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Endeavor Streaming

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Endeavor Streaming
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryStreaming media
Video on demand
PredecessorNeuLion
FoundedJanuary 14, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-01-14)
FounderEndeavor
Headquarters
New York, New York
,
United States
Areas served
United States
International
Key people
Fred Santarpia (President)
BrandsThe Vesper Platform
ServicesStreaming and web services
Business consulting
ParentEndeavor
Websitewww.endeavorstreaming.com

Endeavor Streaming is a multinational digital video distribution and streaming company.[1] Based in New York City,[2][3][4][5] the company works with professional sports leagues and entertainment companies to distribute live and on-demand content.[1] It also offers various business services.[2]

Operating as a subsidiary of the American company Endeavor,[1][2] Endeavor Streaming was formed in January 2019[6] in part through the rebranding of NeuLion, which had been founded in 2004[7] and acquired by Endeavor in 2018.[1]

History

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Predecessor companies

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NeuLion, later Endeavor Streaming, was founded as a private technology company in 2004.[7] Headquartered in Plainview, New York,[8][9] among its co-founders were Charles Wang and Nancy Li.[7] NeuLion merged with JumpTV in 2008,[9] then JumpTV Inc. changed its name to NeuLion, Inc. in 2009 and continued trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the new name.[10] NeuLion acquired Interactive Netcasting Systems in 2009,[11] and TransVideo International in 2010.[12]

By 2015, customers included the National Football League (NFL),[13] Sky in New Zealand,[4] and the EFL, among others.[14] With competition in the sports streaming market increasing, NeuLion lost the NHL as a client when the league moved its contract to BAMTech.[7] NeuLion acquired DivX, Inc. in 2015,[3] with former DivX CEO Kanaan Jemili becoming CEO of NeuLion,[3] which gave NeuLion access to DivX's 4K Ultra HD technology,[3] and integrated into devices such as LG,[15] Samsung,[16] and Sony.[17]

In 2016, the company partnered with the NBA,[18][19] UFC,[1][20] and Univision[21] on trial streams of 4K games,[22] where NeuLion's 2016 broadcast of UFC 205 became the first global pay-per-view event to be live streamed in 4K.[23] NeuLion acquired Saffron Digital in that year, and Roy Reichbach was named President and CEO.[24] In March 2018, NeuLion agreed to be acquired by Endeavor for USD$250 million, becoming a privately held subsidiary.[1] As part of the deal NeuLion retained 550 employees, including 125 at its Long Island headquarters[7] it had moved into in 2016.[25] The deal was finalized in May 2018 and NeuLion common stock was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.[26]

Endeavor Streaming

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Endeavor Streaming was formed by Endeavor Group in January 2019, with the new division including Endeavor's video streaming products and services[6] and also absorbing NeuLion.[27] The new subsidiary was described as a "direct-to-consumer streaming unit, which conducts front and back end operations" for sports leagues and media companies.[28] Endeavor Streaming maintained contracts with former NeuLion clients such as Univision, Sky Sports,[6] the NFL, NBA, UFC, and Big Ten Network,[27] and announced WWE as a new client.[6] On January 5, 2024, Endeavor Streaming began distributing Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) subscription service TNA+.[29]

Endeavor hired Fred Santarpia to run Endeavor Streaming in November 2020. Business Insider wrote that Santarpia would oversee global expansion.[28] In 2021 and 2022, it launched OTT platforms for networks and sports organizations in Europe, Japan,[30] and the Philippines.[31] In recent years, the company has also offered business consulting and predictive analysis on matters related to OTT platforms.[2]

Products and services

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Vesper Platform

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Endeavor Streaming is an over-the-top (OTT) platform provider, customizing streaming applications for media companies, networks and major sports franchises.[32] In particular, it creates direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming services,[33] which are compatible with desktop computers, iOS and Android devices,[30] and various connected TV devices.[34]

The company calls its end-to-end video streaming platform[34] the Vesper Platform. The platform primarily distributes premium sports and entertainment content, live and on-demand. The platform also has a number of distribution and management features, including a monetization suite, analytics and data aggregation, machine learning, playback options, stream security,[35] and subscriber management.[36] There are also features to optimize content for viewers,[35] such as localization of content and bookmarking between devices.[34]

Endeavor Streaming incorporated live shopping into its own platform in 2022,[37] and also created a platform for channel customization and distribution,[33] streaming on free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services, such as The Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus.[32]

