The UNA Sports Group investment firm is taking a stake of around 25% in The Curling Group, the owner of the Grand Slam of Curling series and of the Rock League property.
A deal to that effect has been unveiled today, with UNA leaving a wider investment round that also includes Relay Ventures.
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David Rader, UNA's president and co-founder, and the investment firm's chief executive and managing partner – Del Wright – are both now joining The Curling Group's board.
UNA is set to provide expertise to the curling property on strategy, commercial partnerships, and overall growth initiatives.
Rock League represents the first fully professional curling league.
Rader has commented: "Curling’s audience is growing, getting younger and going global. The TCG team has built the pieces to serve it: a premium event series in the Grand Slam of Curling, a direct line to fans through Rock Channel, and a brand-new league in Rock League. We’re excited to join the board and help build a business that matches the sport’s momentum."
Aside from this latest investment, UNA's portfolio also includes the New York City summer and winter teams from action sports' new X Games League, through a deal unveiled in May.
In addition, the firm has also invested in women's 3-on-3 basketball property Unrivaled.
In general, UNA focuses on acquiring and partnering with global professional sports franchises and platforms.
Nic Sulsky, CEO and co-founder of The Curling Group, added: "UNA’s experience building franchises in emerging leagues, and its team’s prior experience on deals across the NHL, NBA and Formula 1, make them the right partner for our next stage.
"Three years from now, I want people to see a sustainable business built around curling competitions in Canada
and the United States. Five years from now, I want them to see that we’ve changed what the sport can be globally.”
This season has seen The Curling Group sign five-year media rights agreements in Canada with both CBC and Sportsnet, as well as a three-year tie-up with ESPN in the US. These deals cover both the Grand Slam of Curling, and Rock League.
The group also owns Rock Channel, a curling-dedicated media platform and live streaming service, which it launched in late 2024 (at the same time as it acquired the Grand Slam of Curling).
The deal has been announced ahead of the start of the Grand Slam of Curling Masters on November 3, while the first full Rock League season runs across five events between January and April next year.
Rock League features six mixed-gendered global franchises, and made its debut – through a mini-season – in April.
In terms of curling's growing popularity in general, earlier this month the season-opening Co-Op Invitational from The Grand Slam of Curling brought in 38.3 million video views overall – up 415% year-on-year.
