Cliff Sharples, Fexy Studios Co-Founder, will join The Arena Group as head of Fexy Studios to scale and build out TV, streaming, and cross-platform advertising opportunities as well as a larger portfolio of shows for The Arena Group’s verticals. “Fexy Studios has demonstrated a great ability to create compelling programming and digital video content that resonates deeply with viewers and advertisers. By adding that capability to The Arena Group, we will provide vibrant content and experiences across formats and mediums while building new horizontal, multichannel advertising opportunities throughout our portfolio,” said Rob Barrett, The Arena Group’s President of Media. The acquisition will enable The Arena Group to broaden food coverage within the company’s Parade Lifestyle Media Group. Kathy Kingsley, GM of TV programming, an executive producer on “Moveable Feast,” and a prominent voice in food media, will also join the Company alongside Kaarina Aufranc, GM of “Roadfood,” and Bruce Hunter, Fexy Studios head of sales. The company will pay for the transaction with Company stock and cash on hand. Simultaneously, The Arena Group will seek to package multi-platform advertising opportunities for clients spanning online editorial, custom and sponsored digital and social video, TV, and streaming. With the addition of an extensive distribution network encompassing desktop and mobile web, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, and connected TV, The Arena Group can offer unparalleled reach to partners. Over the past two years, The Arena Group has expanded its brand portfolio, audience, and revenue and achieved significant scale with properties and platform partners. According to Comscore, The Arena Group reached more than 100 million monthly unique visitors in October 2022 remaining one the 50 largest U.S. publishers for the year, having added more than 70 publishers to its platform in the first nine months of 2022.