Consulting

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Endeavor Streaming offers services such as business consulting,[2] analytics, and predictive modeling[34] in relation to over-the-top (OTT) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) media streaming.[2] Its DTC growth services division consults[34] on scaling and topics such as churn rate, pricing, and marketing.[2] In 2023, Endeavor Streaming published a whitepaper on streaming and market trends in collaboration with SportsPro.[38]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f David Ng (March 26, 2018), "Endeavor acquires digital streaming company NeuLion", Los Angeles Times, retrieved August 21, 2023
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Euan Cunningham (May 5, 2023), "Endeavor Streaming's Santarpia on half-decade of progress", Sportcal, retrieved August 27, 2023
  3. ^ a b c d "NeuLion to Buy Video-Tech Firm DivX in $62.5 Million Deal". Variety. 5 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b "NeuLion rises after deal with New Zealand's Sky". Cantech Letter. 29 April 2015.
  5. ^ Eric Fisher (June 22, 2015). "Tennis Channel renews with NeuLion for OTT". Sports Business Journal.
  6. ^ a b c d David Ng (January 14, 2019), "Endeavor launches streaming division, with WWE as new client", Los Angeles Times, retrieved August 27, 2023
  7. ^ a b c d e Jon Ourand; Eric Fisher (April 2, 2018), "Timing right for NeuLion, Endeavor deal", Sports Business Journal, retrieved August 21, 2023
  8. ^ Claude Solnik (November 18, 2013), "Rough start (still) for NeuLion", Long Island Business News, retrieved August 27, 2023
  9. ^ a b JumpTV, NeuLion to merge, CBC, June 9, 2008, retrieved August 21, 2023
  10. ^ "JumpTV Inc (TSX:NLN) Announces New Name Change to NeuLion, Inc". MarketWire NeuLion. 2009-03-14.[dead link‍]
  11. ^ "NeuLion Announces Close of Acquisition of Interactive Netcasting System Inc". RTT News. 2009-11-02.
  12. ^ "NeuLion Announces the Closing of Its Previously Announced Acquisition of Transvideo". MarketWire NeuLion. 2010-10-01. Archived from the original on 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
  13. ^ "NeuLion Feeds Need for Football With NFL Preseason Live". Sports Video. 2012-08-21.
  14. ^ "EFL Digital Taps Streaming Partners | Multichannel". www.multichannel.com. Retrieved 2017-08-17.[dead link‍]
  15. ^ Tom Allen (2015-04-12). "LGE Renews License Agreement with NeuLion to Integrate DivX(R) HEVC 4K for Its Ultra HD TVs". Display Daily.
  16. ^ James K. Willcox (2016-01-07). "Samsung Launches Brighter SUHD TVs, and a 4K Blu-ray Player". Consumer Reports.
  17. ^ "Sony taps NeuLion for 4K live streaming". Digital TV Europe. 2016-01-07.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ Mike Reynolds (2016-01-16). "NBA's 4K Telecast: Spectacular Views from London". Next TV.
  19. ^ Jonathan Vanian (2015-06-16). "How the NBA Finals are beamed across the globe without hiccups". Fortune.
  20. ^ Jeff Baumgartner (2015-09-03). "NeuLion, UFC Punch Up New Digital Deal". Multichannel News.
  21. ^ Juan Fernandez Gonzalez (2016-01-08). "NeuLion powers Univision's new OTT service". Rapid TV News.
  22. ^ "First North American Live Soccer Broadcast in 4K". LiveProduction.tv. 2016-02-15.
  23. ^ Costa, Brandon. "UFC.TV Makes History With UFC 205 Streamed Globally in 4K at 60 fps". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  24. ^ "Update - NeuLion Positioned for Next Stage of Growth". Market Wired - NeuLion. 2016-06-06.[dead link‍]
  25. ^ David Winzelberg (October 13, 2016), "NeuLion buys Melville office building", Long Island Business News, retrieved August 27, 2023
  26. ^ "NeuLion Announces Closing of Acquisition by Endeavor". GlobeNewswire News Room. NeuLion. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  27. ^ a b Endeavor Streaming formed with Neulion, CNBC, January 15, 2019, retrieved August 27, 2023
  28. ^ a b Claire Atkinson (November 13, 2020), "Ari Emanuel's Endeavor nabs a Condé Nast alum to expand its streaming company globally", Business Insider, AP, retrieved August 27, 2023
  29. ^ "TNA WRESTLING PARTNERS WITH ENDEAVOR STREAMING TO DISTRIBUTE ITS ON DEMAND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE TNA+ STARTING JANUARY 5". IMPACT! Wrestling. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Tariq Saleh (November 2, 2021), "Sky PerfecTV teams up with Endeavor Streaming to create soccer OTT platform", Sportcal, retrieved August 26, 2023
  31. ^ Joseph Perry (September 16, 2022), Filipino platform Tap DMV launches expanded service following Endeavor Streaming tie-up, SportBusiness, retrieved August 26, 2023
  32. ^ a b Ed Dixon (April 22, 2022), "Endeavor Streaming partners with Frequency to combine DTC and FAST streaming distribution", Sports Pro Media, retrieved August 21, 2023
  33. ^ a b Masha Abarinova (April 22, 2022), "Endeavor Streaming and Frequency launch a FAST one-stop shop", Fierce Video, retrieved August 27, 2023
  34. ^ a b c d e "Endeavor Streaming, NHRA Team Up to Host New Global Service", Drag Illustrated, February 15, 2023, retrieved August 27, 2023
  35. ^ a b Our Platform, Endeavor Streaming, retrieved August 21, 2023
  36. ^ Susan Lingeswaran (July 20, 2022), PTO teams up with Endeavor Streaming to launch free OTT platform, Sportcal, retrieved August 27, 2023
  37. ^ J. Clara Chan (August 3, 2022), "Endeavor Streaming to Offer Live Shopping Capabilities to Clients", The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved August 27, 2023
  38. ^ March 1, 2023, "Endeavor Streaming X SportsPro: The future of streaming is fan first", SportsPro Media
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