The company was founded in the fall of 2016 by Dan Porter, a serial entrepreneur who previously served as WME’s head of digital, and Zack Weiner, a 25-year-old former chess champion turned entrepreneur. Porter, who is Overtime’s CEO, sold his games startup OMGPOP to Zynga in 2012 for $180 million (before Zynga shut it down the following year).
“There’s been this evaporation of a younger sports audience: They’re not watching a three-hour game; they’re watching sports highlights,” said Porter. Given that YouTube and Instagram stars are the new celebrities for teens, he added, “then old guys calling games and pontificating on television couldn’t be further out of touch from what kids want to watch.”
Porter said Overtime is drafting on the social-media reach of top high-school sports players — some of whom have hundreds of thousands of followers — who aren’t covered by traditional media. “Nobody had built a national brand for reaching these kids,” he said. “It’s the same dynamic as YouTube stars with massive followings.”
Added Weiner, who serves as the company’s president: “The market for pro sports is saturated. When these players supernova in high school, it’s exciting — and it gets us the young viewers.”
Right now, Overtime makes money through brand partnerships, under which the startup provides content creation, distribution or both. Brands Overtime has worked with include Gatorade and Under Armour. Long term, Overtime hopes to create video channels that are distributed through internet-TV bundles (like Sling TV and YouTube TV), under which it would receive cable-like distribution fees.
Mars Reel recently closed $2.7 million in financing as part of an initial $4.7 million round of funding from investors including LeBron James, Maverick Carter, hip-hop artist Nas, Translation founder and CEO Steve Stoute; Bruce Tuchman, former global network chief for AMC, Sundance and MGM; and lead investor Robert Hisaoka. Kevin Durant also is an investor. Mars Reel also inked a partnership with LeBron James’ Uninterrupted digital-media company to team on content development and distribution.
Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has won an NBA championship, an NBA Most Valuable Player Award, the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, four NBA scoring titles, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and two Olympic gold medals. Durant has also been selected to seven All-NBA teams and eight NBA All-Star teams.
Durant was a heavily recruited high school prospect who was widely regarded as the second-best player in his class. He played one season of college basketball for the University of Texas, where he won numerous year-end awards and became the first freshman to be named Naismith College Player of the Year. In 2007, he was selected as the second overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA draft. After his rookie season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. Behind Durant’s leadership and his pairing with All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, the Thunder emerged as a perennial title contender, advancing as far as theNBA Finals in 2012, where they lost to the Miami Heat. He played nine seasons in Oklahoma City before signing with Golden State in 2016, winning a championship in his debut season.
Off the court, Durant often ranks as one of the highest-earning basketball players in the world, due in part to endorsement deals with companies such as Foot Locker and Nike. He has developed a reputation for his philanthropy and regularly leads the league in All-Star votes and jersey sales. In recent years, he has contributed to The Players’ Tribune as both a photographer and writer. In 2012, he tried his hand at acting, appearing in the film Thunderstruck.
Though Durant’s height is officially listed as 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he has stated that he actually stands 6 ft 10 3⁄4 in (2.10 m) barefoot and 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) with shoes. He plays mostly at the small forward position, and his career averages are 27.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Durant has earned All-NBA honors seven times (2009–14, 2016–17) and was voted Rookie of the Year in his debut season. He has won an MVP Award and finished second in the voting three times, a trend he has expressed frustration over.
Durant was formerly represented by agents Aaron Goodwin and Rob Pelinka. He left Pelinka in 2013 and signed with the Roc Nation group, headed by Jay-Z. Durant has endorsement deals with Nike, Sprint, Gatorade, Panini, General Electric, and 2K Sports. In 2012, he tried his hand at acting, appearing in the children’s film Thunderstruck. In 2013, he earned $35 million, making him the fourth-highest-earning basketball player that year. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Durant claimed that, despite his high earnings potential, “global marketing and all that stuff” does not interest him.
Durant playing American football
One of the most popular players in the league, Durant’s jersey regularly ranks as one of the NBA’s best-selling and he is consistently one of the top All-Star vote-getters. He has developed a reputation for his kind demeanor; in 2013, Foot Locker released a series of commercials calling him the “nicest guy in the NBA”, and he has become a beloved figure in Oklahoma City, known for his “nice escapades” toward the Thunder’s staff. In 2014, he partnered with KIND snacks and launched StrongAndKind.com to show “being kind is not a sign of weakness.”
Throughout his career, Durant has participated in philanthropic causes. In 2013, he pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross for the victims of the 2013 Moore tornado. His generosity inspired the Thunder and Nike to match his donation. He is also a spokesperson for the Washington, D. C. branch of P’Tones Records, a nationwide non-profit after-school music program.
In 2017, Durant became involved with YouTube. In February, he visited YouTube’s headquarters for a speaking engagement. On April 7, 2017, he created a YouTube account and soon began to upload live stream vlogs onto it. In his first vlog, he detailed, “I’m so excited because I got off social media. I got off theInstagram, Twitter, all that stuff, just to distance myself a bit. But somebody talked me into getting on the YouTube.” As of January 2018, Durant’s YouTube channel has received over 590,000 subscribers and 18 million video views.
On February 13, 2018, Deadline reported that Durant in partnership with producer Brian Grazer‘s Imagine Television will create a basketball-themed scripted drama for Apple.
Number of Current Team Members
Recent News & Activity
