Playmaker strengthens LatAm coverage with $1.7m Cracks acquisition
The acquisition will see Playmaker boost its social media presence significantly. Cracks has four million followers across Facebook and Instagram, with over one million more coming from Twitter, TikTok and Twitch.
Cracks’ Spanish-speaking sports news channels across YouTube have also accumulated a further 12.5 million subscribers.
The deal presents Playmaker with the chance to break further ground in the Latin American market, the business explained, as Cracks has YouTube channels covering Mexico, Colombia and Argentina.
It will also provide additional opportunities for further partnerships, such as the creation of on-premise original content created during the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar featuring founder Manuel Bravo as lead talent.
Playmaker executive vice-president Federico Grinberg believes the deal will enrich Playmaker’s commercial offering going forward.
“Cracks’ story is one of passion, persistence and professionalism, led by “Manu” since the company’s inception,” he said. “We are thrilled that he chose Playmaker to take Cracks to the next level.
“Cracks will give us access to a completely new revenue stream: original video creation and monetisation through syndication on third-party platforms, mainly YouTube and Facebook.”
Bravo added: “Cracks started as an amateur project that maintained a continuous upward growth trajectory despite its limitations.
“Now that Playmaker is acquiring Cracks, we will not only continue to be leaders in our field but can also aspire to make a leap in quality across the board. Ultimately, we are confident our audience will benefit, as we continue to build the best possible version of Cracks.”
Cracks represents the latest in a long line of recent Playmaker acquisitions. In addition to Brazilian media group Grupo SuperPoker in November, Playmaker also struck deals in 2021 with digital betting and media solutions provider Two-Up, Brazilian online football community Fanáticos Por Futebol, and digital media property Yardbarker.