Sportradar’s scope and scale will expand with today’s announcement
Sport never sleeps. Somewhere in the world there is a match or event happening – 24/7, 365.
Fans have grown used to this constant cycle of action and want to get involved through watching and betting on their favourite teams and athletes. And our operator clients want to serve them with the opportunity to do so.
It is Sportradar’s highly scalable technology platform and deep client network that make this possible. That is why I am delighted that we have entered into an agreement to acquire IMG ARENA and its global portfolio of sports betting rights.
The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, would provide Sportradar’s roster with another almost 40,000 events across 14 global sports, giving us a wealth of exciting content to monetize and drive value for our clients and partners. And with 70 percent of such events being soccer, tennis and basketball – the three sports that generate the most global betting volume – it will drive engagement and choice for the end-user fan in their favourite sports.
Added together, this strategic acquisition will complement our existing portfolio, seamlessly integrating with what we already own. Our new sports rights will include marquee names such as Grand Slam tennis (ex-Australian Open), Major League Soccer, PGA Tour golf, EuroLeague and Spanish- and Italian-league basketball.
It would marry European basketball to the NBA, Grand Slam tennis to the ATP, Major League Soccer and CONCACAF events to UEFA and FIFA competitions, along with so much more.
By adding these new rights, and by deepening our portfolio in some of the biggest sports in betting, this acquisition, once closed, will benefit our clients. It will give them access to more sports events with the same, seamless, Sportradar technology that is already integrated into their operations.
It will be beneficial for the rightsholders, too, since we will be able to expand our existing sports-specific innovations around fan engagement to these new properties. This will help generate new interest in their sports, further leveraged through our technology platform and deep client distribution network.
And it will be better for the fan, whose opportunity to access sports events that some operators may not previously have carried will now grow, bringing hyper-immersive, hyper-personalized, AI-enhanced content to new properties altogether.
These shared benefits are also reflected in what these rights will deliver for Sportradar. The unique structure of this deal accelerates our revenue and cash flow profile and will be accretive to our margins. This all means these new rights will bring benefits to our shareholders too.
In short, we are expanding our event portfolio, opening new rights up to our cutting-edge innovations and AI and delivering them across our global footprint. This will improve the scope and opportunity for an entire sports ecosystem, unlocking new growth opportunities for us all. I could not be more excited for the future.
Carsten Koerl
CEO and Founder
