It "may sound like a punchline," but Liberty Global invested £7M ($10.7M) in a football channel with no football, according to Malcolm Moore of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Copa90 has been broadcasting on YouTube "for three years," but instead of showing matches, the channel specializes in "brash opinions, animated infographics and behind-the-scenes looks at football teams and their fans." For Liberty and co-investor e.ventures, the venture capital fund, Copa90's millions of viewers aged 16-24 represent a "hedge against an ageing television audience." They have taken a combined 14% stake in London-based Bigballs Media, the channel's parent company, "with an option to invest again in six months." The investment values the business at £50M ($76.6M), "even though it is at least two years from profitability." The deal reflects "growing worries" among broadcasters and content owners that younger viewers are "turning away from TV in favor of online platforms and on-demand services such as Netflix." Bigballs CEO Tom Thirlwell said that the "company had 2.3 million subscribers who watched an average of 37 minutes a week of its brash football comment shows and in-depth features on fan culture." Thirlwell: "We spent a week with the Brazil football team between two of their matches and our shows got 5.5 million viewers, which is more than the television audience for the games they played" (FT, 10/11).
