In January 2024, Minute Media crossed a billion-dollar valuation despite being a company most people in sports would barely recognize. It did not own a league, a team, or a major rights package. There was no celebrity founder, no stadium business, and no constant media attention. Yet in less than two years, it took over operation of Sports Illustrated, bought an AI sports-video company in a deal worth around $200 million, and quietly assembled one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes platforms in sports media. By April 2026, Minute Media sits at roughly $1.4 billion valuation, even though most people outside the industry still had no idea what it actually is.
This invisibility is not a weakness. It is the strategy.
While most of the sports media conversation focused on who was winning the content race, whether that was ESPN, Bleacher Report, Barstool Sports, or The Athletic, Minute Media was building something much bigger behind the scenes. Instead of competing only for headlines and audience attention, it focused on creating the systems that sit underneath modern sports media. Today, it owns or powers brands such as Sports Illustrated, The Players’ Tribune, FanSided, 90min, and Mental Floss. It also runs one of the largest independent sports video distribution networks in North America, with highlight partnerships across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NASCAR, Formula 1, and the PGA Tour. On top of that, it built its own advertising and monetization system designed to help publishers earn more from their audiences. It also owns Magnifi, an AI clipping platform already being used by major leagues and rights holders.
What starts to emerge is not a traditional media company at all.
Minute Media looks more like three businesses working together inside one system. At the top are fan facing brands that attract audiences. In the middle is a publishing and monetization engine that helps content get distributed and generate revenue. Underneath sits a sports video infrastructure layer that powers highlights, clipping, and distribution. Very few media companies operate across all of these areas at once. Most focus on creating content. Others specialize in technology. Some concentrate on distribution. Minute Media is trying to control every layer at the same time.
This report explores what Minute Media has built, how it makes money, why investors keep backing it, and what its rise says about the future of sports media. Minute Media may be evolving into something far more interesting: a platform that sits behind modern sports media, bringing together infrastructure, top brands, sports properties, eyeballs and technology into one connected system.
Asaf Peled launched Minute Media in 2011 after spotting a gap in sports media….