Can a New Media Company Founded by Olympic Athletes Change How Women's Sports Are Covered?
Breanna de Vera is dot.LA's editorial intern. She is currently a senior at the University of Southern California, studying journalism and English literature. She previously reported for the campus publications The Daily Trojan and Annenberg Media.
There's finally a media company that will make women's sports a top priority.
Olympic medalists Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird are launching TOGETHXR, created specifically for Gen Z and millennial women. The four hope to elevate the stories and voices of women in sports, as well as intersecting areas like activism, culture, wellness and beauty.
Although women make up almost half of all participants in sports, they receive less than 5% of sports coverage, according to a report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
"We have our individual legacies as athletes through championships and medals, but what's most important to us is championing for the next generation of women — because that will be the legacy that lasts," said the co-founders in a release announcing the launch.
The company will debut its premiere video series on YouTube, the first being "Fenom," a docuseries that follows 17-year-old boxing champion Chantel "Chicanita" Navarro, as she trains for the Olympics. "Kaikaina," which means "little sister" in Hawaiian, will be the company's second series. It launches next month and features a group of young Hawaiian surfers.
The company is also planning content that features female athletes and sports journalists like Maya Brady, Ibtihaj Muhammad and Taylor Rooks.
TOGETHXR is backed by Magnet Companies with a "mid-seven figure investment," according to the New York Times. It comes as women's sports has drawn a growing audience and with it a greater appeal for advertisers.
Morgan was captain of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team last year and has won two World Cups and an Olympic gold medal. Bird has won four gold medals as well as four WNBA titles. Manuel won four gold medals at the 2016 Olympics and was the first Black woman to win an Olympic swimming individual event. Kim was the youngest gold medalist in the 2018 Olympic Games snowboarding half pipe competition.
The new company joins a growing number of media and entertainment companies founded by athletes, including Kevin Durant's Thirty Five Media and LeBron James's Springhill Company, but TOGETHXR stands apart in being entirely female founded.
Breanna de Vera is dot.LA's editorial intern. She is currently a senior at the University of Southern California, studying journalism and English literature. She previously reported for the campus publications The Daily Trojan and Annenberg Media.
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