Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer are investing in startup media outlet PlayersTV, according to Variety. The two will lead the new network’s baseball vertical. They join a group of athlete investors that includes NBA stars such as Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum and Chris Paul.
PlayersTV launched in March on Samsung TV Plus, and covers sports lifestyle and culture through content created by athletes and their media companies. Bauer also co-founded Momentum. This week, Momentum hosted a video panel discussing racism with African American MLB players Delino Deshields and Justin Dunn.
Confirmed programming coming to PlayersTV includes a SharkTank-style show where entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to athletes—including Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski and former NFL running back Marshall Faulk—in the hope of gaining investment. Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan is also producing a show that will cover his plant-based diet and lifestyle.
“At a time when major sporting events are unfortunately on hold, PlayersTV allows Samsung to connect fans with their favorite athletes in a new way, and is a perfect example of the high-quality programming that Samsung is committed to bringing to our viewers,” Salek Brodsky, VP of business development for Samsung Electronics, said in an announcement from Samsung in March.
