The Players' Tribune
Type of site
Sports journalism
Available inEnglish
OwnerMinute Media
Created byDerek Jeter
URLwww.theplayerstribune.com
LaunchedOctober 1, 2014 (2014-10-01)
Current statusActive

The Players' Tribune is a new media platform that produces daily sports conversation and publishes first-person stories from professional athletes. The platform was founded by former professional Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter in 2014. Content ranges from videos to podcasts to written pieces.[1]

History

The Players' Tribune launched in October 2014 by Derek Jeter and Jaymee Messler, the chief marketing officer of Excel Sports Management, Jeter's agency, as a means for athletes to offer more direct insight into their lives.[2][3] The outlet began collecting venture capital funds in 2015 and entered a "next phase" which included expanding content from the written word to include podcasts, video, and a presence on SiriusXM satellite radio.[3] The same year, The Players' Tribune launched TPT Assist, a cause-related platform designed to allow athletes to share their philanthropic endeavors.[4]

Messler served as the president of The Players' Tribune until leaving in January 2019.[5] In June 2017, Jeff Levick, former Spotify Chief Revenue Officer, was named the first CEO of the company.[6] Legendary Entertainment supplied funding as well as creative support.[7][8] On June 15, 2015, it was announced that New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm, had invested $9.5M in The Players' Tribune.[9] Among the attractions for the firm was the athlete ownership of the site and athlete involvement.[10] As of October 27, 2015, after the Series B first close of $9.5 million, another $5.5 million in equities was made available to additional investors. Kobe Bryant, who had been involved with TPT since December 2014, made the largest investment in the platform and led all athletes in the round.[11] Athletes represented by GenTrust, an investment management company, were among the athletes who invested.[12]

As of January 19, 2017, The Players' Tribune had raised an additional $40 million in funding, bringing the total amount raised to $58 million.[13] In 2018, The Players' Tribune purchased Unscriptd, a tech start-up which produces short-form video content. The startup began a round of layoffs shortly after.[14]

In 2021, The Players' Tribune expanded into Brazil and Japan, partnering with NBA player Yuta Watanabe, Formula 1 driver Yuki Tsunoda, and soccer player Mana Iwabuchi in the Japanese expansion.[15][16]

Acquisition

In November 2019, it was announced that The Players' Tribune would be acquired by Minute Media, a digital entertainment media company that owns Mental Floss, The Big Lead, FanSided, and other digital media properties.[17] Derek Jeter will continue to be involved in the business as a member of the Minute Media's board of directors.[18]

Content and platform

The platform's content includes first-person written stories, videos, podcasts, and photo galleries. Topics covered by the platform include mental health, athlete retirements, social justice issues, and more.[19][3] As of 2018, more than 1,800 athletes, coaches and sports personalities had contributed to the site.[20]

The content is produced in partnership between the athlete and the outlet's editorial team, with close oversight by the athlete. The vast majority of articles are written by staff at The Players' Tribune, who craft stories based on interviews conducted with the athletes. All content is approved by the athletes before it is posted, with some exercising greater control over the finished product than others.[19][21] The site's former editorial director, Gary Hoenig, noted the stories are largely crafted from "monologues, with questions to nudge the conversation along," rather than a traditional interview.[19]

Athletes such as former MLB player David Ortiz and former NBA player Kobe Bryant have used the platform to announce their retirements.[22][21] Bryant's retirement announcement, titled "Dear Basketball", was turned into an Academy Award-winning short film of the same name in 2017.[23]

Pieces from athletes have on occasion broken into mainstream media conversations, including articles by Kevin Love and Larry Sanders on mental health,[24][25] Natasha Cloud on racism and social justice,[26] and Breanna Stewart on child sexual abuse.[27]

In addition to written pieces, the outlet also produces podcasts and videos, notably the Knuckleheads podcast, hosted by former NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles;[28] Truss Levelz, hosted by NFL players Cameron Jordan and Mark Ingram;[29] and Blindsided, hosted by former NHL player Corey Hirsch and Dr. Diane McIntosh.[30]

As of 2018, the site averages 3.4 million unique views a month in the United States, according to ComScore.[31] Visitors to the site spend more than seven minutes per story.[31]

Sponsors and partnerships

Former CEO Jeff Levick described The Players’ Tribune revenue model as largely based around selling branded content.[31] Several sponsors have signed a deal with The Players' Tribune. Porsche debuted as their first sponsor, as well as Powerade, Dove, Toyota, Red Bull, and Built with Chocolate Milk.[32] The site partnered with American Family Insurance in 2016[33] and collaborated with the Amazon Prime Video television series Jack Ryan.[34]

Netflix series, "Untold"

