How ‘Hang’ Is Heading Back To The Future For Watching Super Bowl LVI

Are you hanging out with friends for the Super Bowl? It’s probably as much for the commercials and the halftime show and it’s always fun, but is it a business? An interesting new startup named Hang – what else? –  thinks so, and they may be onto something.

Hang is leveraging the age-old adoration of star athletes with the 21^st century technologies of social media and remote live video production.  I spent the last week getting an inside view as the Hang team prepared for its first Super Bowl event and got a window into what might be a whole new category of sports social media.

There have been a lot of innovations in integrating new technology with sports broadcasting over the years, including the telestrator (thank you John Madden); futuristic sounds and graphics; multiple game feeds of with different camera angles and announcers; and even sliming for Nickelodeon. One of the most buzzworthy of these has been the “Manning Cast” on Monday Night Football, providing a forum for retired football stars Peyton and Eli Manning to pontificate, poke fun at each other and generally enjoy the company of others while watching a football game. If you’ve watched, it kind of feels like a party you’d like to be part of.

This virtual fun is the idea behind Hang. If you’ve ever seen anyone under the age of 40 watch a sporting event, there is an endless flow of side activity between texting friends and relatives, following fantasy teams, placing online bets, and posting on social media. With Hang, the idea is to gather current and former star players together while watching the game, and – most importantly – facilitate their interaction with the audience. As Hang’s founder Jon Klein told me, “we don’t stream the game – we stream the chatter.”

Klein – a guest lecturer in my graduate media classes – would seem to define a media establishment figure, having cut his TV teeth as a producer for 60 Minutes and CBS News and eventually becoming President of CNN U.S. In fact, some of Klein’s team refer to him fondly as “Mr. CNN.” But Klein is less well-known as a digital media pioneer at The Feedroom, live streaming March Madness college basketball games back in 2004 when few knew what streaming was.

Hang’s other guiding force is Lorne Greene, CEO of Viva Creative.  Greene’s company of 100 people specializes in large scale virtual events and has delivered streaming for events such as Apple’s WWD conference, the G20 Summit and the VMA Awards. Greene is well-versed in what works and what doesn’t in making virtual experiences engaging and provides a great complement to Klein’s TV chops.

Could someone else do what Hang is doing? Of course – just like anyone theoretically can produce a news or sports program or create a great drama. But Hang looks at Cameo and sees its enormous success in wrangling dozens of celebrities to interact with their fans and sees much the same opportunity here. Klein’s view is that “You always win if you put on the best show” and I spent some time this week with the Hang production team seeing how its plan is coming together for the Super Bowl.

Remarkably, Hang only decided to take on this project a week ago. As anyone from traditional TV will tell you, it’s all starts with the “get” – who you’ve got coming to your show. The secret sauce is having a great talent wrangler, and for that Hang leans on Teresa Villano, who also happens to be married to Andre Reed, the former Buffalo Bills wide receiver and Hall of Famer. For Hang’s Super Bowl party, they’ve quickly lined up an impressive list of current and former players such as Deebo Samuel, Trevor Diggs, Austin Ekeler, Shannon Sharpe and Michael Strachan, not to mention celebrities such as Johnny Bananas (yes, I had to look him up too). A vital component of constructing the right Hang is having players who know each other and enjoy sharing stories.

Hang will be renting a house in Las Vegas for a physical gathering for some of the players with plenty of pizza and wings in tow, all of which will be captured live. The company has been in discussions with a host of prominent brands for sponsorships and product placements (plenty of beverages to be had). But as Klein emphasized for his team, the house is just a backdrop. It’s all about providing a memorable virtual experience for the audience through their interactions with the players. They have to feel like they’re a part of the party.

Hang’s plans are much bigger than staging a great event. In only four months of operation, the company has taken in $750,000 in sponsorships, and has raised $3.5 million. Hang is currently in the market seeking an additional $10 million and their aggressive 3-year plan is aimed at generating $100 million of revenue by year 3.

These plans aren’t out of line if you listen to Mike Fonseca, a prominent sports agent with Excel Sports Management. Fonseca’s client Eli Manning participated in the first Hang last fall, and the agent sees “an entirely new marketplace for tens of thousands of retired athletes all over the world” connecting with their legions of adoring fans. Making this virtual facilitates many more opportunities without the need for travel.

Fonseca envisions a future of with large scale virtual experiences on a global basis linked to events such as the World Cup, F1 racing and cricket. Hang could help corporations create customized, localized events around their clients’ hometown heroes watching their own favorite teams together. And Klein’s vision includes experiences beyond sports, with Hangs for politics and Oscar telecasts. Let’s face it – our hybrid world of physical and virtual is here to stay so we might as well join the party.