• by Wayne Friedman , September 5, 2018

Seeing a big upside to live eSports businesses, 21st Century Fox is investing $100 million in Caffeine, a live social streaming platform for gaming and entertainment.

The $100 million investment in Caffeine will result in a newly formed venture called Caffeine Studios -- jointly owned by Fox Sports and Caffeine.

The investment is intended to amp up Fox's increasing sports push, following the sale of about half its TV and film business to Walt Disney earlier this year for $71.3 billion. Fox said it would focus on sports and news programming for its network and TV stations, among other areas.

Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman of 21 Century Fox, said combining Caffeine with a content studio that benefits from Fox Sports' expertise in live events and programming will boost Caffeine in e-sports, video gaming and entertainment.

Murdoch will also join Caffeine's Board.

At the same time, Caffeine announced it made a deal with Live Nation to stream live concerts on the platform beginning in the fourth quarter.

The news was part of a financing round for Caffeine, which also includes existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners.