GoPro and Red Bull yesterday announced a new "exclusive global partnership," and as part of the deal, GoPro "will be all over Red Bull events and the two companies will distribute content rights on events they produce together," according to Rex Crum of the San Jose Mercury News' SILICONBEAT.com. That content "will also be made available across both companies' distribution networks such as the GoPro Channel and Red Bull TV." The "most significant part of the deal is that Red Bull will receive 'equity' in GoPro and GoPro will be the exclusive provider of action-camera technology for Red Bull events and productions" (SILICONBEAT.com, 5/24). GoPro Founder & CEO Nick Woodman yesterday said Red Bull will get less than 1% equity in GoPro, but it is “material in the sense that it better aligns us as partners” (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 5/24).
FAMILY MATTERS: The HUFFINGTON POST's Nick Visser noted GoPro has "about 140 athletes on its payroll." The company "ships everyone its small, adventure-proof cameras and requests little in return: mainly, that they record all the crazy things they get themselves into and send back a hard drive full of content once in a while." It is a "unique relationship that can provide financial support to niche athletes that haven’t traditionally seen the types of sponsorship deals afforded to those from better-known endeavors." GoPro, on the other hand, "gets first-hand footage from the world’s A-level competitors." GoPro VP/Global Sports Entertainment Marketing Todd Ballard said, "Our athletes understand that there's a lot of give-and-take between our brand and them. We’re helping them build their brand as well, especially with the evolution of social media and storytelling" (HUFFINGTONPOST.com, 5/23).
