The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week for North American affiliates concluded with an announcement from Better Collective that it is adjusting its revenue guidance in the negative direction.
The affiliate group revised down full-year 2024 revenue from €395-425 million down to €355-375 million and EBITDA before special items down from €130-140 million to €100-110 million. If the company hits those targets, it would still exceed revenue from 2023, which amounted to €327 million. However, there is a chance the company falls short of last year’s EBITDA of €111 million.
Revenue adjusted downward after lackluster US numbers
The note to investors attributed most of the downgrade to “lower activity than expected from U.S. partners”, but also noted that decreasing interest in Brazil had an effect on the bottom line. That being said, the company reiterated that they still believe the two markets are worth pursuing in the long term.
It is a different tune than the one sung by XLMedia, who determined on Monday that it was no longer financially viable for the company to continue its North American operation. Sportradar does believe in the potential of the market and purchased XLMedia’s assets for a deal that will be worth between $20-30 million.
Like Catena Media, Better Collective said they will once again streamline operations with planned cost savings of more than €50 million annually. Catena Media said on Tuesday that it was eliminating 29 positions from its organization, resulting in €2.2 million in annual savings.
In August, Better Collective sunsetted the news sections of its sites SportsHandle and U.S. Bets, moving the news writing staff over to Action Network.
Action Network plans future ‘streamlining’
“Since 2017, Better Collective has grown significantly both organically and through 35 acquisitions expanding our team while adding increased complexity to our organization. As external market conditions shift, it’s important for us to recalibrate our spending and investment strategies to ensure sustainable long-term success,” said Better Collective Co-Founder and CEO Jesper Søgaard.
“We are currently implementing adjustments that will better prepare us for the future and I am confident that Better Collective will emerge even stronger following this exercise. We operate in a market with strong underlying growth, despite being subject to volatility, and we are well-equipped to adapt and are strategically positioned to sustain our growth in the future.”
Better Collective will have its full Q3 earnings call on Nov. 13.
