Spot Runner Raises $51 million
Online video production company Spot Runner announced today that it has received $51 million from Legg Mason, Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), Grupo Televisa, and Groupe Arnault/LVMH.
The company will use the funding to continue growing its capacity to deliver video advertising, both online and off. These investments are also strategic in nature, involving a collaboration of international media assets with Spot Runner’s video production platform. According to the release:
DMGT is one of the largest and most successful media companies in the United Kingdom with interests in national newspapers and related digital operations, local media, business and financial information, exhibitions and radio. In addition to the United Kingdom, it has operations in Central Europe, the United States, Canada, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.
“Spot Runner is transforming the way media is optimized and targeted across a broad spectrum of advertising mediums. As a media company with one of the largest bases of local advertisers in Europe, we look forward to collaborating with Spot Runner and applying its model to our business, particularly as we continue to innovate in connecting advertisers with local audiences,” said David Roddick, commercial director of Northcliffe Media, the local media division of DMGT.
Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. is the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world. Televisa operates four broadcast channels in Mexico that have consistently maintained a sign-on to sign-off audience share of more than 70 percent. Televisa also has interests in the production of pay-television networks, international distribution of television programming, direct-to-home satellite services, cable television, magazine publishing and distribution, and radio broadcasting.
“Spot Runner has demonstrated its ability to create meaningful value for media companies by bringing new categories of advertisers to television and other media and by helping larger companies invest their budgets more intelligently and effectively,” said Alfonso de Angoitia, executive vice president of Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. “We feel Spot Runner’s model has great applicability to the Latin American market and we’re excited to explore new opportunities to partner.”
Groupe Arnault/LVMH is the world’s leading luxury products group, with a portfolio of over 60 prestigious brands including Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Donna Karan, Sephora and TAG Heuer.
“The global media landscape is undergoing a sea change. For advertisers to be effective, they will need to completely shift their thinking about how media is targeted and distributed, and how creative can be versioned for multiple audiences,” said Antoine Arnault, head of communications for Louis Vuitton. ”Spot Runner is the clear leader in this area. As one of the largest advertisers in the fashion category, we’re very enthusiastic about the prospect of working with them to capitalize on these transformations.”
Spot Runner has seen lots of action lately, emblematic of the activity level in the local online video space. This includes the recent acquisition of the GlobeShooter production network and that of local online advertising firm Weblistic.
Funding in this round also included existing investors Allen & Co., Battery Ventures, Capital Research and Management, CBS, Index Ventures, The Interpublic Group, Tudor Investment Corp. and WPP.
