This story was originally published in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly newsletter that explores the key themes shaping the media industry. You can sign up for it here.
In digital media, nothing is certain except death and the enduring dominance of live sports.
In recent years, the frenzy surrounding athletic content has reached a fever pitch, as live sport remains the lone source of monoculture in an otherwise balkanized entertainment landscape. This leverage has enabled leagues to extract eye-watering sums for their broadcast rights. And superstar athletes—now some of the most consequential creators on the planet—are reshaping everything from geopolitics to anime.
In the scramble to chronicle this growing influence, the startup sports publishers OffBall and Togethxr have staked their claims in its two most dynamic spaces, and this week they announced a partnership.
Togethxr, created in 2021, and OffBall, launched in 2024, are both small digital media outfits, but they cover, respectively, two of the fastest-growing areas in athletics: women’s sports and sports culture.
The two share much in common, including lean but highly pedigreed teams. Togethxr was cofounded by the professional athletes Alex Morgan, Sue Bird, Simone Manuel, and Chloe Kim, alongside the sports media veteran Jessica Robertson. Last April, former Vice Media CEO and A+E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc joined as its executive chair.
OffBall, which launched in September 2024, counts as its cofounders Michaela Hammond, part of the founding team of The Players’ Tribune; former Sports Illustrated editor-in-chief Chris Stone; and Adam Mendelsohn, whose communications firm Upland Workshop helped launch the media outlets Puck and LeBron James’ SpringHill Company.
