LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 09: (L-R) PlayersTV co-founder Collin Castellaw, former professional basketball player and Creative 7 founder and CEO Carmelo Anthony and PlayersTV co- founder Deron Guidrey attend the PlayersTV press conference at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on July 09, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images)
The criticism had become predictable. Too fat. Not good enough. Didn’t show up when it mattered.
For years, athletes have been subject to relentless scrutiny from traditional sports media, their stories filtered through a lens they couldn’t control. But Deron Guidrey had a different vision.
In the bustling backdrop of NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, where celebrities and athletes — Chris Paul, Kenny Smith, Fabolous, Jeremih, just to name a few — weaved in and out of the backstage area of historic Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for the PlayersTV Players Honors Awards, Guidrey takes a moment to not only speak with me amidst the madness, but to plainly share his vision for what will be the future of sports media. As the founder of PlayersTV, he’s created something unprecedented: a network that puts athletes in the driver’s seat of their own narratives.
“PlayersTV was built off of the collective in mind,” Guidrey explains. “We saw athletes starting production companies, but they lacked distribution. Our goal was to focus on distribution first and bringing athletes together, allowing them time with their families in a much more intimate, humanized way beyond the game, beyond the uniform.”
The concept emerged from a simple but profound observation. “Fans care more about what these athletes are doing beyond the court than the field,” says Guidrey. It’s this insight that has shaped PlayersTV’s approach to content creation, moving away from the traditional sports media model that often reduces athletes to their statistics and game-day performances.
“Athletes have been subject to a lot of criticism from mainstream sports media,” Guidrey notes. His tone reflects the frustration many athletes feel with conventional coverage. “‘The guy sucked last year. The guy’s too fat’ – mostly things like that.” Instead, PlayersTV offers something different — a platform where athletes can show up as their full selves, sharing stories that traditional sports media often overlooks.
Since its launch in 2020, the network has evolved into a powerhouse, reaching over 300 million households through partnerships with major platforms like DirecTV, YouTube TV, Fubo, Amazon Fire TV, and Philo. But what’s particularly striking is the content strategy. “We’re not focusing on all the other live sports, on the court how you perform,” Guidrey explains. “We’re focusing strictly on how they show up, their passions.”
This approach has led to some unexpected and engaging programming. “We have guys doing cooking shows, we have women doing cooking shows, reality series,” he says, highlighting how the network brings familiar formats to life with athletic star power. These shows offer fans an intimate look at their favorite athletes’ lives beyond the game, creating connections that go deeper than box scores and highlight reels.
Now, PlayersTV is taking its innovation to the next level. During our conversation, Guidrey reveals their latest breakthrough: a dedicated streaming app featuring AI-powered voice language translation technology. “We have Chris Paul speak French,” he says, explaining how their patent-pending technology will allow athletes to connect with fans across language barriers. It’s a development that could revolutionize how athletes engage with their global fanbase.
But the journey hasn’t been without its challenges, particularly as a Black founder in an industry traditionally dominated by a select few. “It was very tough as a Black founder launching a media company, because this industry is only owned by the majority,” Guidrey acknowledges. “But being able to be a Black founder, to be able to do something that hasn’t been done before has allowed us to disrupt. And we are one of one in the world that’s called PlayersTV.”
The network’s success speaks to the power of this disruption. In 2023 alone, PlayersTV welcomed 2,200 Fan Owners as part of a $3.2 million raise, with another round planned for this year. The platform has attracted more than 70 superstar athlete investors and partners, creating a truly collaborative ecosystem where athletes have a genuine stake in how their stories are told.
Last weekend’s OwnersFest, featuring performances by Fabolous and Jeremih and the inaugural PlayersTV Players Honors Awards, celebrated this collective achievement. Honorees including Chiney Ogwumike, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Kenny Smith represent just a fraction of the talent that has embraced PlayersTV’s vision.
“Being able to continue to do that, world scale, innovate, inspire, inform people, that’s kind of how we keep ourselves from the mess and keep focusing on the unity of what we do,” Guidrey reflects. His philosophy for success is refreshingly straightforward: “I think if we unite, we always win.”
As our conversation wraps up, interrupted briefly by a warm embrace from one of PlayersTV’s athlete-partners, it’s clear that Guidrey’s vision extends far beyond creating just another media platform. He’s building a movement that’s transforming how athletes’ stories are told, who gets to tell them, and most importantly, who owns them. In an industry historically resistant to change, that might be the biggest victory of all.
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