NBA star Stephen Curry ready to take on China with PressPlay
Golden State Warriors star expands his tech portfolio by partnering with California startup PressPlay to connect with fans overseas.
It's now official: Stephen Curry is using tech to seek global domination on and off the basketball court.
The two-time NBA MVP is now the new face of PressPlay, a Silicon Valley digital media startup that will soon offer exclusive video and features from the Golden State Warriors sharpshooter to fans in China. PressPlay's app is scheduled for release in October, just in time for the upcoming NBA season.
NBA star and emerging tech entrepreneur Stephen Curry is hoping digital media startup PressPlay will help him reach millions of new fans in China.
It's no mystery why Curry is PressPlay's principal pitchman: he's a partner in the privately held entity with an undisclosed stake.
"I'm very excited to have the chance to interact with my Chinese fans in a more meaningful way," Curry said in a statement. "My fans mean a great deal to me and PressPlay will help me reach them in ways I never thought possible."
PressPlay isn't the only tech Curry is leveraging to connect with his fan base, as well as make some extra coin. Earlier this year, he co-founded Slyce, a social media network with a former college teammate and is an investor in CoachUp, another startup that lets parents book private athletic coaches for their kids. And then, there's "StephMoji," a collage of emojis and anime for smartphones.
Curry is among other NBA All-Stars delving into tech, including Los Angeles Lakers' legend Kobe Bryant, who is launching a venture capital fund. There's Carmelo Anthony who also has a VC firm, M7 Tech Partners that invests in early stage digital media, and Chris Paul, who co-created an app called Game Vision that aims to increase court vision awareness. Last month, the NBA players union held a tech summit in San Francisco spearheaded by Curry's Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala.
Curry and PressPlay are borrowing the blueprints of international soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo (Viva Ronaldo) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Zlatan Unplugged), who each created their own app or mini social network if you will, to interact with their fans.
The creators of PressPlay said they reached a partnership with Curry late last year aiming to capitalize off his growing global popularity. The Warriors point guard has the most popular jersey in the NBA by sales and his name is among most searched on Baidu, a Chinese search engine.
PressPlay hopes to capture a chunk of the Chinese market, which the company estimates has more than 600 million smartphone users. The startup hopes many of those millions will be willing to pay for behind-the-scenes glimpses of Curry, a social media-friendly star, as he trains, hangs out with his family, and answers their probing questions through prerecorded and live-streaming media.
PressPlay cameras began following Curry during last season's NBA playoffs. The Warriors made it to the finals but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They also tailed him at this year's ESPY Awards and will tag along during his upcoming tour to China for Under Armour in mid-September.
"He's going to own his own content and choose what he wants shown," PressPlay CEO and co-founder Samuel Pearton said of Curry last week. "We are going to provide very intimate content as Steph doesn't need to do anything but be himself."