Report: Crossing Broad and the rest of the XLMedia sister websites to be sold for $30 million to Sportsradar

Crossing Broad Acquired: Sportradar, a company that specializes in selling stats and feeds to other platforms is set to acquire the North American operations of XLMedia for up to $30 million, as announced by XLMedia on Monday.

XLMedia, based in the U.K., primarily targets sports and betting audiences. In a notice to shareholders via the London Stock Exchange, they outlined that Sportradar will make an upfront payment of $20 million, with an additional $10 million potentially due by April 2025 if performance targets are met.

The deal requires shareholder approval, with a vote scheduled for November 7.

XLMedia’s North American portfolio includes college football sites Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition, sports betting outlet Sports Betting Dime, and regional sports sites like Philadelphia’s own Crossing Broad and Elite Sports NY.

Kyle Scott Laskowski on Crossing Broad getting acquired (again)

https://twitter.com/KyleScottL/status/1848373778813714792

Side Note: Kyle calling his new website On Pattison “THE locally owned Philly sports site” is fucking adorable while The Liberty Line is pushing over 1 million unique visitors a MONTH but what can ya do- I haven’t made a million off this website…yet.

In 2023, these North American properties generated $27.5 million in revenue and $5.5 million in adjusted EBITDA. The business earns through both advertising and affiliate marketing, where readers are referred to betting platforms via embedded links.

Sportradar, known for its sports and betting data services, hasn’t commented on the acquisition as it awaits shareholder approval.

If approved, this deal will mark the end of XLMedia’s presence, as it already sold its European assets to Gambling.com Group for $37.5 million earlier this year. Following the sale, XLMedia plans to distribute its remaining cash to shareholders and shut down.

According to XLMedia, the slower-than-expected growth of its U.S. revenue streams led to the decision to sell, as the company faced challenges funding past acquisitions in a competitive market. This limited its ability to pursue new deals, ultimately resulting in the sale to Sportradar.

What Happens to Crossing Broad?

Good question. Given the fact that Sportradar specializes in selling stats and feeds to other platforms without really getting involved in the content game, especially local and regional sports sites, means that this is all new territory for them.

As Kyle Scott mentioned above, new ownership might not be a bad thing and could offer a refocus on more local websites and brands. On the flip side, they could look at Crossing Broad as something not worth the investment.

We’ll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds, ya know?

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