A group of more than 100 former Sports Illustrated journalists has come together to launch RoundtableSports, a global sports media network designed to provide comprehensive in-person coverage for major teams across North America and Europe. The venture is backed by $30 million in Bitcoin financing and operates on RTB Digital’s Web3 platform, with an integration into Yahoo Sports.
RTB Digital, founded by media technology entrepreneur James Heckman, confirmed the capital raise to support both RoundtableSports and the expansion of its Web3 technology. The project has attracted a strong coalition of seasoned reporters, with additional support from The Hockey News, a long-standing sports media brand that brought in over 70 veteran journalists to the initiative.
Building a Web3-Powered Media Platform
The Roundtable network now counts more than 170 fully credentialed journalists and is anchored by a Bitcoin treasury of $30 million. Heckman explained that the mission of RTB is to strengthen authentic, human-driven journalism as an alternative to automated, AI-driven content. He emphasized that the platform was built to restore trust, accountability, and genuine community connection between media and audiences.
This marks the tenth major sports media project developed under Heckman’s leadership. Over the past three decades, he has spearheaded digital platforms in partnership with organizations such as the NFL, Fox, Yahoo, MSN, and Sports Illustrated. He also previously founded Rivals.com, Scout.com, and Maven, while serving as the head of digital media strategy at Yahoo and News Corp.
Alongside the launch of RoundtableSports, RTB announced the successful raise of $30 million to further develop its Web3 ecosystem, integrate a Bitcoin liquidity pool, and modernize the infrastructure of publishing. The goal is to provide a self-sustaining payment model, grant publishers stronger asset control, and empower the future of digital media ownership.
Addressing Industry Challenges
RTB co-founder and CTO Eyal Hertzog, who previously created the Bancor protocol and played a key role in developing decentralized finance, explained that the platform aims to protect publishers against the challenges posed by existing tech giants. He pointed out that current social platforms tend to commoditize media, with practices such as data harvesting, blocking direct communication with audiences, and concealing revenue flows. He also noted that the rise of AI has worsened the situation by replicating and extracting content, depriving creators of value.
Hertzog has incorporated the principles of autonomy, encrypted security, and data ownership into RTB’s architecture, which he referred to as “DeWeb.” By doing so, the company aims to give publishers complete control of their digital assets while building sustainable communities outside traditional social media structures.
Experienced Leadership at the Helm
The new network will be editorially led by Tom Brew, a veteran journalist with four decades of experience across leading publications such as the Tampa Bay Times and the Indianapolis Star. Brew, appointed as Roundtable’s National Editor-in-Chief, helped unite the group of journalists around the shared mission of restoring professional sports media. He remarked that RTB not only provided state-of-the-art technology but also treated journalists as business partners, giving them tools and ownership rights not previously available in traditional media settings.
Kade Kistner, a former Sports Illustrated team publisher and now EVP of Roundtable’s Global Sports Network, stated that his decision to join was driven by the ethical approach and technical strength of RTB’s platform. He highlighted that AI posed a serious threat to journalism and that Roundtable offered a rare opportunity for professionals to safeguard their work through on-chain data protection, smart-contract payment systems, and community-driven engagement features.
Strong Industry Partnerships
Roundtable’s early momentum has been fueled by its partnership with The Hockey News, whose publisher Graeme Roustan brought his extensive NHL media network onto the platform. Roustan emphasized that his 70-year-old brand, trusted by millions of hockey fans, required both professionalism and innovation, which Roundtable was able to deliver. He expressed confidence that the network could evolve into the world’s largest sports audience through its Web3-driven publishing model.
With its blend of experienced journalists, Bitcoin-backed funding, and blockchain-based infrastructure, RoundtableSports positions itself as a significant experiment in reshaping the future of digital sports media. The venture seeks to combine traditional reporting standards with modern technology to give creators more ownership, audiences more trust, and the industry a new model for growth.
