KSE acquires InterMedia Outdoor Holdings, including Sportsman Channel
Category: press release
Nov 12th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Nov 12th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, LLC (“KSE”) has announced that it has acquired InterMedia Outdoors Holdings, Inc., (InterMedia Outdoors) from InterMedia Partners VII, L.P., a private equity investment fund. InterMedia Outdoors’ assets include Sportsman Channel, a national cable television network for outdoor enthusiasts, 15 market leading outdoor magazines, and 17 top websites, as well as television production operations.
KSE already owns and operates Outdoor Channel, a leading network serving the outdoor lifestyle industry, and 50 percent of World Fishing Network, North America’s only television network, online and mobile platform dedicated exclusively to fishing. With the addition of the InterMedia Outdoors properties, KSE’s outdoor content and distribution assets will represent the largest multimedia portfolio focused on the outdoor lifestyle spanning television, print and digital media, as well as programming production for the adventure, hunting, sport shooting, fishing and conservation categories. KSE, which will continue to operate Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel as separate networks, is committed to serving the vast audience of outdoor enthusiasts across all media while providing a highly targeted multimedia platform for distributors, producers and advertisers to connect with this growing consumer group.
Jim Martin, President and CEO of KSE, commented, “This is a highly complementary transaction that solidifies our leadership in the outdoor genre and strengthens our ability to serve our passionate and growing audience with a diverse range of content choices. We have the highest quality programming, the top brands and the broadest distribution in the outdoor industry, all under the KSE umbrella. We are committed to further investing in these assets, increasing our distribution and expanding the range of content experiences we deliver. We welcome the former InterMedia Outdoors team to the KSE family and look forward to working together to grow this vibrant category and build on our success.”
Matt Hutchings, Executive Vice President and COO of KSE, said, “The addition of InterMedia’s outdoor assets to KSE is a natural fit and gives us the most diverse portfolio of media offerings in the outdoor lifestyle space. We look forward to providing our employees and talent with expanded opportunities to collaborate and take advantage of our resources. We are also excited about providing our business partners, advertisers and distributors with an unprecedented platform reaching millions of hunters, anglers and outdoor adventure seekers. We will spend the coming months laying the groundwork to fully maximize the reach and effectiveness of our newly acquired portfolio.”
Peter Kern, Managing Partner of InterMedia Partners, stated, “We are proud of the success of InterMedia Outdoors over the last eight years and the work they have done to grow and innovate in the outdoor media space. Our team has done a tremendous job of expanding the reach and breadth of our content and they could not have found a better home than with KSE. The complementary assets and strong financial and management resources which KSE brings will support the continued growth of the category. We are confident that there are great things ahead for our employees and the distributors and advertisers who have been our partners.”
KSE’s goal remains to fully maximize the potential of the acquired brands for viewers, distributors, advertisers and business partners, and the Company looks forward to sharing its strategic plans in the months ahead.