Streaming company Kiswe adds veteran CFO Joe Statter

A company that’s frequently come up in recent local broadcasting deals is direct-to-consumer streaming firm Kiswe. The New Jersey-based business has long focused on sports and technology, coming onto the scene with a Washington Mystics WNBA deal in 2014, working with a variety of leagues and teams (including the Professional Fighters League and CrossFit Games) since then, and striking streaming deals with everyone from the Phoenix Suns and Mercury to the Utah Jazz to the Arizona Coyotes in the last 18 months. And on Wednesday, they announced a key executive move, hiring Joe Statter as their new chief financial officer.

While Statter is newer to the sports world, a release here notes that he enters this Kiswe role with significant experience in leadership roles at high-growth companies and investment banks. He was most recently the CEO of Varsity Care Adult Health Services, focused on non-residential senior services, and helped design and carry out a buy-and-build strategy there. Before that, he was the managing director of corporate financial firm Evergreen Advisors for almost a decade; he’s also held executive roles with Capitol Acquisition Corp. and Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co., Inc. And he’s expected to “focus on driving Kiswe’s financial growth through fundraising and corporate development.” Here are some quotes on this move from that release:

“Joe’s impressive career and proven ability to drive financial performance make him an ideal addition to the Kiswe team,” said Glenn Booth, CEO of Kiswe. “His strategic mindset and deep industry knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to expand our market leadership.”

“I am thrilled to join Kiswe at such an exciting time of growth,” said Statter. “The company’s innovative approach to streaming and partnership with its customers is truly unique. I look forward to contributing to its continued success.”

The focus on Statter’s work at high-growth companies is perhaps particularly of note here, as Kiswe certainly seems to be focused on rapid growth in the sports streaming world. As mentioned, they’ve struck quite a range of deals recently, including with the Suns/Mercury, Jazz, and Coyotes. (It’s not yet clear if the Coyotes one will carry over to their new Salt Lake City home, but given that the new Utah Hockey Club is owned by Jazz owner Ryan Smith, it’s certainly possible.)

In each of those cases, Kiswe’s helped provide direct-to-consumer streaming to complement local over-the-air deals. And with those kinds of deals becoming more and more prominent amidst growing challenges for the regional sports network model, there may be many more teams offering direct-to-consumer packages down the road. Not every sports DTC package is through Kiswe, but they’ve certainly established themselves as a significant player in that space. And there may be more growth ahead for them.

[Kiswe]