Reposted from The Guardian and Broadcast
SBTV, the online music and entertainment channel, has secured private equity backing from Miroma Ventures. The London-based private equity firm, which specialises in media and technology companies, has taken a minority investment in the broadcaster for an undisclosed amount. The deal values the business at £8m.
Edwards has built SBTV from its roots in urban music to more mainstream appeal – its most popular video is an exclusive of Ed Sheeran singing You Need Me, I Don't Need You which notched up 7m views, and the angel investment aims to drive the business into new areas. London-based Miroma, which has investments including Pinterest and online fashion magazine Who What Wear, has taken a minority stake in the business for an undisclosed sum.
"I want channels on fashion, comedy, sport, business, games and gadgets all built in the SBTV world," said Edwards. "I understand the world of youth, the urban landscape, like the back of my hand and now I want to enter the wider world."
Edwards said that he is keenly aware about the risk of expanding too rapidly and losing the startup mentality that has made the site such a success. SBTV has become hugely popular, accumulating more than 150m views on YouTube and hundreds of thousands of subscribers on the platform, all with a staff of just six.
"I want to talk to my audience as much as possible, carry them on my journey…I am going to make a video to post about the deal".
Marc Boyan, the founder of Miroma Ventures, will take a seat on the board and said that the company has committed to a further £1m investment round "at the appropriate time in SBTV's near future". Boyan said that "some of the biggest media players globally" wanted to get involved in SBTV.
He said that a hunt is on for more staff, including a managing director, and that the investment will also allow the development of SBTV into e-commerce and onto mobile platforms, as well as live events and more merchandise.
Congrats to Jamal and the SBTV team!
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