Heavy.com an online video site catering to males 18-34 has closed a $20 million financing round from Polaris Venture Partners. This is the second round of funding from Polaris, which forked over $10 million to the company in early 2006. The funding will be used to broaden Heavy’s network globally and create new brands.
The site has plans to unveil a sports site in early 2007 and a site for teens by the end of the year. The sites will mix original programming and user- generated content.
“2006 was a wonderful year for Heavy. Visitors to the site more than doubled and we grew our ad sales and management team, resulting in a 350% revenue increase,” said David Carson, co-CEO of Heavy. “Our goal was to prove our advertising revenue model before expanding into new territories and markets, we’re now well positioned to expand with confidence and surpass those numbers in 2007. This investment enables us to do so quickly.”
Heavy also has plans to launch their site in international markets. Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia are on the list with possible future plans to enter the European and Asian markets.
Mike Hirshland, partner of Polaris Venture Partners said, “Heavy is building a true 21st century media company which combines internally developed content with great consumer generated content and with a sustainable revenue model. As advertisers expand their online video budgets in 2007, they are looking to work with the few online brands that can effectively deliver audience in scale. Heavy is ideally positioned to secure a place as an important player in the emerging media landscape. We are excited to partner with the Heavy team to help build this business.”
Current advertisers with Heavy are Axe, Coke, Burger King and Sony. The company has plans for a variety of branded entertainment campaigns.
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Mike is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
