John Malone - H 2015
AP ImagesJohn Malone‘s Liberty Global has acquired a stake worth $10.7 million (£7 million) in Bigballs Media, the London-based company behind soccer-themed YouTube channel Copa90.
In addition to the channel, which offers soccer features and commentary and targets 16-24 year olds, the company is also behind Sky 1 and NBC dramedy You, Me and the Apocalypse, which stars Rob Lowe, Jenna Fischer (The Office), Megan Mullally (Will and Grace) and Mathew Baynton (The Wrong Mans). The show is a co-production with Working Title TV.
The deal was reported by the Financial Times, with Bigballs‘ Tom Thirlwall later tweeting about it. The report said that Liberty Global and venture capital fund e.ventures together acquired a 14 percent stake in the firm.
Liberty Global has been investing in content assets, buying and raising a stake in ITV and buying U.K. production firm All3Media with Discovery Communications.
Founded in 2006, Bigballs on its web site calls itself “a company forged through a passion for filmmaking and storytelling in the digital age.” It adds: “We were an early pioneer of ‘digital-first’ original programming, creating the world’s most progressive and successful social entertainment, including BAFTA-nominated Kate Modern on Bebo (the world’s first drama for a social network), BAFTA-nominated real-time festival drama Who Killed Summer? and Cannes Gold Lion-winning social [soccer] game I Am Playr.”
