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The future of popular sports website The Roar is up in the air following a year-long battle for its ownership, an alleged $1 sale of assets to a former cosmetic surgery entrepreneur and a temporary shutdown. With no finances coming in to pay contributors owed for work done as far back as May, and current and former staff still owed unpaid superannuation, the ownership dispute has stymied a rescue deal led by Tom Hall, the Hong Kong-based owner of The Sporting News. The protracted fight for ownership of the sports outlet culminated in The Roar going dark this month after Fan Media repeatedly failed to release funds, three sources with knowledge of the matter and not authorised to speak publicly said. Ownership of The Roar is highly contested. It consists of a complex network of companies that own the various intellectual property rights and registered trademarks. The website itself was operated “under licence” by Fan Media. The group was purchased by online gambling firm PlayUp in 2021. Though in 2024, Daniel Simic, PlayUp’s founder and global CEO ceased being Fan Media’s sole director, appointing a mysterious figure in his place, Miro Mikrut, a 59-year-old born in Footscray.
