on digital and social platforms, has raised $80 million in funding to pursue plans including the launch of its own high-school basketball league, the company said. The sports media and entertainment venture also hopes to tap the broader interest in nonfungible tokens and sports betting., the rapper Drake and Reddit Inc. co-founder Alexis Ohanian are among the investors of the Series C round, which was led by Sapphire Sport and Black Capital.
Overtime has named a commissioner and a head of basketball operations for the league, and plans to hire 80 employees, including about 40 to produce content. Over the past few years, the company has also expanded its offerings and business to include original shows, merchandising and live events. The company also plans to use its new financing to invest in areas such as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which have recently caught the attention of the sports industry, andNFTs use blockchain technology to authenticate unique digital assets, including art, music or even basketball highlights. Overtime’s library of highlights and other content, which it expects to boost with the planned league, could help create digital sports cards and tradable assets, Mr. Porter said.
From the looks of the website, I wonder how much of this is a 'sports league' vs how much of it is analogous to creating their own reality TV. Blurring the lines between sports and entertainment.
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