Damian Lillard, Ken Griffey Jr., Nneka Ogwumike, Andre Ward, and more featured in new ‘Long Game’ series from PlayersTV and UBS

Back in 2020, PlayersTV launched as a Samsung TV Plus channel, with Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and C.J. McCollum amongst the prominent initial investors in the project (which is a subsidiary of agency Players Media Group). The network, which bills itself as “the first ever athlete owned media network and content provider dedicated to showcasing sports lifestyle and entertainment,” has since gained wide distribution across platforms including SLING TV, LG Channels, Vizio Smartcast, Roku, Xumo TV, YouTube TV, Philo TV, Rakuten TV, and Local Now.

PlayersTV now has more than 50 athlete-investors, with Dwyane Wade, Vernon Davis, Travis Kelce and more joining that initial group. And they’ve just announced some significant fall content plans in partnership with global wealth management firm UBS, including new series Long Game and returning series Front Office (which debuted last year, also in partnership with UBS). Between the two series, 12 different athletes will be featured, including Ken Griffey Jr. and Damian Lillard (seen above when he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team at the All-Star Game in February). These programs will air throughout the fall on PlayersTV (beginning Tuesday, Sept. 13 for Long Game, and Tuesday, Oct. 25 for Front Office), and will also be available on UBS’ website. Here’s more on that from a release:

Long Game is a new series of 8 episodes providing viewers a unique look into the personal experiences, business ventures and philanthropic efforts of some of the most decorated athletes in professional sports. Long Game premieres Tuesday, September 13 and will feature legends including Damian Lillard, Ken Griffey Jr., Nneka Ogwumike, Andre Ward, Tamika Catchings, Isiah Thomas, Jackie Joyner Kersee and Jermaine O’Neal. Long Game is hosted by Wale Ogunleye, former NFL Pro Bowl Defensive end and Head of Sports and Entertainment at UBS.

“We are thrilled that these world-class athletes, each of whom has reached the pinnacle of their sport, have agreed to share their stories with us,” said Wale Ogunleye, Head of Sports and Entertainment at UBS. “Success on the field does not necessarily guarantee success off the field. Hearing from these athletes helps us understand how important it is for not only them, but for all of us to take ownership of money matters, surround ourselves with excellent advisors and align our financial and business plans with our values.”

…Season 2 of Front Office, an original series executive produced by Chris Paul, NBA All-Star and PlayersTV Investor, features an all-new lineup of all-star athlete-investors with a behindthe-scenes look at the early-stage investment process. Starting Tuesday, October 25, with a new episode each week for five weeks, each episode will feature entrepreneurs from two companies as they pitch their business concepts to athlete-investors such as 2-time World Series Champion and MVP Mookie Betts (October 25), 2-time WNBA Champion and part owner of the Atlanta Dream Renee Montgomery (November 1), and USWNT members and Women’s World Cup Soccer Champions Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger (November 8), 3-time NBA Champion and 13-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade (November 22), among others.

…“Being a part of Season 2 of Front Office with PlayersTV and UBS was an exciting opportunity, and doing this alongside my wife, Brianna, made it that much more special,” said Mookie Betts, MLB All-Star. “We are thrilled to be able to collaborate on something we truly believe in, and to be able to invest in a company that has a positive impact on the community.”

Many of the figures here, including Lillard and Griffey, are already listed investors in PlayersTV. So this is a way for them to participate in making some content for a venture they have a stake in. And this also fits with the growing numbers of shows and podcasts focused on athletes from more of a business perspective, including ones we’ve seen from Kevin Durant and Alex Rodriguez. We’ll see how these particular shows are received, but there’s certainly a good number of prominent athletes here, and athletes from a variety of sports. Here’s the full Long Game schedule:

[PlayersTV; photo from Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports]