BoomTV raises $10 million for its esports livestreaming platform

BoomTV has raised $10 million for its livestreaming platform for automating esports event production.

The Redwood City-based BoomTV has built a platform that enables organizers to create and manage their own events, particularly smaller community events. The company launched the BoomTV platform on the strength of the Code Red pro-amateur esports series. Boom.tv wants to make it easier to produce high-quality production of esports events and help the underserved community of civic groups, youth sports organizations, and school clubs share competitions with their audiences.

BoomTV runs a popular biweekly event series called Code Red, which reaches millions of monthly users. Top influencers participate from YouTube and Twitch, and that helps it aggregate tens of millions of watched minutes for its events. Additionally, influencers use the platform to run their own community gaming events every week.

“The whole beauty of it is that it’s all virtual,” said CEO Sumit Gupta in an interview with GamesBeat. “And nobody is actually catering to the smallest communities. We have a long way to go, but it’s just a huge market. We’ve got a lot of momentum with what we were building, with a lot of influencers participating in the events.”

Previously, BoomTV acquired the American Video Game League in a move to expand collegiate esports. The AVGL is one of the largest producers of collegiate esports events, content, and community initiatives. Gupta said the round was oversubscribed, meaning the company raised more money than it asked for. Bitkraft Esports Ventures led the round, with participation from PTW and Crest Capital.

The most popular games on BoomTV are League of Legends, Fortnite, and Call of Duty: Warzone.

Above: Samir Gupta is top left in this picture of the BoomTV team.

Image Credit: BoomTV

The company will continue to invest in the Code Red ProAm series by increasing its prize pools and establishing long-term relationships with top gaming influencers. It will also invest in original esports programming. Over the last 12 months, the Code Red series has averaged 2.7 million unique viewers, and it has more than 4 million fans across social platforms. Players have earned more than $3.9 million in cash across 11,000 events since the fall of 2018. More than 75,000 content creators and 1,600 college programs are using Boom.tv.

Hypothetically, a local YMCA group could challenge a local fire department in a Fortnite tournament to help raise funds for the group’s travel fund. They could jump on Boom to set the event, register players, and enable score-tracking. Parents, family members, and community leaders could watch, share, and support the cause.

These small-scale events are the backbone of the competitive gaming movement and Boom is dedicated to simplifying the hosting experience across platforms like Mixer or YouTube.

The company has 24 employees. It makes money from sponsorships for its biggest events. The pandemic has helped the company grow, as players are turning to games while sheltering in place.

“We are lucky to be able to grow momentum now,” Gupta said. In the past month, the company has seen 11% growth in viewership, and growth among influencers has grown, Gupta said.