Streaming service We Are Colony acquired by sports media firm Fantastec

We Are Colony, the two-time Startups 100-featured global streaming service, has been bought by sports media company Fantastec for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2013 by Sarah Tierney, Colony is an over-the-top video on demand (OTT VOD) service that allows film fans to gain exclusive access to content such as stills, deleted scenes, interviews, scripts, and reviews. It has registered users in 130 countries.

Fantestec is using new and emerging technologies to help fans better engage with their favourite sports, teams, and athletes, wherever in the world they are.

It was founded by Steve Madincea, a sports industry entrepreneur who has built and led sports sponsorship teams around the world.

It will now leverage Colony’s technology in its quest to serve sports fans, with new platforms and products to reach a worldwide audience.

Tierney, who was founder of BAFTA-winning television production company Clarity Productions, has become COO of Fantastec as part of the acquisition.

She commented: “In the face of enormous disruption across the film industry, we built Colony to empower content owners to easily reach engaged audiences around the world. Over the coming years, the sports industry will face similar levels of disruption from a globalising fan base along with rapidly changing tastes, demographics and habits.

“I am incredibly excited to join the Fantastec family and apply our advanced technology and comprehensive in-market experience to solving a range of challenges and opportunities in the sports sector.”

Madincea added: “What our first Fantastec acquisition means in practical terms is we can agree terms with any sport, team or athlete and have them up and running on a proven global OTT VOD platform very quickly.

“We feel this makes for a powerful offering as the rights holder defines the terms not the channel. The purchase of Colony aligns with Fantastec’s future fan vision to make engaging with sports more impactful via trailblazing technology.”