Online sports broadcaster Perform Group swung to a loss in its first year on the stock market after it spent out on more sports rights and after staff costs grew.
Half-year revenue jumped by 47 percent to £45 million after Perform signed seven more clients for Watch&Bet, which syndicates its sports video to online betting sites.
The group will now launch its Livesport.tv subscription sports channel on connected TVs this autumn or winter.
But pre-tax results swung to a £1.76 million loss, from the prior-year period’s £6 million profit. Content costs nearly doubled to £16.2 million because Perform acquired MLB and Serie A rights, and are now equivalent to over a third of Perform’s revenue.
Subscription revenue – which Perform makes from the many club websites it manages and from its own Livesport.tv and Goal.com – increased by nearly a quarter to £4.4 million.
Perform now counts a whopping 10,000 live events for which it has contracts this year, has booked £90 million of revenue for the year. It is targeting 2014, when many rights come up for renewal, as a key period. Another goal: “Clearing majority of new rights for mobile and OTT delivery, anticipating significant future usage and revenue growth.”
Listing on the London Stock Exchange cost Perform a total £3.2 million.
