Daily Faceoff, The Nation Network acquired by Playmaker Capital Inc.
It’s the dawn of a new day at Daily Faceoff.
Playmaker Capital Inc. (TSX-V: PMKR), the digital sports media company that delivers authentic content experiences through its portfolio of sports media and technology brands, announced on Wednesday the acquisition of The Nation Network and Daily Faceoff.
This is game-changing news for all Daily Faceoff fans and loyal Nation Network citizens.
All of the breaking news, opinion and stories you’ve come to expect from us – on a variety of different platforms, including podcasts and The Daily Faceoff Show – will now be taken to the next level with the strength and backing of Playmaker as we continue on our trajectory to become the premier independent hockey voice in the digital space.
Daily Faceoff recently completed Phase 1 of our staff buildout prior to puck drop on Opening Night in October, adding key contributors Mike McKenna, Scott Burnside, Tyler Yaremchuk, Steve Greeley, Chris Peters, Dan Marrazza, Bryce Salvador, Tim Peel and Rachel Doerrie.
Playmaker’s acquisition of Daily Faceoff will now unlock the germination of Phases 2 and 3 in content expansion, allowing conversations and other potential strategic brand acquisitions, to begin on a much quicker timetable than originally planned.
“We view Playmaker as the jet fuel for our operation,” Daily Faceoff president of hockey content Frank Seravalli said. “We’ve already taken off and gained significant momentum in the marketplace. The connections that Playmaker has in the industry and the space, the expertise and the experience that they have in the gambling market, they’re going to open doors for us that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.”
Part of what made Wednesday’s union so attractive to Daily Faceoff and The Nation Network is Playmaker’s culture and vision.
“It’s refreshing to work with a group that understands and shares the same fan-first culture as we do, because like us, they are sports fans,” said TNN co-founder and CEO Jay Downton. “This is a huge momentum builder for The Nation Network as it will allow us to invest more in content creation, talent recruitment, partnerships, and strategic acquisitions, all of which will better serve and expand our amazing online community.”
For Playmaker, acquiring Daily Faceoff and The Nation Network meant planting a flag in the company’s home base of Canada, where CEO Jordan Gnat and company are uniquely positioned to capitalize on coming landmark changes in the gambling world.
In September, Daily Faceoff and The Nation Network entered into a multi-year deal positioning top-tier online gaming operator PointsBet as our exclusive sports betting partner. Through this partnership, PointsBet Canada is expected to deliver odds integrations, analysis from PointsBet experts, and access to enhanced tools to drive deeper engagement across all of our platforms.
“The acquisition of TNN and DFO is further proof that Playmaker is continuing to execute against its plan to acquire and roll up valuable, profitable digital media assets that cover major sports in important markets,” said Jordan Gnat, Playmaker CEO. “TNN is Playmaker’s first acquisition in our home market of Canada, giving Playmaker true audience reach from the top of Canada to the bottom of Argentina. This is particularly important in Canada as we look towards Q1 2022 when third party sports betting operators will be permitted to operate in Ontario.”
ABOUT PLAYMAKER
Playmaker (TSX-V: PMKR) is a digital sports media company that lives at the intersection of sports, betting, media and technology. Playmaker is building a collection of premier sports media brands, curated to deliver highly engaged audiences of sports fans to sports betting companies, leagues, teams and advertisers.
ABOUT THE NATION NETWORK
The Nation Network and wholly-owned subsidiary Daily Faceoff have generated more than one billion pageviews since their inception and have become one of the largest online destinations for independent sports coverage in North America, with a combined annual audience of more than 27 million unique users.
TNN’s differentiated channels of distribution deliver breaking news, analysis, and fantasy projections to their highly engaged group of users, including through a subscription model, a net-new revenue stream within the Playmaker ecosystem. TNN also delivers market-leading analysis through the platforms of several key influencers, including North American hockey authority, Frank Seravalli, who joins the Playmaker family in his role as DFO’s President of Hockey Content.
TNN and DFO generate more than 5.2 million monthly sessions and engage with 5.4 million social media followers across multiple platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. The TNN brand family includes more than ten web properties, \ including Oilersnation.com, Canucksarmy.com, Hockeyfights.com and Daily Faceoff, the popular source of breaking news, analysis, and fantasy data that alone generates more than 83 million annual page views. TNN also produces a host of podcasts, including the DFO Rundown and a partnership with Dropping the Gloves hosted by John Scott, that combine for 4.6 million annual downloads.