DALLAS and TORONTO — Players Media Group, a sports-centric new media entertainment company, and Canada’s Anthem Sports & Entertainment, owner of AXS TV, Impact Wrestling and other media properties, announced Thursday the creation of PlayersTV, a new network dedicated to sports lifestyle and culture entertainment.
Among the new network’s partners are professional athletes such as retired NFL player Vernon Davis, and current NBA players Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum and Chris Paul. PlayersTV will launch in March 2020 on Samsung TV Plus, says the news release.
Players Media Group is the newest venture of Collin Castellaw and Deron Guidrey, the sport entertainment and marketing visionaries behind Pregame Media, a digital agency that helped sports influencers to brand, monetize and scale their brands.
“Through PlayersTV, we’ve created a distribution ecosystem that brings fans and athletes together in one place, making it easier for fans to access the content they desire, and easier for athletes to reach their fans and also better monetize their content. I’m excited to have world-class athletes join us as shareholders, investors and partners on this journey,” said Guidrey, in the news release.
Speaking about the executive team heading up the new network, Castellaw added: “We’ve assembled a world-class team of industry professionals who have proven track records of success in developing, launching and operating both linear and OTT channels.”
At the helm is television industry veteran Nancy Pingitore who will serve as CEO and is leading the launch of PlayersTV. Pingitore has 30 years of experience in cable television and broadcast, including senior positions at the Tennis Channel, Incanta, MOR Music TV and the ’92 Olympics ‘Triplecast’ PPV coverage. In addition to Pingitore, the executive team will include veteran sports and entertainment attorney Matt Allinson, and Showtime and Disney programming alum Bruce Rider as chief content officer.
In addition to the company’s executive team, Players Media Group is supported by a team of advisors and industry veterans from the sports, entertainment and marketing industries, most notably including:
- Randy Brown, Anthem executive and TV veteran (ESPN, Tennis Channel, Outdoor Channel)
- Adam Cheyer, vice-president of R&D for Samsung Mobile; Siri co-founder; founding member of Change.org
- Jene Elzie, sports, media, content and distribution executive (Tennis Channel, Fox Sports, NBA International Marketing)
- Ed Horowitz, senior vice-president at Viacom Media; oversaw HBO, MTV, VH1 and Paramount; board member of Citi & Encompass
- Patty Hubbard, BrandForward co-founder; founding partner of MKTG; former president of OnBoard Experiential Marketing
- Stephanie Martin, sports, communications and marketing executive (Super Bowl 50, 34th America’s Cup, BrandForward)
- John Ward, In Demand CTO; executive vice-president at DirecTV, Fox Sports; 12-time Emmy Award winner
Pictured left to right: Collin Castellaw of PlayersTV, CJ McCollum, Anthem Sports & Entertainment CEO Len Asper, Samsung VP of Electronics Sang Kim, Vernon Davis, Deron Guidrey of PlayersTV
