Sports leagues and TV networks are finding it increasingly challenging to reach young fans, many of whom don’t have cable subscriptions and are content to devour game highlights on social media.
Buzzer, a new startup, says it has a way to draw in those fans and make them pay up.
Its forthcoming smartphone app will show users “live look-ins”—short snippets of live game action—for 99 cents apiece. Viewers who want to see more can tap a link that lets them subscribe to streaming services that show those games, with Buzzer collecting a referral fee.
The company says it has secured live rights to National Hockey League games and the PGA Tour, and is scouting deals with other major leagues ahead of a launch in May or June.
Buzzer was founded by Bo Han, the former director of live content at Twitter Inc., who oversaw many of the company’s partnerships with sports leagues. He said he saw an opportunity to build a business off exciting but ephemeral moments in sports before they became free highlights online.
