As part of a $20 million Series A raise, streaming sports discovery app Buzzer has added more than 20 current and former athletes to its cap table, headlined by Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. The round, led by existing investor Sapphire Sport and new investor Canaan Partners, also included investments from tennis star Naomi Osaka and NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, as well as backers affiliated with MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL and NHL team ownership.
Founded in 2020, Buzzer has partnerships with the NBA, NHL and PGA, offering users notifications for key moments and links to buy one-time streaming access. In a statement, the company said the new funding would go toward social feature development, new partnerships and increased staffing. A valuation was not announced.
“We envision Buzzer becoming the discovery and curation tool that brings Gen Z fans back to live sports with simple access to ephemeral moments,” Buzzer founder and CEO Bo Han said in a statement. “We’ll continue to build Buzzer with fans’ interests in mind and with a partner-first approach that presents new opportunities for them to reach net new audiences, define new revenue streams, and offer added value to their existing subscribers.”
Rather than launching an entirely new service, Buzzer attempts to serve as matchmaker, letting users follow athletes, teams and leagues, and sending notifications before highlight moments happen. Snippets of live broadcasts as short as two minutes start at 99 cents each. In some cases, the service will also sell longer, more expensive streaming access.
“Sports media is experiencing an existential challenge,” Canaan general partner Maha Ibrahim said in a statement. “Buzzer presents a novel approach to reclaiming value in the $75 billion U.S. live sports market.”
In a statement, Sapphire Sport partner Michael Spirito said, “Bo and the Buzzer team’s partner-first, industry-advancing approach, centered on personalization, data and mobility, serves leagues, teams, RSNs, national networks and OTT / DTC products equally.”
