Nazara Technologies

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Nazara Technologies
Industry
  • Sports
  • Electronic Sports
Founded1999; 26 years ago (1999)
Founder(s)Nitish Mittersain
HeadquartersMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Area served
Worldwide
Websitenazara.com

Nazara Technologies is a mobile gaming company and sports media platform based in India.[1]

History[edit]

In 1999, Narzara Technologies was founded by Nitish Mittersain.[2] In 2018, Nazara was planning to go public and obtained approval from the markets regulators, but halted the process.[3] Ultimately, the company was listed on the National Stock Exchange of India in 2019.[4] In 2019, Nazara Technologies acquired the sports media website Sportskeeda.[5] In 2021, the company recorded a profit of ₹20.28 crore (US$2.3 million) grew from ₹15 crore (US$1.7 million) to ₹35.28 crore (US$4.1 million) as compared to the last year.[6]

In November 2022, Porush Jain resigned as director and CEO of the company and appointed Ajay Pratap Singh.[7] In FY2022, the company recorded a turnover of ₹80.65 crore (US$9.3 million) from ₹35.28 crore (US$4.1 million) as compared to last year.[6]

In 2023, Nazara Technologies acquired US-based Pro Football Network LLC which is an analysis website that covers National Football League (NFL) and college football with 73.27% stake at ₹16 crore (US$1.82 million), through their subsidiary Sportskeeda.[8][9] According to the exchange filing, Sportskeeda reserves an option to acquire up to 10 percent and up to 8 percent additional stock of the Pro Football Network LLC in CY 2024 and CY 2025 respectively.[10][11][12] Nazara Technologies joined the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) as a principal member.[13]

Intellectual property[edit]

The company offers various interactive gaming options, eSports, ad-tech, and gamified early learning ecosystems. Nazara was one of the pioneers in the Indian eSports market (via Nodwin) and cricket simulation (via Nextwave).[14]

  • World Cricket Championship and CarromClash in mobile games
  • Kiddopia in gamified early learning
  • Nodwin Gaming in eSports
  • Halaplay and Openplay[15] in skill-based games
  • Datawrkz in digital ad tech
  • Sportskeeda in eSports media

Sportskeeda[edit]

Sportskeeda logo

Sportskeeda is a global sports and esports media subsidiary of Nazara Technologies headquartered in Bangalore, India.[16] It features, news, articles and live coverage of sports such as cricket, association football, American football, basketball, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling.[3][17][18][19] According to the Business Standard, Sportskeeda is Indias largest all-sports website.[20]

In 2009, the company was founded by Porush Jain. After a few months, the company raised funding from angel investors like Anshu Prasad and Srinivas Cuddapah with an undisclosed amount.[21]

In 2011, an early stage venture capital funding company Seedfund invested ₹2.8 crore. This helped Sportskeeda to scale up their operations.[22] In 2019, Nazara Technologies acquired Sportskeeda and funded ₹44 crore with 67% stake in the sports media, valuing it at ₹65 crore.[5][1] In 2020, during COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched two video series Freehit and SKlive. Freehit is an interview series with sports legends shot at homes of sportspersons while SKLive is a daily web interview series with current and past sports legends.[23]

In May 2022, Nazara set up its subsidiary Sportskeeda Inc. in Delaware, US.[24] In November 2022, Porush Jain resigned as CEO and Ajay Pratap Singh was promoted as the chief executive officer.[25] Sportskeeda partnered with Dream11 to produce 8 long-format videos showcasing 8 unsung heroes who have made significant contributions to cricket and supporting many people.[26]

Awards and recognition[edit]

In August 2021, Sportskeeda won Gold award in the News Coverage Platform (Esports And Gaming) category by Gamexx 2021.[27]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Malik, Yuvraj. "Nazara Technologies acquires 67% stake in Sportskeeda for Rs 44 cr". Business Standard.
  2. ↑ "Nitish Mittersain – Nazara". Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 M. Sriram. "Nazara Technologies Wednesday said it has acquired a majority stake in sports content website Sportskeeda.com". Hindustan Times.
  4. ↑ Varuni Khosla. "Gaming firm Nazara acquires Sportskeeda". LiveMint.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Gaming firm Nazara acquires Sportskeeda". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Nazara to acquire additional 6.05% stake in Sportskeeda for Rs 20 crore - Exchange4media". Exchange4media. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Thathoo, Chetan. "Nazara-Backed Sportskeeda Founder Porush Jain Resigns As CEO". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Gupta, Aryaman. "Nazara arm Sportskeeda pays $1.8 mn for 73.27% stake in NFL-focused US firm". Business Standard. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  9. ↑ Das, Sudip. "Buzzing Stocks | Hero MotoCorp, Hindustan Aeronautics, HG Infra Engineering, and others in the news today". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Jomy Jos Pullokaran. "Nazara arm Sportskeeda acquires 73 percent stake in NFL-focused US website". CNBC TV18. Sportskeeda Inc acquired the majority stake in Pro Football Network LLC for $1.817 million. The investment is part of Sportskeeda's growth strategy in the US digital sports media market.
  11. ↑ Deb, Aparna. "Stocks to Watch: HAL, Hero MotoCorp, NBCC, Nazara Tech, BHEL, GAIL, and Others". News18. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  12. ↑ Tapanjana Rudra. "Nazara's Sportskeeda buys NFL-focused platform Pro Football Network for 1.8 million". ET Now.
  13. ↑ Teena Jose. "Nazara's Sportskeeda buys NFL-focused platform Pro Football Network for 1.8 million". Entrepreneur India.
  14. ↑ "Our Company – Nazara". Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  15. ↑ Sneha Shah. "Nazara Technologies acquires OpenPlay for Rs 186 crore". The Economic Times.
  16. ↑ "Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Tech now a leading gaming company". The Economic Times. Sportskeeda in esports and esports media
  17. ↑ "Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Tech now a leading gaming company". The Economic Times. Sportskeeda in esports and esports media
  18. ↑ SN, Vikas. "Nazara's Sportskeeda appoints Ajay Pratap Singh as CEO; founder Porush Jain resigns". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  19. ↑ "Sportskeeda appoints Anirudh Kumar as chief strategy officer". Brand Equity The Economics Times. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "Sportskeeda set to cross 40 mn users, 1 bn ad impressions monthly". Business Standard.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ↑ Ghosh, Aparna. "Online retail: Counting on sports lovers". Mint. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  22. ↑ N. Ramakrishnan. "A social way of covering sports". Business Line. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  23. ↑ Sabherwal, Simran. "We want to be lean, yet grow fast: Porush Jain, Sportskeeda - Exchange4media". Exchange4media. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  24. ↑ "Sportskeeda establishes an entity in the US; to invest USD 4 million into operations". ThePrint. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  25. ↑ Chetan Thathoo (17 November 2022). "Nazara-Backed Sportskeeda Founder Porush Jain Resigns As CEO". Inc 42.
  26. ↑ Mahadik, Gauresh. "Dream11 collaborates with Sportskeeda to release new 'Dream Big' stories". SportsMint Media. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "GAMEXX AWARDS 2021 - Real Awards for Real Achiever's". Gamexx Awards 2021 Initiative by Adgully. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
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