The Players' Tribune co-produced “Untold,” a five-part Netflix docuseries that premiered with its first episode about the "Malice at the Palace" on August 10, 2021.[35] "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist" chronicled the catfishing story involving Manti Te'o.[36] Other episodes include the story of tennis player Mardy Fish's mental health struggles and an account of disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy.[37] Chapman Way and Maclain Way are credited as directors and co-executive producers of the series.[35]

Reception and criticism

Athletes' contributions have won praise from the sports media.[10] The Players' Tribune has been criticized for using the practice of ghostwriting in some of its articles. "Like nearly every post on the site, the Ortiz essay was not written directly by its bylined athlete but instead crafted from a recorded interview with a Tribune staff producer," wrote Richard Sandomir, in an article for the New York Times.[38] Richard Deitsch, a journalist who focuses on the intersection of sports and media for Sports Illustrated, described The Players’ Tribune as a “hybrid of journalism, storytelling and PR, but a really high-end combination of those three elements.”[39]

Critics have brought up questions regarding the role of traditional reporters and beat writers in sports today. Jeter responded saying "We're not trying to take away from sportswriters. Sportswriters are what makes sports successful."[40] He added, "We're not covering day-to-day sports scores. We don't have sports highlights. This is completely different ... I think we can co-exist."[41]

Some media outlets question the ability of The Players' Tribune to stand out in the news cycle, especially against Twitter and other social media platforms[7] Athletes and staff have countered with defenses of the platform's purpose,[42] with one employee noting, "This is longform social, to tell stories with content in a natural way."[43] Responding to the notion that the site might be used to polish athlete reputations, Executive Editor Sean Conboy said, “Our most successful stories are the ones that have nothing to do with just trying to burnish the reputation of an athlete. They have something to do with them really revealing themselves and saying things they've maybe never said before.”[31]

Journalist Keith Olbermann criticized the site's inclusion of eSports players, saying that they "have jumped the shark by publishing pieces by snotty random kids playing children's games" in response to an article by Doublelift, a League of Legends player.[44]

Staff[45]

The Executive Editor of The Players' Tribune is Sean Conboy.[46]

Staff members
Name Title Sport or field
Derek Jeter Founding PublisherBaseball
David Ortiz Editor at LargeBaseball
Steve Nash Senior ProducerBasketball
Tiger Woods Contributing EditorGolf
Blake Griffin Senior EditorBasketball
Julius Thomas Contributing EditorFootball
Kevin Love Senior EditorBasketball
Danica Patrick Senior EditorNASCAR
Russell Wilson Senior EditorFootball
Andrew McCutchen Senior EditorBaseball
Walter Iooss Photographer at LargePhotography
Matt Harvey New York City Bureau ChiefBaseball
Jed Jacobsohn Senior Staff PhotographerPhotography
John Urschel Advanced Stats ColumnistFootball, Mathematics
Chiney Ogwumike Chief CorrespondentBasketball
Caroline Wozniacki Senior EditorTennis

