Sportskeeda

Nazara Technologies

Nazara Technologies

Indian gaming and sports media company

Nazara Technologies is a mobile gaming company and sports media platform based in Mumbai, India.[2]

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History

In 1999, Nazara Technologies was founded by Nitish Mittersain.[3] In 2018, Nazara was planning to go public and obtained approval from the markets regulators, but halted the process.[4] Ultimately, the company was listed on the NSE and BSE in 2021.[5] In 2019, Nazara Technologies acquired the sports media website Sportskeeda.[6][7] Additionally, Nazara purchased a 67% stake in Absolute Sports for ₹44 crore, valuing the portal at around ₹65 crore.[8] In 2021, the company recorded a profit of ₹20.28 crore (US$2.5 million) grew from ₹15 crore (US$1.9 million) to ₹35.28 crore (US$4.4 million) as compared to the last year.[9]

In November 2022, Porush Jain resigned as director and CEO of the company and appointed Ajay Pratap Singh.[10] In FY2022, the company recorded a turnover of ₹80.65 crore (US$10 million) from ₹35.28 crore (US$4.4 million) as compared to last year.[9]

In 2023, Nazara Technologies acquired US-based Pro Football Network LLC which is an analysis website that covers National Football League (NFL) and college football with 73.27% stake at ₹16 crore (US$1.82 million), through their subsidiary Sportskeeda.[11][12] According to the exchange filing, Sportskeeda reserves an option to acquire up to 10 percent and up to 8 percent additional stock of the Pro Football Network LLC in CY 2024 and CY 2025 respectively.[13][14] Nazara Technologies joined the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) as a principal member.[15]

Subsidiaries

The company offers various interactive gaming options, eSports, ad-tech, and gamified early learning ecosystems. Nazara is present in the Indian eSports market (via Nodwin) and cricket simulation (via Nextwave).[16]

  • World Cricket Championship and CarromClash in mobile games
  • Kiddopia in gamified early learning
  • Nodwin Gaming in eSports
  • Halaplay and Openplay[17] in skill-based games
  • Datawrkz in digital ad tech
  • Sportskeeda in eSports media

Sportskeeda

Sportskeeda logo

Sportskeeda is a global sports and esports media subsidiary of Nazara Technologies headquartered in Bangalore, India.[18] It features, news, articles and live coverage of sports such as cricket, association football, American football, basketball, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling.[4][19][20][21] According to the Business Standard, Sportskeeda is India's largest all-sports website.[22]

In 2009, the company was founded by Porush Jain. After a few months, the company raised funding from angel investors like Anshu Prasad and Srinivas Cuddapah with an undisclosed amount.[23]

In 2011, an early stage venture capital funding company Seedfund invested ₹2.8 crore. This helped Sportskeeda to scale up their operations.[24] In 2019, Nazara Technologies acquired Sportskeeda and funded ₹44 crore with 67% stake in the sports media, valuing it at ₹65 crore.[7][2] In 2020, during COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched two video series Freehit and SKlive. Freehit is an interview series with sports legends shot at homes of sportspersons while SKLive is a daily web interview series with current and past sports legends.[25]

In May 2022, Nazara set up its subsidiary Sportskeeda Inc. in Delaware, US.[26] In November 2022, Porush Jain resigned as CEO and Ajay Pratap Singh was promoted as the chief executive officer.[27] Sportskeeda partnered with Dream11 to produce 8 long-format videos showcasing 8 unsung heroes who have made significant contributions to cricket and supporting many people.[28]

