The Players' Tribune is giving a platform to athletes, so they could tell their stories, and give fans a look into their personal lives.
With over 2,000 pro athletes already contributing, the sports media company is catching on quickly. Peter Gorenstein sat down with Jaymee Messler, co-founder and president at The Players' Tribune at the WPP Stream event to discuss the company's plans to disrupt the sports media landscape.
The Players' Tribune is giving athletes the chance to connect with their audience beyond the box score. One of the media platform's high-profile documentaries dives into the life of NBA star Isaiah Thomas and highlights the ups and downs of his wild year in the league. The "Book of Isaiah" shares how he dealt with tragedy and how he felt being blindsided by a trade.
The Players' Tribune is also trying to reimagine the traditional sports press conference. It will be debuting a new 30 minute Twitter show with live athletes holding a Q&A. On top of the new show, Messler also says that having Derek Jeter as a co-founder and board member has helped the company grow.
Naz Aletaha, head of esports partnerships for Riot Games, said that the "priceless" experiences with new global sponsor Mastercard will start with the world championships in October, offering premium content and behind the scenes access to the biggest event for esports lovers.
Mastercard, seeing a market opening in the skyrocketing popularity of esports, signed a deal to become first global sponsor for Riot Games' "League of Legends." Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer for Mastercard, said the company will become exclusive payment service provider for the game. The deal represents the largest mainstream sponsorship thus far in the esports world.
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As the online gaming world continues to boom, professional sports organizations are working to marry the online and physical sports world. Hugh Weber, president of the New Jersey Devils, said that there is a way for live esports events to be compelling enough to translate to ticket sales.
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Chris Raybon, senior editor at The Action Network, breaks down the best bets for sports fans heading into Week 2 of the NFL Season.
The company's recent growth on the back of a newly invigorated gaming segment is only the beginning, according to president and CEO Bracken Darrell. He said in an interview on Cheddar that esports could become "the biggest sport in the world," and Logitech will be there as its top hardware provider.
If you had any lingering doubts that eSports had gone mainstream, they would have been erased when the North American League of Legends Summer Split took over the Oracle Arena ー home to the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Cheddar was there for the last stop before the World Championships in South Korea next month.
Bettis, known as "The Bus" when he was an unstoppable running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, voiced support for the NFL player protests but also said he thought the league was "doing the right thing" in a tense situation.
Serena Williams's altercation with a chair umpire during the U.S. Open final was just the latest example of women being treated differently than their male counterparts in the sport. But whether things change by the Australian Open in January, said the Washington Post's Cindy Boren, is hard to say.
