter of this year.

The total investment for Fox is $100 million for Caffeine and a newly formed venture called Caffeine Studios that is jointly owned by Fox Sports and Caffeine. The new studio, which resembles the popular, Amazon-owned Twitch will deliver exclusive esports, video game, sports, and live entertainment content for Caffeine’s platform.

Stakes in Caffeine and a newly formed venture, Caffeine Studios, will be part of the proposed new “Fox” after the Disney deal, the company said in a statement. Fox is in the process of selling the bulk of its film and television assets to Walt Disney Co in a $71 billion deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2019.

The investment is part of Fox’s strategy to focus on news and live sports after the deal. Caffeine Studios will focus on creating e-sports, video game, sports and live entertainment content for the broadcasting platform, Fox said.

“The combination of the Caffeine platform with a content studio that benefits from Fox Sports’ expertise in live events and programming will help position Caffeine to deliver compelling experiences in esports, video gaming and entertainment,” Murdoch said. “We are excited to partner with Caffeine and build something special for fans in the growing live social streaming esports and gaming space”.
The media company said its Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch will join Caffeine’s board.