AllCity Network, the growing digital sports media startup based out of Denver, has its sights set on many new frontiers to double its size and reach a $100 million valuation. And they’re starting by partnering directly with sports teams themselves.
In an interview with Derek Futterman of Barrett Sports Media, AllCity CEO Brandon Spano described active conversations with sports teams in its local markets. Those include Phoenix, Chicago and Philadelphia in addition to Denver.
“We were in talks with multiple teams this year about being the exclusive digital broadcast partner of their audio,” Spano said.
As regional sports networks and local radio corporations struggle, Spano believes AllCity can help fill the void for local fans. Rather than purely a disruptor, Spano sees AllCity as a collaborator with those local sports media brands as well as the pro and college teams AllCity already covers.
“We should be working together,” Spano said. “We should be making content together [and] we should be doing simulcasts and having our sales teams work together. That’s what the message should be instead of them just holding on to their cash and trying to hope we go out of business before they do.”
However, Spano is also optimistic that if there were a winner, AllCity would be it.
He wants the company to double in size and add another local market in the near future. Two of four local offshoots are profitable, Spano told BSM, with the recently launched PHLY close. AllCity will launch a free, ad-supported streaming television channel soon.
Spano hopes the company will be valued at close to $100 million in the next 18 months, when it will begin another round of fundraising.
Until then, look for AllCity to potentially begin broadcasting digital video accompaniments to your favorite sports teams’ radio broadcasts.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.