A new live-sports streaming service has attracted investment dollars from famed athletes including Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan.
Buzzer, a live-sports streaming service, has raised $20 million U.S. in funding from venture capital firms and a group of athletes that includes both Gretzky and Jordan.
Sapphire Sport and Canaan Partners led the latest venture capital funding round. More than 20 athletes from across sports were also involved, including tennis player Naomi Osaka, football’s Patrick Mahomes, and basketball stars Devin Booker, LaMelo Ball and Sabrina Ionescu.
They were joined by several team owners, such as Joe Lacob from the Golden State Warriors and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jeffrey Vinik.
Buzzer’s app aggregates streaming rights so users can set-up customized multisport alerts, get notifications and tune in to live games for a fee starting at $0.99 U.S. for 10 minutes.
Sports leagues are trying to figure out better ways to reach younger viewers who are increasingly watching sports through highlights on their phones, rather than sitting through entire games on live television.
The investment brings Buzzer’s total funding to $24 million U.S. since the business was founded in January 2020.
Executives plan to use the funds to hire more staff, especially in product and engineering, with a focus on data science. They want to improve the app’s notification system, which uses personalized algorithms and machine learning.
Buzzer, which became available to select users in January of this year, remains in early-access mode as it tests products. The company plans to open the service to the public in this year’s fourth quarter. The company is also trying to sign on more partners after successfully negotiating deals with the NBA, NHL and golf’s PGA Tour.