Amid a fall in revenue and a large-scale executive ream reshuffle, Catena Media is overhauling its operations and its focuses for the remainder of 2024 and beyond. Sweepstakes are set to be front and center.
New CEO Manuel Stan said on a Q2 earnings call that Catena will move forward with a new “product-focused operating model,” replacing the old geographical, hyper-local structure.
Stan noted that “strong growth” in the social sweepstakes casino vertical accounted for over one-third of casino revenue in the quarter. Catena’s Q2 results release noted that sweeps performance “bolstered” the company’s overall casino segment’s 3% revenue growth. In North America, the casino vertical was up 13% year-on-year, while the smaller sports segment was down 53% from the €4.5m reported last year.
“Sweepstakes are the fastest-growing vertical for us and we expect it to keep growing,” Stan said on the call. He added that focusing on social sweepstakes casino offerings will allow Catena to build its database and brand visibility ahead of hoped future online gaming regulation in states such as California and Texas.
Catena highlights need for ‘laser-sharp’ focus
The focus on sweepstakes is part of a broader acknowledgment that Catena needs to diversify its revenue streams and chart a path forward after a down quarter. In Q2 in North America, revenue fell 11%, new depositing customers from continuing operations fell 11% and adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations dropped 24%. Overall, across all markets, that latter number plummeted to 67%.
Those trends came amid a backdrop of significant change, not least a Google shift. More uncertainty is ahead, with some operators such as Rush Street Interactive cutting some of their affiliate spend.
Stan stressed that with new leadership on board, set to be completed with the addition of a new general counsel in the coming weeks, Catena is optimistic about its future. However, he did suggest that there will need to be a fundamental shift in approach.
“In my opinion, the group has previously tried to do too many things and spread its resources too thinly, resulting in under-optimization of core products,” said Stan. “The new board and management agree on the need for a laser-sharp operating focus. We are now in a stronger position to concentrate on the core products and drive revenue.
“To that end, we have completed an extensive prioritization exercise and, as a first step, we are clearing many low-performing domains to allow our teams to focus on the top products.”
As well as prioritizing sweepstakes, Catena is also looking to home in on the Hispanic market. The company recently launched a Spanish-language version of Bonus.com, which Stan said was a first step towards targeting “a massively under-served market with great potential.
Stan added that the Hispanic demographic offers “significant long-term potential, given that around 15% of Americans speak Spanish as their first language.”
