It doesn't have a huge package of broadcasting rights, nor does it exist on TV, yet youth-focused YouTube soccer channel Copa90 has huge ambitions to take on ESPN to become "undeniable as the global youth football platform."
Launched in 2012, Copa90 is owned and operated by UK-based production company Bigballs Media, which was an early pioneer in digital-first original films, having been nominated for a BAFTA for the world's first drama on a social network — "Kate Modern," on Bebo — and creating a Cannes Gold Lion winning social football game, I am Playr.
Copa90 dubs itself "the home of football fan culture." Content includes embedding its presenters with "Ultras" fan groups, telling the fan stories of big derby days, and producing fun animations to bring footballing stats to life.
The channel has more than 1 million subscribers in more than 200 countries, and the Copo90 network's rise — which also includes the KickTV North American soccer-focused channel and the Copa Collective blogging community — helped owner company Bigballs Media earn a £7 million ($10.8 million) investment from Liberty Global, one of the world's largest cable TV companies, and VC fund e.ventures in October. The Series A round saw the two companies take a combined 14% stake in the business, valuing Bigballs Media at £50 million ($77.3 million,) according to The Financial Times.
At a $77.3 million valuation and yet to turn a profit, Bigballs Media and Copa90 is nowhere close to the estimated $50 billion value of ESPN. Yet Bigballs Media CEO Tom Thirlwall told Business Insider his company is on track to beat the sports behemoth in another crucial area.
"The thing that has all the scarcity and value — the [broadcasting] rights — is actually the thing that has the least value."
Thirlwall said the company set out to appeal to a young, connected football fan "completely under-served by traditional media."
"There's a generation that's having a completely different relationship with football than my generation — I'm 42 — and certainly my parent's generation," Thirlwall said. "We just saw this huge gaping opportunity where young football fans are catching goals on Vine 20-seconds after they've been scored, and relying on completely different influences to analyze a game."
Copa90's aim was to be the media brand right at the heart of that action.
"Just as ESPN announced itself in the 70s by buying up all the long-tail sports rights and becoming, by default, the biggest US sports media brand and now the most valuable media brand in the world, we thought that if we aimed to become that media brand that represents this young, connected audience, then who knows where this can go? We want to become and set our stall out to become a brand that mirrors, reflects, and actually champions young football fan culture," Thirlwall added.
But while Copa90 has bought up small packages of broadcasting rights, such as with the MLS in the US (which in turn became a minor shareholder in the business,) it doesn't plan to use expensive rights to boss others out of the game.
"We knew that all the preconceived knowledge around football and sport generally on TV was one of 'if you don't have any rights, then you're not in the game.' Yet it's funny that when you see the world from a completely different lens, you realize they are all wrong and you're right," Thirlwall said. "What I mean is that our audience was, and still is, getting their football, and the game itself, from a live stream or a whole host of different sources. The thing that had all the scarcity and the value — the rights — was actually the thing that had the least value."
Instead, it's the stories behind the game that Copa90 focuses on — amputee football, the Syrian refugees about to be signed by Bayern Munich, and so on. And it's this kind of immersive journalism that gives the channel access beyond other sports media. Thirwall said the Carpi FC Ultras in Italy recently accepted its request rather than Sky Italia's to interview the group because "they wanted to do it in 20 minutes and we wanted to take five days."
"We feel like we're looking through the other end of the telescope. But we have the right end of the telescope and they have the wrong end. What they were looking at is getting smaller and smaller, and what we're looking at is getting bigger and bigger," according to Thirlwall.
Copa90 plans to have a "bigger footprint" during the next World Cup than the BBC or ESPN
Copa90's ascension has been boosted, in the UK at least, by YouTube featuring the channel in its latest advertising campaign, which is currently live on TV, billboards, and digital.
Thirlwall hopes the campaign will not only appeal to consumers in the region, but place Copa90 at front-of-mind amongst brand directors and media planners when they are thinking about engaging a young audience of football fans. The majority of Copa90's revenue is generated by signing deals with brands including Nike, Adidas, Hyundai, and New Balance for video sponsorships or paid-for branded content.
In 2016, Copa90's big focus is growing out its audience across the globe, particularly in South East Asia where football is growing in popularity. The channel is currently running an "In Search Of..." contest to find new correspondents and film-makers in 18 countries around the world.
"In a few months time, and by the time the next World Cup comes around, we will have a greater media presence than ESPN and the BBC as a result of our contributor and reporter network," Thirlwall said.
The company also hopes exploring new platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, and its own website and mobile apps will amplify its distribution. The recent funding will also help Copa90 finance a new data science division to help understand and grow its audience.
Copa90 is also planning on building out the experiential side of its business — Business Insider actually met Thirlwall at a fan experience on London's Southbank where passers-by were invited to record their own 360-degree football skill videos. Thirlwall said more fan experiences are planned for the Euro 2016 and Copa America Centenario USA 2016 tournaments.
TV is "not as interesting"
But there's two things Thirlwall said Copa90 isn't interested in: TV or an acquisition.
"TV has come knocking for us on several occasions, but it's just broadly not as interesting. We are not in control and we don't learn or have a dialog with our audience. It doesn't necessarily do anything for our brand, and sometimes the economics aren't great as well," Thirlwall said.
Copa90 is open to working with rival sports networks such as ESPN or Vice Sports at a partnership level, but the company wants to stay independent.
"I would say we want to continue what we are doing — I don't want to be constrained or boxed-in in terms of output," Thirlwall said. "I think we can be the next global football network ... if you start prettying yourself for acquisition because you feel you need to have that exit strategy, then you're taking your eye off your real ambition. And we want to be a remarkable and important business."
