Overtime (sports network)

Overtime is a sports network focused on young, digital-native sports fans. The company's programming focuses on talented young athletes, in particular high school athletes who play basketball and football.

Overtime is a distributed sports network.[1] Instead of offering content through a single channel, Overtime's programming is available across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, on TV (through a partnership with regional sports network SportsNet New York[2]) and through Overtime itself.

Other sports networks, websites, blogs and fans frequently re-share Overtime videos,[3][4][5][6] helping Overtime reach an even larger audience on social, the web, on mobile and on TV.

Overtime has helped a number of young high-school athletes reach a national audience, including Rex Cassady, Trae Young, Jordan McCabe and Shareef O'Neal, among others.[7]

Its short-form programming is provided by a network of paid contributors, who attend games and upload highlights in real-time from their mobile phones using a special app that makes it easy to capture and produce highlights.[8] Overtime's longer-form programming (like "Challenge",[9] "Overtime All Access",[10] and "The Book of Luther") is produced by an in-house team.

History

Overtime was founded in late 2016 by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner.

Porter is a serial entrepreneur who sold his previous company, game studio OMGPop, to gaming company Zynga in 2012 for $200 million.[11] After leaving Zynga, he was hired by William Morris Endeavor (WME) to oversee its digital efforts.[12] Weiner was the founder of The Sports Quotient, a platform for college students to write about sports.[13]

Overtime initially started as a different sports-focused project within WME. In late 2016, Porter and Weiner left WME and established Overtime as a standalone company, based in Brooklyn, New York.[14] Overtime raised $2.5 million in seed funding in early 2017.[15][16]

In the summer and fall of 2017, a series of Overtime videos brought additional attention to the company. The first of these was a video showing a massive block by Zion Williamson, the country's top-ranked high school player, in July 2017.[17][18] This video was mentioned in a Sports Illustrated cover story on Williamson in August 2017.[19]

In February 2018, Overtime announced it had raised $9.5 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Greycroft and a number of other investors.[20]

Basketball star Kevin Durant is an investor in Overtime via his investment firm, Durant Company.[21] Former NBA commissioner David Stern was also an investor and advisor in Overtime.[22]

In April 2018, Overtime hired its first chief content officer Marc Kohn, a former head of programming for Barstool Sports and Bleacher Report; A head of sales, Alex Grant, a former sales executive with Twitter and Snap, Inc; And a head of production, Dave Zigerelli, who has producing credits from ESPN, MTV and Bravo.[23]

In February 2019, Overtime announced it had raised $23 million Series B round from Spark Capital, Sapphire Ventures, MSG Networks and a number of other investors.[24]

References
  1. McAlone, Nathan (February 22, 2017). "This founder who sold a startup for $200 million wants to build the next ESPN out of smartphone footage". Business Insider.
  2. Ourand, John (June 19, 2017). "For SNY, summer is time to 'keep learning'". Sports Business Daily.
  3. Kafka, Peter (February 14, 2018). "Overtime wants to turn high school jocks into social media stars". Recode.
  4. Tsuji, Alysha (February 22, 2018). "Defender gets worst surprise after Zion Williamson dunk". USA Today. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  5. "Just your average pickup gam -- NVM #SCtop10 (via @overtime)". Twitter. ESPN SportsCenter. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  6. Dunson, DJ (January 15, 2018). "LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball had their best game as professionals in rout". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  7. Smith, Cam (January 10, 2018). "VIDEO: West Virginia hoops commit Jordan McCabe tossed an absolutely ridiculous assist". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  8. Kafka, Peter (February 14, 2018). "Overtime wants to turn high school jocks into social media stars". Recode. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buDFku3c6NE Overtime
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Gwz3jTGUc&t=111s
  11. Primack, Dan (March 22, 2012). "The deal that saved OMGPOP". FORTUNE.
  12. Sun, Rebecca (September 3, 2013). "WME Hires Zynga GM Daniel Porter to Lead Digital Department". The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. Favorito, Joe (August 12, 2015). "Trying To Find A Winning Sports Quotient…". Sports Marketing & PR Roundup.
  14. Busch, Anita (October 22, 2016). "Dan Porter, WME's Head Of Digital, To Exit Agency". Deadline.
  15. McAlone, Nathan (February 22, 2017). "This founder who sold a startup for $200 million wants to build the next ESPN out of smartphone footage". Business Insider.
  16. Noto, Anthony (February 14, 2018). "Overtime, a network for Gen Z sports fans, raises capital". New York Business Journal. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  17. O'Donnell, Ricky (July 27, 2017). "Zion Williamson is the best dunker of his generation". SBNation. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  18. Randall, Dakota (July 14, 2017). "This Block From High School Phenom Zion Williamson Is Disturbingly Angry". NESN. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  19. Johnson, Chris (August 14, 2017). "He Tears Down Rims. He Texts Drake. He's the Most Famous Prep Star Since LeBron. Meet Zion Williamson". Sports Illustrated.
  20. Kafka, Peter (February 14, 2018). "Overtime wants to turn high school jocks into social media stars". Recode.
  21. Rovell, Darren. "Kevin Durant's investment arm, the Durant Company, has taken an equity stake in high school highlight brand @overtime. @KDTrey5 will make videos "scouting" the nation's best talent on his YouTube channel". Twitter. ESPN. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  22. Burns, Mark (February 22, 2017). "Ex-NBA Commissioner David Stern Invests In Overtime's $2.5 Million Seed Round". SportTechie. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  23. Spangler, Todd (April 4, 2018). "Overtime Taps Marc Kohn, Formerly at Barstool Sports and Bleacher Report, as Chief Content Officer". Variety. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  24. Spangler, Todd (2019-02-14). "Overtime Banks $23 Million From Spark Capital, MSG Networks, Carmelo Anthony and Others". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
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