The NFL Players Association has acquired a minority stake in SportsCastr, a live-streaming platform that lets viewers provide color commentary during events.
Current and former NFL players will use SportsCastr to provide live commentary during sports events.
“Fans are looking for new ways to engage with the game of football and us, the athletes. SportsCastr’s live stream platform is a cool and fun way for fans to add their own voice to games while engaging with players in a different way,” said NFL tight end Vernon Davis, a SportsCastr investor and advisor. “As players we see the value in sharing more of our personalities and unique content with fans and we’re excited about where this live stream tech is headed.”
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ACE Media, the NFLPA’s content and production arm, will collaborate with SportsCastr to produce NFL player and other athlete-driven content.
In June, SportsCastr announced FanChain, a cryptocurrency developed for the multi-billion-dollar global sports market. FanChain allows SportsCastr users to earn tokens for participating on the platform, and those tokens can then be used to unlock premium NFL player content, purchase sports tickets or merchandise, and send virtual gifts to NFL players.
“SportsCastr enables fans to get authentic, real-time reactions and commentary from all sports fans and now, for the first time at scale, professional athletes,” said Andrew Schupak, CFO and head of strategy at SportsCastr. “We’re excited to partner with the NFLPA to accelerate adoption and work together to enhance the fan experience.”
The first NFL players will begin using the platform in the third quarter of 2018.
The investment was made via the NFLPA’s OneTeam Collective accelerator.
As part of this agreement, SportsCastr becomes an official licensee of the NFLPA in the categories of mobile apps and web-based platforms that allow users to discuss a variety of sports topics, including through video streams and chats
