10 startup business founders have been accepted into the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator. The successful startup company applicants were selected out of more than 800 candidates.
10 Startups in 2022 Cohort
The 10 startup company participants in the accelerator program have a wide range of business models. BookSeats.com focuses on enabling sports fan travel. HeadVantage works with athletes to capture insights. Ice Cream Social is a social platform that offers rewards. LetzChat, partnered with NBC Sports Next, aims to improve the sports viewing experience. Uru Sports is a network aimed at professional athletes.
Out of the 10 startups in the 2022 cohort, eight are based in the United States, and two are based in Canada.
SportsTech Business Program
The twelve-week accelerator program is a business partnership between Boomtown Accelerators and Comcast NBC Universal. Based in Atlanta, the program concludes with a planned demo day in May. The program accepts startup company applicants across eight areas: fan/player engagement, athlete/player performance, media & entertainment, venue & event innovation, the business of sports, team & coach success, fantasy sports & betting, and esports.
“We launched Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech to find, fund, and fast-track the top sports technology startups challenging the status quo and creating innovations that will impact how we participate in, view, and celebrate sports,” said Jenna Kurath, Vice President, Startup Partnerships and Head of SportsTech.
Each of the 10 startup company founders is paired with an accelerator partner. For example, Meetlete is partnered with NASCAR, while Movrs is partnered with Sky Sports. Uru Sports is partnered with the WWE. In 2022, the WWE and PGA Tour joined the program as advisors.
Accelerator Investment
The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech program does not state on its website whether it offers investments to participating startups. However, Daily Camera has reported that “selected companies” in Boomtown programs have received investments between $35,000 to $50,000 in exchange for equity. The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech accelerator program is run in partnership with Boomtown.
In comparison, other startup company accelerator programs offer more funding. For example, Techstars offers $120,000 on average and typically raises an average of $1 million in their first post-raise program. Y Combinator, which helped launch companies like Airbnb, DoorDash, and PagerDuty, offers a standard $500,000 investment.
The tight focus on the sports industry and potential for significant networking opportunities are some of the key attractions of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech accelerator program.
Previous Cohorts
The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech accelerator is relatively new. The inaugural 2021 cohort included 10 companies: two from Canada (Dibz and Eon Media), one from Switzerland (GlobalM), and the rest from the United States.
The first cohort was entirely virtual, while the 2022 program is a hybrid program that combines virtual and in-person elements. Startups from the accelerator’s first year of operation have struck five commercial deals via the program.
Boomtown Accelerators
The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech startup accelerator is described as “powered by Boomtown.” Based in Boulder, Colorado, Boomtown Accelerators is an organization that helps business clients create their innovation platforms. So far, Boomtown has launched four programs: the Innovation Center in Atlanta and three others focused on different areas (i.e., sports, patient safety, hardware and connectivity). In total, Boomtown states that its portfolio is worth over $1.2 billion.
