The Arena Group Acquires Fexy Studios, Expanding Video Production, Distribution Capabilities
NEW YORK -- The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: AREN) announced Thursday that it has acquired Fexy Studios, an award-winning creative agency that produces television shows, streaming and digital video programming and branded content across a variety of mediums including desktop and mobile web, OTT, broadcast television, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, webinars and more.
The Arena Group will leverage the strength of its core brands and continued audience growth coupled with Fexy’s production and branded video capabilities to expand its streaming, sponsored content and television programming, while enhancing sales and revenue generation across The Arena Group properties.
The move brings the episodic broadcast TV and brand franchises Moveable Feast and Roadfood to The Arena Group’s Lifestyle portfolio, anchored by Parade. Cliff Sharples, Fexy Studios Co-Founder, will join The Arena Group as head of Fexy Studios to scale and build out TV, streaming, and cross-platform advertising opportunities as well as a larger portfolio of shows for The Arena Group’s verticals.
"Fexy Studios has demonstrated a great ability to create compelling programming and digital video content that resonates deeply with viewers and advertisers. By adding that capability to The Arena Group, we will provide vibrant content and experiences across formats and mediums while building new horizontal, multichannel advertising opportunities throughout our portfolio," said Rob Barrett, The Arena Group’s President of Media.
The acquisition will enable The Arena Group to broaden food coverage within the Company’s Parade Lifestyle Media Group. Kathy Kingsley, GM of TV programming, an executive producer on “Moveable Feast,” and a prominent voice in food media, will also join the Company alongside Kaarina Aufranc, GM of “Roadfood,” and Bruce Hunter, Fexy Studios head of sales. The Company will pay for the transaction with Company stock and cash on hand.
Simultaneously, The Arena Group will seek to package multi-platform advertising opportunities for clients spanning online editorial, custom and sponsored digital and social video, TV, and streaming. With the addition of an extensive distribution network encompassing desktop and mobile web, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, and connected TV, The Arena Group can offer unparalleled reach to partners.
“The Arena Group’s focus on investing and growing the legacy of iconic brands such as Sports Illustrated, Parade, TheStreet, and Men’s Journal makes it the perfect home for Roadfood and Moveable Feast,” said Cliff Sharples, Co-CEO of Fexy Studios. “The opportunity to expand Fexy Studio’s multi-platform brand franchise model across The Arena Group’s portfolio is exciting and a privilege.”
Over the past two years, The Arena Group has expanded its brand portfolio, audience, and revenue and achieved significant scale with properties and platform partners. According to Comscore, The Arena Group reached more than 100 million monthly unique visitors in October 2022 remaining one the 50 largest U.S. publishers for the year, having added more than 70 publishers to its platform in the first nine months of 2022.
For more information on The Arena Group, visit thearenagroup.net.
Source: Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform, Desktop 2+ and Total Mobile 13+, October 2022, U.S.
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About The Arena Group
The Arena Group creates robust digital destinations that delight consumers with powerful journalism and news about the things they love – their favorite sports teams, advice on investing, the inside scoop on personal finance, and the latest on lifestyle essentials. With powerful technology, editorial expertise, data management, and marketing savvy, the transformative company enables brands like Sports Illustrated, TheStreet, Parade, and Men's Journal to deliver highly relevant content and experiences that consumers love. To learn more, visit www.thearenagroup.net.
About Fexy Studios
Fexy Studios is an award-winning, creative agency that produces television shows, streaming and digital video programming, and branded content across a variety of mediums including desktop and mobile web, OTT, broadcast television, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, webinars, and more. With over 20 years of experience in food and travel media, Fexy Studio’s two core brand franchises include Moveable Feast and Roadfood. Moveable Feast is celebrating its 10th anniversary season in 2023, bringing the hottest food trends and recipes from around the country. Roadfood has helped people find delicious meals along America’s backroads, blue highways, small towns and big cities for over 40 years. With 5 James Beard awards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and its award-winning TV show Roadfood: Discovering America One Dish at a Time, the Roadfood platform seeks to discover regional culture through local dishes.
About Fexy
Fexy’s cloud-based B2B/B2C platform, Relish, leverages ML/deep learning and streamlines the digital food ecosystem to take the stress out of deciding what to eat, planning meals, buying food, and cooking recipes for US households. Relish’s proprietary technology platform offers innovative shoppable digital ad products and a SaaS-based solution that enables many of the world’s largest CPG food brands, digital media companies, health care organizations, and grocers to super-charge their recipe databases, providing greater utility and consumer loyalty to their unique audiences.
Media Contacts:
Andrew Rhodes, DKC
arena@dkcnews.com
Rachael Fink
Manager, Public Relations, The Arena Group
Rachael.fink@thearenagroup.net
Investor Relations Contact
Rob Fink, FNK IR
Arena@fnkir.com
646.809.4048
