Football stars Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, as well as NBA NBA champion Tony Parker, have contributed towards a $2 million funding round in real-time video start-up Grabyo.
Launched last year, Grabyo has worked with over 30 major broadcasters and rights holders including BSkyB, ITV, Channel 5, FIFA World Cup, La Liga, Wimbledon, ATP World Tour, The Ryder Cup, UFC, UEFA Champions League and the BRIT Awards. Its eye-catching investment comes as the company begins to build partnerships with a number of football clubs in addition to partnering with innovative global brands.
The Grabyo platform enables brand to monetize social media engagement through the instant creation and distribution of real-time video clips.
“Having leading stars in global sport backing us is testament to the momentum we’re now enjoying as demand for real-time video accelerates,” said Grabyo CEO Gareth Capon. “Premium rights holders now recognise the value of making content available wherever their customers spend their time, which is increasingly on social platforms via a mobile device. Meanwhile, brands increasingly want to align with premium video content and engage consumers at scale. As a result, video, mobile and social are the most important growth sectors of the global advertising industry – and Grabyo sits across all three.”
“Videos and photos are my most popular posts on Twitter and Facebook,” commented Cesc Fabregas in a statement. “I am looking forward to working with Grabyo to bring video highlights to my fans in real time.”
Analysis by Credit Suisse puts the average cost per impression (CPM) for a premium digital video advertisement at $32.80, a figure 10 times the average cost of a traditional display ad.
