21st Century Fox has invested $100 million into social streaming outfit Caffeine, with a view to funding the creation of a new in-house entertainment studio.
Aptly christened Caffeine Studios, the new opening will be jointly owned by Fox Sports and Caffeine, and will focus on creating exclusive esports, game, sports, and live entertainment content for the company’s broadcasting platform.
As part of the deal, 21st Century Fox executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch will join the Caffeine board, and the company’s stake in Caffeine will become part of the proposed new ‘Fox’ that’s due to be formed after Disney completes its purchase of the entertainment giant next year.
Caffeine also received additional investment from Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners, who previously invested $46 million into the company back in February this year.
“The combination of the Caffeine platform with a content studio that benefits from Fox Sports’ expertise in live events and programming will help position Caffeine to deliver compelling experiences in esports, video gaming and entertainment,” commented Murdoch.
“We are excited to partner with Caffeine and build something special for fans in the growing live social streaming esports and gaming space.”