Publishers that subscribe to Reuters’ Media Express platform are in for an influx of radical content. The company has partnered with Red Bull Media House to bolster its global action sports coverage, which it’s making freely available to the 3,000 publishers within its network, and to any others who want to register for free.
With its 160-year-old tradition as a news agency serving publishers, Reuters offers raw content from 15 to 25 publisher contributors to a network that includes media outlets like Variety and USA Today. Now it wants to deepen the pool of its content offerings, particularly in the area of sports and entertainment.
To that end, Red Bull Media House will make a range of its extreme sports content available to the Reuters network, starting with content from three events a week of its own choice, and video, images and text from those events, like footage from its “30m dive off the ledge of Victoria Falls”:
This collaboration is the first of its kind, according to Robert Schack, global head of sports and strategic projects for Reuters, who declined to discuss the financial details of the partnership.
“The sports world is flattening out,” he said. “A lot of the action sports Red Bull Media House covers are brand-new sports, or sports that haven’t yet gained mainstream attention. We’re seeing interests evolve more with increased interest in U.S. sports from Asia, and rising interest in European sports in America, for example. Sports desks have broadened in general to meet that need, and they all want more access to a wider range.”
Red Bull Media House is the media arm of the caffeinated energy drink brand, which has built an enviable reputation (especially among marketers) as a producer of live action sports content at global scale. “Demand for action sports content continues to rise, yet many publishers lack the time or resources to produce or license it themselves,” said Schack.
Next year, Red Bull Media House will head to mountain biking tournament UCI MTB World Cup Tour, Crankworx. Motorsports fans will get live coverage from the FIA World Rally Championships, Global Rally Cross, Air Racing, Moto GP, Dakar Rally, while winter-sports lovers will get to see behind-the-scenes footage of major skateboarding, cliff diving, beach volleyball and surfing events.
Image: Courtesy of Red Bull Media House Content Pool.
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