Awards and recognition

In August 2021, Sportskeeda won Gold award in the News Coverage Platform (Esports And Gaming) category by Gamexx 2021.[29]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Khan, Taslima (22 December 2017). "For Nazara's IPO run, a long-haul horse". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  2. [2]
    Malik, Yuvraj (21 August 2019). "Nazara Technologies acquires 67% stake in Sportskeeda for Rs 44 cr". Business Standard.
  3. [3]
    "Nitish Mittersain – Nazara". Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. [4]
    M. Sriram (21 August 2019). "Nazara Technologies Wednesday said it has acquired a majority stake in sports content website Sportskeeda.com". Hindustan Times.
  5. [5]
    "Nazara Technologies shares list at 81% premium over issue price; Jhunjhunwala stake valued at Rs 656 crore". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  6. [6]
    Varuni Khosla (22 March 2023). "Gaming firm Nazara acquires Sportskeeda". LiveMint.
  7. [7]
    "Gaming firm Nazara acquires Sportskeeda". Hindustan Times. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  8. [8]
    "Sportskeeda set to cross 40 mn users, 1 bn ad impressions monthly". Business Standard. 8 March 2019.
  9. [9]
    "Nazara to acquire additional 6.05% stake in Sportskeeda for Rs 20 crore – Exchange4media". Exchange4media. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  10. [10]
    Thathoo, Chetan (17 November 2022). "Nazara-Backed Sportskeeda Founder Porush Jain Resigns As CEO". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  11. [11]
    Gupta, Aryaman (22 March 2023). "Nazara arm Sportskeeda pays $1.8 mn for 73.27% stake in NFL-focused US firm". Business Standard. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  12. [12]
    Das, Sudip (23 March 2023). "Buzzing Stocks | Hero MotoCorp, Hindustan Aeronautics, HG Infra Engineering, and others in the news today". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  13. [13]
    Jomy Jos Pullokaran (22 March 2023). "Nazara arm Sportskeeda acquires 73 percent stake in NFL-focused US website". CNBC TV18. Sportskeeda Inc acquired the majority stake in Pro Football Network LLC for $1.817 million. The investment is part of Sportskeeda's growth strategy in the US digital sports media market.
  14. [14]
    Tapanjana Rudra (23 March 2023). "Nazara's Sportskeeda buys NFL-focused platform Pro Football Network for 1.8 million". ET Now.
  15. [15]
    Teena Jose (17 May 2023). "Nazara's Sportskeeda buys NFL-focused platform Pro Football Network for 1.8 million". Entrepreneur India.
  16. [16]
    "Our Company – Nazara". Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  17. [17]
    Sneha Shah (28 August 2021). "Nazara Technologies acquires OpenPlay for Rs 186 crore". The Economic Times.
  18. [18]
    "Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Tech now a leading gaming company". The Economic Times. 22 March 2023. Sportskeeda in esports and esports media
  19. [19]
    "Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Tech now a leading gaming company". The Economic Times. 22 March 2023. Sportskeeda in esports and esports media
  20. [20]
    SN, Vikas (16 November 2022). "Nazara's Sportskeeda appoints Ajay Pratap Singh as CEO; founder Porush Jain resigns". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  21. [21]
    "Sportskeeda appoints Anirudh Kumar as chief strategy officer". Brand Equity The Economics Times. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  22. [22]
    "Sportskeeda set to cross 40 mn users, 1 bn ad impressions monthly". Business Standard. 8 March 2019.
  23. [23]
    Ghosh, Aparna (20 August 2014). "Online retail: Counting on sports lovers". Mint. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  24. [24]
    N. Ramakrishnan (23 September 2012). "A social way of covering sports". Business Line. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  25. [25]
    Sabherwal, Simran (11 September 2020). "We want to be lean, yet grow fast: Porush Jain, Sportskeeda – Exchange4media". Exchange4media. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  26. [26]
    "Sportskeeda establishes an entity in the US; to invest USD 4 million into operations". ThePrint. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  27. [27]
    Chetan Thathoo (17 November 2022). "Nazara-Backed Sportskeeda Founder Porush Jain Resigns As CEO". Inc 42.
  28. [28]
    Mahadik, Gauresh (14 May 2022). "Dream11 collaborates with Sportskeeda to release new 'Dream Big' stories". SportsMint Media. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  29. [29]
    "GAMEXX AWARDS 2021 – Real Awards for Real Achiever's". Gamexx Awards 2021 Initiative by Adgully. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Sportskeeda, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.