ESPN Acquire Footytips to Enhance Digital Portfolio
August 15, 2011
ESPN International has announced the acquisition of Australia’s largest sports tipping and fantasy games platform footytips.com.au. The entity purchased by ESPN is ExtraCorp Pty. Ltd, who are the owners of the website, which was launched in 1997. The acquisition signals a strengthening of ESPN’s digital portfolio as they seek to increase their digital audience, advertising revenue and content.
Offering social tipping competitions across 20 sports in Australia across online and mobile platforms, footytips.com.au boasts hundreds of thousands of registered users. Footytips offers social tipping competitions across 20 of Australia’s favorite sports, most notably AFL and NRL.
ExtraCorp currently employs 15 staff in Australia who will join ESPN and continue to manage and grow Footytips, while also contributing to the overall growth and development of the ESPN digital business in Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
Mike Morrison, Vice President and General Manager ESPN Asia Pacific said: “Social tipping is integral to the fabric of the Australian sporting landscape. Footytips.com.au is an extremely popular tipping platform that combines innovative social media functionality, an innate understanding of the Australian sporting culture and the value of bragging rights to sports fans and their friends. On the business side, this acquisition brings a team of talented people and technologies that will help us further enhance our leading digital position in Australia and the Pacific Rim and will be a great enhancement to our global digital leadership.”
Heath Kilgour, Footytips co-founder, added: “We’ve had a ton of fun growing Footytips and are very proud of what we have achieved. Our members can expect the very best site to run a social tipping competition to continueand with ESPN’s resources we will further improve the site.”
Fellow co-founder Nathan Isterling concluded: “It’s very exciting to join ESPN whose approach to media is one that sees digital, television and mobile all supporting each other. With ESPN’s global expertise and resources, the local knowledge our team bring and the passion and expertise of the combined team, we can do great things to make this terrific mix of current products even better.”
Kilgour and Isterling will continue to work on the operation and growth of Footytips and on other projects in Australia and with ESPN’s global digital media team.
The addition of Footytips to ESPN’s digital portfolio is set to strengthen ESPN’s position as Australia’s biggest digital sports media brand.
Globally, ESPN digital media properties reach at least 65 million sports fans per month.
