GCN Sold
Warner Bros. Discovery today announced it has sold a majority stake in Play Sports Network (PSN), the parent company of Global Cycling Network (GCN), back to its founder Simon Wear and CEO Mia Walter. Warner Bros. Discovery retains a minority stake in Play Sports Network (PSN:GCN). The author understands that Warner Bros. discovery made a significant write-down (loss) on its investment – conversely Wear and Walter may have got a good deal.
Discovery first invested in Play Sports Network in 2017 and became a majority shareholder in 2019. 2 years later the company was acquired outright with a valuation of £70 million. The corporate unravelling first became apparent when the streaming service, GCN+ covered professional cycling closed at the end of 2023 with the rights it owned moving to Eurosport, Discovery+, and Max. A few months before that, it was reported that GCN was for sale.
What next?
GCN/Play Sports Network will continue to deliver digital content across YouTube. (Phew)
Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to offer live cycling coverage through Eurosport and other streaming services it owns.
EscapeCollective expects 20 redundancies.
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