NEW YORK, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SportsCastr, the social live-streaming platform that allows anyone to become a color commentator, announced today that the company has formed an official partnership with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) via REP Worldwide, the WNBPA’s group licensing and player-marketing representation agency, to power live, interactive video content for fans.
Through the partnership with the WNBPA – which represents the current women’s professional basketball players in the WNBA – all current players will be invited to use SportsCastr to provide live commentary across a range of professional and college sports, share personal insights, and more. The company will also work with the WNBPA to create premium opportunities for the league players around marquee events.
“Fans crave authentic interaction, and through the SportsCastr live-streaming platform, our players have another exciting way to engage fans in real-time,” said Terri Jackson, Director of Operations for the WNBPA. “This innovative technology also fits our objective to build unique group licensing opportunities through REP Worldwide that bring fans and players closer.”
This past 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 player content, purchase sports tickets or merchandise, and send virtual gifts to players. SportsCastr is the first platform to support FanChain, and the company is working with teams, media publishers and leagues to add FanChain support, with the aim of making it the ubiquitous token within the sports industry.
“Women’s basketball fans are global and diverse,” said Andrew Schupak, CFO and Head of Strategy at SportsCastr. “By partnering with the WNBPA, we aim to build the international reach of WNBA players while delivering unparalleled access to their fans.”
As part of the agreement, the WNBPA will have a dedicated portal within SportsCastr that aggregates all player content, highlights featured content and includes a dedicated leaderboard where fans can discover the most popular player streams.
The announcement follows news that the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), through its athlete-driven accelerator the OneTeam Collective, has acquired a minority stake in the company, making SportsCastr an officially licensed NFLPA platform.
“From the NFLPA to the WNBPA, it’s our mission to provide a platform for all fans and athletes to have a voice,” said Kevin April, SportsCastr CEO. “Through the WNBPA partnership, which offers fans live interactive video and exclusive content directly from players, the talents and personalities of these incredible female athletes will be on display for the next generation of fans.”
The first WNBA players will begin using the platform in the third quarter of 2018, with the WNBPA portal launching in Q4. For more information, visit SportsCastr.com or download the beta app at https://sportscastr.com/getapp.
About SportsCastr
SportsCastr is a live-streaming platform that allows anyone to become a color commentator. Backed by some of the biggest names in sports including NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern and Super Bowl Champion Vernon Davis, SportsCastr enables viewers to select which user they wish to have call, recap, or predict games. The Company’s FanChain cryptocurrency is designed for both SportsCastr and the global sports market, allowing users to tip broadcasters and access premium content. SportsCastr is both a second-screen experience and a first-screen social OTT platform. For more information, visit https://SportsCastr.com
About the Women’s National Basketball Players Association
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) is the union for current women’s professional basketball players in the WNBA. The WNBPA is the first labor union for professional women athletes. It was created in 1998 to protect the rights of players and assist them in achieving their full potential on and off the court. The WNBPA handles the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, filing grievances on their behalf, and counseling players on benefits and post-WNBA career opportunities. The WNBPA also serves as a resource for current players, while they are competing internationally during the offseason. The WNBPA encourages players to participate in union activities – including executive leadership roles, team representative positions, and global community outreach initiatives.
About the NFL Players Association
The National Football League Players Association is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through 2020. For additional details, please visit nflpa.com.
About REP Worldwide
Built on a foundation of the NFLPA’s more than 25 years operating a successful sports group licensing program that builds off-field revenue growth that supplements athletes’ on-field earnings, REP Worldwide provides group licensing services for athlete-driven sports properties. The NFLPA is the majority shareholder of REP Worldwide and works in collaboration with its founding partners, the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA). Please visit www.repeveryplayer.com for additional information.
About the OneTeam Collective
The OneTeam Collective is the first athlete-driven business accelerator for innovative companies seeking to incorporate sports strategies to drive growth. OneTeam Collective is comprised of founding partners, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), BlackRock, Harvard Innovation Lab, Intel, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, LeadDog Marketing Group, Madrona Venture Group and Sports Innovation Lab. The Collective offers access to the NFLPA’s brightest stars via licensing, marketing and content rights, research and development, funding and mentorship for product development and marketing support. OneTeam Collective, which features an Athlete Advisory Board, will be the first program providing rights to sports-related intellectual property, highlighted by the NFLPA’s exclusive group licensing rights and unparalleled access to more than 2,000 current NFL players. Prospective companies can apply to participate and submit their application at oneteamcollective.com.