Overtime recently raised $100 million in a series D funding round led by Liberty Media and Counterpoint Global, as the sports media brand—now with a valuation above $500 million—continues to develop its own properties.
What started in 2016 as an app to capture basketball highlights as well as social channels on platforms like Instagram and YouTube today includes Overtime’s own pro basketball league for teenage talents (Overtime Elite), hosted in a 100,000-square foot Atlanta facility, and a seven-on-seven football competition co-owned by Cam Newton (OT7). More leagues are likely on the way.
“You could almost look at Overtime as this brand and distribution that is in some ways this holding company that then owns these various leagues,” Overtime cofounder and president Zack Weiner said in an interview, “but in some sense, the leagues could end up certainly being more valuable than the distribution and brand itself at a certain point.”
Overtime last year raised $80 million at an estimated valuation of $250 million as it prepared to launch Overtime Elite—and it has now gathered more than $250 million in total funding. Winslow Capital joined this round alongside previous backers Bezos Expeditions (Jeff Bezos’ personal investment company), Blackstone and Sapphire Sport.
“Sapphire feels very, very strongly about the very unique and singular voice that Overtime has created in this landscape and what they’re able to do with that brand,” Sapphire Sport founding partner Michael Spirito said in an interview. “We think the opportunities are limitless.”
Weiner said Overtime is “genuinely in the exploratory phase” as it relates to future properties, adding that it’s open to expanding beyond the male, team and teenage categories it’s started with. Overtime could also partner with an existing league or brand as it continues to build out its IP roster.
Explaining Overtime’s rationale for building its own properties, CEO and cofounder Dan Porter said last year: “In a way, we were amplifying other people’s IP. From a business perspective, that doesn’t do a lot for me.”
Owning the events also allows Overtime to be more creative with its distribution strategy. With OT7 for instance, Overtime brought 400 athletes together for a four-day competition, but stretched that material over several weeks as it told players’ stories and released full (20-minute) game broadcasts, taking a model more common to reality TV and bringing it to the gridiron. Overtime said clips from the event have generated 100 million views across platforms.
Overall, the company boasts 65 million followers, 2 billion video views each month, and more than $50 million in annual revenue. Beyond creating new IP, Overtime plans to use its newest funding to extend its e-commerce and web3 businesses as well continuing to grow its content output across basketball, football, soccer, gaming, and fashion.
“We are excited to be joining the Overtime family, who in just a few years have made an industry-wide impact across sports and media,” Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said in a statement. “The creation of two innovative sports leagues, OTE and OT7, in just one year, is remarkable, and we look forward to supporting their growth and Overtime’s exciting plans for new disruptive sports IP.”
This story has been updated to correct the name of Sapphire Sport, one of the backers of this fundraise.
