Livestreaming startup Playback announced on Thursday that it secured $22 million in funding for its platform, including from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six.
The company, which refers to itself as “Twitch for sports,” launched in 2023 and allows users to livestream games, do live commentary, and interact with viewers through chat. NBA players Kevin Garnett, Gilbert Arenas, and Jeff Teague are among those who have gotten involved with the platform.
“Sports is best as a content category when you actually get to feel the community and the social activity that lives around it,” Playback’s CEO and co-founder, RJ Halperin, told Business Insider. “Sports thrive off the social energy.”
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“They’ve been able to craft a platform that offers sports fans a fantastic experience while partnering with the biggest league names in sports,” Ohanian said in a statement.
The company also announced Thursday it had formalized a partnership with Major League Baseball to livestream games from MLB.tv throughout the season, which mirrors a similar deal with the NBA’s League Pass. In order to stream games from either league, users will need a subscription to the corresponding streaming service to see their live broadcasts and will be able to access creator commentaries on Playback.
“We want to move as quickly as possible to try to build a bigger and bigger library of apps on our platform that allow fans to watch as much content as they want,” Halperin told BI.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.