NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--fuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO), the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, today announced it has closed its acquisition of Edisn.ai, an AI-powered computer vision platform with patent-pending video recognition technologies based in Bangalore, India.
The Edisn.ai acquisition helps drive fuboTV’s mission to create a more interactive and immersive live TV experience. Earlier this year, fuboTV launched predictive, free-to-play games and FanView, a feature that adds live stats and scores to the sports viewing experience. Additionally in November, the company’s Fubo Gaming subsidiary launched Fubo Sportsbook, a next-generation mobile sportsbook purpose-built to integrate with fuboTV.
Edisn.ai’s computer vision technology - which can recognize and track key objects in live video feeds (including athletes, actors, brand logos, products, events and more) - will enable fuboTV to further innovate its interactive live TV streaming experience through better play-by-play identification and frame-accurate video-data synchronization. By extracting metadata directly from fuboTV’s live video feeds, Edisn.ai’s technology can also make improvements to the accuracy of fuboTV’s electronic program guide and cloud DVR by automatically detecting when a live sporting event has ended or gone into overtime.
The acquisition will also enable fuboTV to expand its ad tech capabilities, such as better detection of ad breaks and targeted contextual advertising, in addition to creating the potential for integrated e-commerce (e.g. “buy what you see on screen”).
fuboTV also intends to leverage Edisn.ai’s tech synergies for international expansion alongside its planned acquisition of France’s leading live TV streaming platform, Molotov.
Edisn.ai Co-founder and CEO Ashok Karanth will join fuboTV as general manager, fuboTV India. Also joining fuboTV are Edisn.ai’s talented team of nearly two dozen data scientists and engineers, led by Co-founder and CTO Akshay Chandrasekhar. Edisn.ai will continue to be based in India, where fuboTV intends to expand its data science and engineering organization.
“Edisn.ai’s computer vision platform unlocks many capabilities that are critical for creating a sports-first, interactive live TV experience like fuboTV,” said Mike Berkley, chief product officer, fuboTV. “With this technology, we will be able to better detect and synchronize play-by-play data feeds with live and time shifted action - such as goals scored - on the screen. The opportunities this technology opens up for fubo - from improving our interactive features to expanding our ad tech offerings for brands - are numerous. I’m thrilled to welcome Ashok, Akshay and the Edisn.ai data science team to fuboTV.”
About fuboTV
With a mission to provide the world’s most thrilling sports-first live TV experience through the greatest breadth of premium content, interactivity and integrated wagering, fuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO) is focused on bringing to life its vision of a streaming platform that transcends the industry’s current virtual MVPD model. fuboTV Inc. operates in the U.S., Canada, Spain and, through its expected acquisition of Molotov, in France.
Leveraging its proprietary data and technology platform optimized for live TV and sports viewership, fuboTV Inc. aims to turn passive viewers into active participants and define a new category of interactive sports and entertainment television. Through its cable TV replacement product, fuboTV, subscribers can stream a broad mix of 100+ live TV channels, including 74 of the top 100 Nielsen-ranked networks across sports, news and entertainment — more than any other live TV streaming platform (source: Nielsen Total Viewers, 2020). Subscribers can interact with fuboTV’s live streaming experience through predictive free-to-play games, which are integrated into select sports content.
Fubo Gaming Inc., a subsidiary of fuboTV Inc., launched Fubo Sportsbook, a next-generation mobile sportsbook purpose-built to integrate with fuboTV, in 2021.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements of fuboTV Inc. (“fuboTV”) that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Molotov acquisition, expected synergies of the technology platforms, our international expansion plans and the markets in which we expect to operate, our financial condition, anticipated financial performance, market opportunity and our business strategy and plans. The words “could,” “will,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “approximate,” “expect,” “potential,” “believe” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that fuboTV makes due to a number of important factors, including but not limited to risks related to our pursuit and engagement in acquisitions; our actual operating results may differ significantly from our guidance; risks related to the Company’s access to capital and fundraising prospects to fund its ongoing operations and support its planned growth; the restrictions imposed by content providers on our distribution and marketing of our products and services; our reliance on third party platforms to operate certain aspects of our business; risks related to our technology, as well as cybersecurity and data privacy-related risks; our ability to achieve or maintain profitability; our revenue and gross profit are subject to seasonality; our operating results may fluctuate; our ability to attract and retain subscribers; we may not be able to license streaming content or other rights on acceptable terms; risks related to our ability to capitalize develop and market a sports wagering offering and the regulatory regime and related risks associated with such offering; risks related to the difficulty in measuring key metrics related to our business; risks related to the highly competitive nature of our industry; risks related to ongoing or future legal proceedings; and other risks, including the effects of industry, market, economic, political or regulatory conditions, future exchange and interest rates, and changes in tax and other laws, regulations, rates and policies, including the impact of COVID-19 on the broader market. Further risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements are discussed in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on November 10, 2021 and our other periodic filings with the SEC. We encourage you to read such risks in detail. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent fuboTV’s views as of the date of this press release. fuboTV anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while it may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing fuboTV’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
