Buzzer, the short-form video content sports platform, is set to cease operations after three and a half years.
Founded in 2020 with an app launch in 2021, Buzzer streamed several top-tier sports leagues, including basketball's NBA and WNBA, ice hockey's NHL, golf's PGA Tour, and the men's ATP tennis tour, with fans able to stream parts of the events on their phones in exchange for micro-payments starting at $1.
However, since then, the company has struggled to keep afloat, reducing its workforce by 20% in 2022. In May this year, Buzzer shut down its consumer app to focus on becoming a technology provider for leagues, teams, and networks.
The company is shutting down despite raising $44 million in investment from well-known sports figures such as Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Durant, Patrick Mahomes, LaMelo Ball, Naomi Osaka, and Nick Kyrgios.
Investors also included the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Vikings, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Buzzer said in a statement: “Since our founding, Buzzer aimed to reimagine live sports consumption in partnership with rights holders, facilitating connection with Gen Z fans and addressing the generation gap in live viewership facing our industry, first as a D2C mobile app, and recently as a technology provider.
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By GlobalData“As of today and with a heavy heart, we are formally winding down our operations. Recent fundraising developments and market dynamics have informed this outcome, despite our very best efforts to continue building Buzzer.”
Buzzer was founded by its chief executive Bo Han, who was previously the director of live content on Twitter, where he had worked since 2012, helping lead the company’s global sports content partnerships.