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Nine confirms it has bought stake in online youth site Pedestrian.tv

PedestrianNine Entertainment has this afternoon confirmed it has bought a major stake in youth online brand Pedestrian.tv, while remaining coy on the price paid or the size of its stake.

A Nine spokeswoman declined to comment on the price paid by the media company however, the news comes just a day after media reports emerged that Mi9, Nine’s digital division, was looking to spend $10m on a 60 per cent stake in the business.

Alex Parsons, managing director of Mi9, told Mumbrella: “When we look at the market and where our strengths are, we saw an opportunity in that youth segment. It is where our current offering is not as strong as it could be.”

“When you look at that, you then say we could go down the path of build, buy or partner in this space. Building in that segment is difficult – the youth segment can be fickle and a tough audience to crack.”

Parsons refused to comment on the percentage of equity in the company Mi9 had taken, except to say it was a “significant” stake, while also emphasising that Pedestrian.tv would retain its independence and own offices and staff in Surry Hills.

“Independence is important to us. They are where they are because of who they are and I don’t want us to love them to death, rather we want to help them grow where we can help them,” he said.

“We don’t want to get in their way, they have done a great job, they have a great team – they are strong in social, very strong in mobile, very strong in native and I think there is a lot we can learn from them. That’s a big part of the investment for us.”

Pedestrian.tv was founded by Oscar Martin and Chris Wirasinha in 2005 and targets an audience of 16 to 35 year-olds, claiming over 200,000 subscribers to its EDM and social channels.

“When we look at a business like Pedestrian Chris and Oscar have been in that business for ten years and built it up incredibly well over that time. So the opportunity to invest and partner with those guys who are so familiar with that audience is really exciting,” said Parsons.

“From the two of us working 100-hour weeks out of our parents’ homes to a talented and devastatingly handsome staff of 27 and a partnership with Australia’s largest media company, it’s a wild ride that’s only just getting started,” said Martin.

Nic Christensen

The statement:

Nine Entertainment Co. today announced that it has invested in Australia’s leading youth publishing brand, Pedestrian.tv.

Alex Parsons, Managing Director of Nine Entertainment Co.’s digital arm, Mi9, said: “We are thrilled to partner with one of Australia’s fastest growing publishing brands. Pedestrian.tv engages over a million young Australians every month and delivers amazing results for brands.

“Our mission is to create and sell digital products that people and brands love, and in certain categories our strategy is to invest and create opportunities for future growth. We are excited by the opportunity to help continue to build this business whilst learning from the impressive Pedestrian.tv team.”

Founded by Chris Wirasinha and Oscar Martin, Pedestrian.tv engages over 1.5 million browsers each month with its pop culture musings and creative jobs listings. With advertising partnerships including Telstra, Lion Nathan, Intel and MINI, the rapid growth of Pedestrian.tv has seen it make BRW’s Fast 100 in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Co-founder of Pedestrian.tv, Chris Wirasinha, said: “We want to create the number one media company in Australia for 18 to 29 year-olds, and the partnership with Nine helps deliver expertise, infrastructure and Karl Stefanovic to make this vision a reality.”

Co-founder Oscar Martin added: “From the two of us working 100-hour weeks out of our parents’ homes to a talented and devastatingly handsome staff of 27 and a partnership with Australia’s largest media company, it’s a wild ride that’s only just getting started.”

Nine Entertainment Co.’s investment in Pedestrian.tv will see Martin and Wirasinha continue to lead and run the business independently across content, operations and sales from their current Surry Hills location.

 

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