By Jacob Feldman
Sports Business Reporter
While cryptocurrency and NFT prices have suffered this spring, with some taking 75% plunges, Turner Sports has continued to invest in blockchain’s potential. On Tuesday, the company announced a new partnership with Immutable X, making it Turner’s preferred platform partner as the media company further develops Ethereum-connected games and collectibles.
“We believe strongly that NFT-enabled, play-to-earn games are a new category in gaming that have tremendous potential,” Turner Sports SVP for digital league business operations, growth & innovation Yang Adija said in a statement. “Immutable X has a proven track record and is a partner that can help us build out our portfolio with consumer-friendly technology that doesn’t hit users with exorbitant gas fees.”
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Turner Sports debuted one of the first NFT projects from a major sports publisher last spring, selling nearly $1 million of Open Run collectibles. More recently, the company launched Blocklete Golf, allowing users to buy digital golfers and compete for currency prizes. Previously, Turner worked with structural partners on a per project basis (Blocklete Golf, for instance, is built on Flow, the same blockchain that hosts NBA Top Shot).
“As we talk to our league partners, we can have conversations with them more directly about what we can help bring to the table from a technical standpoint, a blockchain standpoint, and that really helps us in the marketplace,” Adija said in an interview. “We’re hoping to bring in that next set of non-NFT audience, so we need the technology and at least the thought process to be along that way.”
Immutable X promises low transaction fees, the ability to handle thousands of transactions per second, and the option to list NFTs across a number of marketplaces simultaneously. The platform also already supports a number of gaming projects.
“We’re proud that our partnership with Turner Sports matches two best-in-class organizations to expand the availability of compelling sports content and drive engagement in the Web3 ecosystem,” Immutable cofounder Robbie Ferguson said in a statement. “Their history of innovation at the intersection of sports and blockchain gaming is unrivaled, and we look forward to working together to power the next generation of sports content through our highly scalable, carbon neutral and gas-free platform.”
Despite falling prices at the moment, Adija said, “long term, we are still very bullish in the space. We think that blockchain technology and NFTs will be a cornerstone to where things are going.”
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