Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky Among Investors In Sports Streaming App

A new sports app is being backed by some of the greatest athletes in history. Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky are just two of the investors in Buzzer, a mobile platform that specializes in streaming live sports.

Buzzer announced Wednesday that it had received $20 million in Series A financing. The app allows consumers to live stream pivotal moments in various sports for a one-time fee. Buzzer currently has partnerships with the NHL, PGA Tour and NBA League Pass, giving fans a chance to access live video in those leagues.

"With the proliferation of new distribution platforms, fans are finding it harder to know when and where live sports are happening, creating an experience that is not optimized for their expansive interests based on how they consume. We envision Buzzer becoming the discovery and curation tool that brings Gen Z fans back to live sports with simple access to ephemeral moments," Bo Han, founder and CEO of Buzzer, said in a statement.

"We're grateful to have so many influential industry leaders as partners who have a shared vision of creating a platform and community built to close the generational gap in live sports consumption. "

Jordan and Gretzky are arguably the greatest players for their respective sports. More than 20 past and current professional athletes are investors, including tennis star Naomi Osaka and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu and NBA stars LaMelo Ball and Devin Booker are investors, as well.

Buzzer was founded in 2020 and tries to send users personalized notifications, alerting them to upcoming moments in sports that they might be interested in watching. The company has said it plans to announce partnerships with more sports leagues in the coming months.

"Buzzer is uniquely suited to bring together the massive market of live sports and a new generation of fans who prefer mobile content. With viewership down across many league's telecasts, sports media is experiencing an existential challenge," says Maha Ibrahim, General Partner at Canaan. "Buzzer presents a novel approach to reclaiming value in the $75B U.S. live sports market, making it painless for fans to drop into games right on their phones – sending them hyper-personalized notifications at exactly the moment when their favorite player, team, or sport is live."