TKO Group Holdings has made a strategic investment in EverPass Media, a live sports and entertainment distribution platform backed by RedBird Capital Partners and 32 Equity, the strategic investment arm of the NFL.
Along with the investment, TKO president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro will join representatives from RedBird and 32 Equity on EverPass’ board of directors.
“Live sports content is at its zenith, and the EverPass team is creating a remarkable platform purpose-built for the shared experiences both die-hard and casual sports fans crave,” Shapiro said in a statement. “TKO is proud to join 32 Equity and RedBird in backing EverPass at this pivotal moment in its growth. From our position at the epicenter of sports and entertainment, we look forward to helping EverPass capitalize on all the opportunities ahead.”
The move comes as EverPass acquired UPshow as it expands its streaming, consumer engagement, and performance marketing capabilities by adding the NFL Sunday Ticket beginning with its upcoming 2024 season. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2015 by Adam Hirsen and Matt Gibbs, UPshow is an entertainment and performance marketing platform that powers over 30,000 screens at hospitality, healthcare, automotive services and fitness locations across the country, offering a library of over 500 ad-free channels from live events and hyper-local sports to breaking news and viral videos.
“As the media landscape continues to evolve, we’re seeing the true value of premium content. Having access to this content – and knowing how to monetize it with creative and engaging experiences – is essential to growing businesses as well as fanbases, which is what makes EverPass a vital partner for operators and rightsholders,” EverPassCEO Alex Kaplan said in a statement. “We’re excited that through this acquisition, commercial businesses will now be able to stream NFL Sunday Ticket for the first time ever.”
EverPass and UPshow are currently partners for Peacock Sports Pass, a sports package offering commercial businesses access to select events from Peacock’s live sports content library, including Big Ten football and basketball, Premier League and the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Brazil.
“We’re excited to start this next chapter of growth, now as a part of EverPass. Our ability to provide premium, in-demand content, like NFL Sunday Ticket, coupled with next-generation, live-engagement tools that bring operators a streamlined user experience and the opportunity to engage with clientele is unmatched and creates a must-have product and media platform for businesses. With our shared vision and complementary strengths, we are well-positioned to lead the evolution of on-premise entertainment and marketing.”
“Adding UPshow’s impressive technology stack to our existing and growing content library gives us the infrastructure to continue to scale our business model and innovate around the out-of-home viewing experience while also giving business owners complete control of their entertainment content,” EverPass chairman Derek Chang added. “We’re also glad to welcome Mark Shapiro and TKO to EverPass, whose leadership and expertise will support our continued growth as we look to be at the forefront of the shifting sports, media and entertainment ecosystem.”
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