Sport1 and Starzz agree on strategic Web3 cooperation to link celebrities and clubs with fans
Marco Kowalewski, founder of Starzz and Matthias Reichert, CCO and member of the management at Sport1
Multichannel sports platform for the German region, Sport1, has agreed an extensive partnership with Starzz, a platform designed to help the likes of celebrities and clubs – called ‘champions’ on the platform – to find their most valuable fans and unlock new monetisation opportunities through the sale of NFTs and more.
As part of the cooperation, Sport1 is acquiring shares in Starzz, while Starzz will be placed on the Sport1 platforms in TV, digital, audio and social media. In addition, both partners are developing new, joint approaches in the area of Web 3.0 technology based on direct, interactive activation of stars and fans. With the focus on sports and entertainment, both partners believe they are in a good position to develop new use cases based on blockchain technology.
Starzz’s business model aims to enhance the interaction between champions – such as clubs, athletes, celebrities and content creators – and their communities by offering unique services on the Supporterzz.com platform for the ultimate fan experience. The ecosystem further provides multiple interaction possibilities with an advanced social media network including newsfeeds, streaming and other modern functionalities, a marketplace for merchandise and NFTs, as well as other use cases such as ticketing, marketing services, incentive and reward mechanisms for users.
The launch of the platform is planned for December 2023 and users can already register at starzz.eu.
The Starzz ecosystem combines the Supporterzz.com platform and Fanzz Exchange, underpinned by the native SRZ token and unique champion tokens. Champions will be able to launch their own champion tokens for their fans, who can acquire them. With these tokens, fans can exercise their voting rights in polls of their champions on the Supporterzz.com platform. This can range from selecting a football team’s jersey for the following season, to choosing the tracks on a musician’s ‘best of’ album.
Marco Kowalewski, founder of Starzz, said: “We are very happy to have Sport1 as a renowned and well-known partner at our side, who is aware of the opportunities in the sports and entertainment market due to the digital transformation. Through this partnership, we hope to make the Starzz brand better known in the German-speaking region and to launch joint products with high user acceptance. The joint network will help create awareness for our unique product portfolio and make Sport1 even better known internationally.”
Matthias Reichert, CCO and member of the management at Sport1, added: “With Starzz, we have found the ideal partner to continue the journey we have started in the Web3 sector. We are firmly convinced that you can achieve more together with collaboration in the interplay of different competencies. We see sport as the ideal translator of technical possibilities into concrete and functioning use cases. To achieve this, we have to work together to generate added value and thus acceptance among our users. This is the path we want to take together with Starzz.”
With the strategic cooperation, new business activities will be further expanded in the newly created profit centre, New Biz from the Sport1 Medien Group, which is led by Reichert as CCO and member of the management.