The Players' Tribune has "acquired sports technology platform Unscriptd" in a non-cash transaction "centered on Unscriptd's mobile app, which was built specifically to help athletes create, edit and publish short-form videos," according to Chris Smith of FORBES. The app "streamlines the process of publishing athlete content -- often in partnership with corporate sponsors -- directly to social media feeds." TPT is "primarily focused on solving athletes' problems; to that end, Unscriptd and its proprietary technology were uniquely suited for the job." Unscriptd, founded in '13 by a group of former Nike execs, "began its foray into the athlete storytelling space" in '16 with financial backing from Int'l Tennis HOFers Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, surfer Stephanie Gilmore and a "handful of other athletes." Unscriptd has since "amassed a network of some 2,500 athlete users." Those athletes will now be "brought under The Players' Tribune's banner (the invite-only app will be rebranded as The Players' Post), greatly expanding the site's roster." What is more, the U.S.-centric TPT is "adding global reach: Unscriptd's focus has thus far been outside the United States, targeting fans of soccer, cricket, Formula One and other global sports." Athletes using the platform have "included superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Virat Kohli" (FORBES.com, 12/5).
