NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Al Roker, known as one of the co-hosts on NBC’s Today and an early social media and live stream adopter, announced today the formation of Roker Media. The company is teaming up with JRSportBrief founders JR Jackson and Charlie Stettler, TV entertainment icon Fred Seibert and music impresario Lyor Cohen, to create the first Live Streaming Network (LSN) to bring talent, brands and audiences together with original programs and influencer-driven content.
“We’ve pioneered original programs and viewer data collection through RokerLabs over the past year on various platforms such as Facebook Live, Periscope and YouNow,” said Al Roker. “The tremendous acceleration in the live stream space makes it the right time to expand our efforts with Roker Media. JR is an incredible talent and joining forces with his team will enable us to achieve our vision of what live streaming should be for brands and viewers alike."
Roker Media will develop and produce live streaming shows and commerce opportunities with talent and brands in the lifestyle, food, music, sports and entertainment categories. The company will continue to expand its creative and data-centric approach to programming in conjunction with selected, leading talent and creators on all of the leading live stream platforms.
"Sports and music is about to explode in live streaming,” said JR, one of the founding partners of Roker Media who has over 1700 episodes and 77 million views on YouTube, a weekly podcast on CBS Sports, and speaks daily to tens of thousands of fans on his YouNow channel.“There’s a real need for brands to tap into social stars and production teams to make live streams come to life with entertaining content globally. We’ve assembled the right team to make this happen right now.”
For the past year, RokerLabs has worked with talent including entrepreneur and model Camila Alves for her show on Facebook Live, foodie Skyler Bouchard on Periscope, and new social media star EvieWhy (Evie Yannakidis) on the fast-growing millennial platform YouNow. RokerLabs and JRSportBrief have incubated several shows on YouNow and also use the platform to align with their roster of in-house talent and build communities around them. For example, in just two months, EvieWhy already has nearly two million live stream views on YouNow.
“The future of brand marketing and influencer programs is live. Live streaming is a distinct, new category that bridges television and social media,” said Ronald C. Pruett Jr., CEO of Roker Media. “It offers huge audiences, viewer interaction, and commerce opportunities only found through the magic of live streams."
Al Roker will serve as Chairman of Roker Media and Fred Seibert will serve as a special advisor and be active in both programming and talent development. Current investors of Roker Media include Fred Seibert, CEO/Founder of Frederator Networks, and former MTV, Nickelodeon executive; Lyor Cohen, CEO of 300 Entertainment and former CEO of Warner Music Group & President and CEO of Island Def Jam; and Jamie Robinson, a seasoned angel investor and marketing executive.
About Roker Media
Based in New York City, Roker Media is the first Live Streaming Network (LSN) and lives at the intersection of brands, influencers, and audiences. Using real time data, we create compelling stories, commerce and branded-entertainment experiences native to live streaming platforms YouNow, Periscope, Facebook Live, and YouTube. Follow us @RKRMedia