See also

Footnotes

    References

    1. ↑ "Dull Derek Jeter's New Site Could Actually Be Cool". Time. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
    2. ↑ Hsu, Hua (March 29, 2021). "The Rise of the Athlete Podcaster". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    3. 1 2 3 Guthrie, Marisa; Feinberg, Scott (July 29, 2015). "Derek Jeter Wants Another Big Hit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
    4. ↑ "The Players' Tribune Expands With Launch Of TPT Assist, A New Platform Featuring Cause-Related Content". My Social Good News. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
    5. ↑ "Players' Tribune Co-Founder Jaymee Messler, 'John Wick' Producer Basil Iwanyk Launch (Co)Laboratory, Venture Connecting Athletes & Teams with Hollywood". July 25, 2019.
    6. ↑ Kafka, Peter (June 21, 2017). "Players' Tribune, the sports site launched by Derek Jeter, has hired its first CEO". Recode. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    7. 1 2 "Jeter's Players Tribune tries to find its digital footing". Buffalo News. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
    8. ↑ "Derek Jeter Teams With Legendary to Launch The Players' Tribune". The Hollywood Reporter. October 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
    9. ↑ "Derek Jeter's Players Tribune Raises $9.5 Million Led By NEA". Jonathan Shieber. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
    10. 1 2 "Jeter's vision overcomes skeptics". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
    11. ↑ DiMoro, Anthony. "Kobe Bryant And Derek Jeter Join Forces At The Players' Tribune". Forbes. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
    12. ↑ "Kobe Bryant And Derek Jeter Join Forces At The Players' Tribune". Forbes. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
    13. ↑ Lev-Ram, Michael (January 19, 2017). "Exclusive: Derek Jeter's Star-Studded Startup Just Raised Another $40 Million". Fortune. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
    14. ↑ Baker, Liana; Soshnick, Scott; Novy-Williams, Eben (October 25, 2019). "Derek Jeter's website Players' Tribune is exploring a sale". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
    15. ↑ Stenberg, Mark (March 25, 2021). "The Players' Tribune Expands to Japan, Eyeing Its Untapped Sports Market". Adweek. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
    16. ↑ Birnbaum, Justin (March 25, 2021). "Sister Jean, Michael Rubin And NFL TV Deals: This Week's Most Interesting Sports Business Stories". Forbes. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    17. ↑ Spangler, Todd (November 21, 2019). "Derek Jeter's Players' Tribune Acquired by Minute Media as Digital Media Consolidation Continues". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
    18. ↑ Spangler, Todd (November 21, 2019). "Derek Jeter's Players' Tribune Acquired by Minute Media as Digital Media Consolidation Continues". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    19. 1 2 3 Sandomir, Richard (March 28, 2015). "Athletes Finding Their Voice in Derek Jeter's Digital Venture". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
    20. ↑ Belzer, Jason. "The Players' Tribune Becoming Storytelling Platform Of Choice For Athletes And Brands Alike". Forbes. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    21. 1 2 Barshad, Amos (February 21, 2018). "What Happens When Athletes Do the Sportswriting?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    22. ↑ Clauss, Kyle Scott (November 18, 2015). "Watch David Ortiz Formally Announce His Retirement". Boston. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    23. ↑ "Kobe Bryant's 'Dear Basketball' wins Oscar for animated short". ESPN. March 4, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    24. ↑ Riches, Sam (June 14, 2017). "The Activist Athlete in the Digital Age". Pacific Standard. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    25. ↑ Renuart, Adam (April 25, 2020). "Kevin Love: 'For me a form of therapy or feeling better is practicing acts of kindness'". CNN. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    26. ↑ Wang, Gene (May 31, 2020). "WNBA's Natasha Cloud calls for end to silence in face of racial injustice". Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    27. ↑ Foudy, Julie (June 24, 2018). "Breanna Stewart opens up about her story of sexual abuse". ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    28. ↑ Greif, Andrew (December 2, 2020). "These former Clippers might be 'Knuckleheads,' but people listen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
    29. ↑ Johnson, Luke (September 23, 2020). "Cam Jordan and former Saints teammate Mark Ingram debut 'Truss Levelz' podcast". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
    30. ↑ Larkin, Matt (December 15, 2021). "New Players' Tribune Podcast Opens the Book On Athletes' Mental Health". The Hockey News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
    31. 1 2 3 4 "The Players' Tribune on its viral formula and critics: 'we're not here to polish reputations'". The Drum. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    32. ↑ "Derek Jeter's The Players' Tribune Has a Message for Brands: Game On". Advertising Age. October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
    33. ↑ Mullen, Liz (January 28, 2016). "The Players' Tribune Signs American Family Insurance To Year-Long Sponsorship". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
    34. ↑ Bennett, Bennett (July 17, 2018). "Spy games: The Players Tribune, Amazon Prime Video team up for Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan promo". The Drum. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
    35. 1 2 LANDRUM, Jr., JONATHAN (July 20, 2021). "Netflix's 'UNTOLD' to dive deep into epic sports moments". Associated Press. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    36. ↑ Asmelash, Leah (August 16, 2022). "How the team behind Netflix's 'Untold' reframed the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax". CNN. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    37. ↑ "'Untold: Breaking Point' - Mardy Fish Explains Why You Shouldn't Move in With Andy Roddick's Dad (Exclusive Video)". September 7, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    38. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (March 28, 2015). "Blake Griffin, Danica Patrick and Other Athletes on Why They Believe in Jeter's The Players' Tribune". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
    39. ↑ Laird, Sam (March 2, 2017). "How Derek Jeter's once-mocked startup became a sports media powerhouse". Mashable. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    40. ↑ "Derek Jeter gets back to work". ESPN. October 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
    41. ↑ "Derek Jeter Wants Another Big Hit". The Hollywood Reporter. July 29, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
    42. ↑ "Blake Griffin, Danica Patrick and Other Athletes on Why They Believe in Jeter's The Players' Tribune". The Hollywood Reporter. July 29, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
    43. ↑ "Should PR Pay Attention to Derek Jeter's 'The Players' Tribune?'". Adweek. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
    44. ↑ Olbermann, Keith [@KeithOlbermann] (January 9, 2018). "Three years in. That's awfully early to have jumped the shark by publishing pieces by snotty random kids playing children's games, @PlayersTribune" (Tweet). Retrieved January 11, 2018 – via Twitter.
    45. ↑ Barshad, Amos (February 21, 2018). "What Happens When Athletes Do the Sportswriting?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
    46. ↑ Houston, Peter (October 25, 2021). "The Players' Tribune Executive Editor Sean Conboy on tackling mental health in sports reporting". Media Voices. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
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