A former Disney TV executive seeks to boost the multibillion-dollar youth sports industry.

• Disney ABC Television Group's former president, Ben Sherwood, aims to boost youth sports with a new agreement.
• TeamSnap agreed to acquire Sherwood's MOJO Sports platform, which offers live game streaming.
• MOJO launched in 2021 with big-name backers such as NFL star Russell Wilson.
• The NFL market is smaller than the youth sports industry, which is experiencing growth following a pandemic decline, according to an expert in the field.

As a top television executive, Ben Sherwood was managing another significant responsibility that he struggled to master.

Disney tenure led Sherwood to launch MOJO Sports, a youth sports venture, after coaching his son's baseball, soccer, basketball, and flag football teams on the East and West Coasts.

Sherwood, a novelist and former journalist, shared with CNBC that although he wasn't skilled at it, he loved it. As he prepared to depart from Disney in 2019, his thought was how could he bring some Disney magic to youth sports and create a consumer-facing app to assist parents like him who wanted to be involved.

TeamSnap, a sports management platform, has acquired MOJO, the platform's CEO Sherwood announced Thursday morning. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the acquisition, Sherwood will join the TeamSnap board.

Sherwood aims to expand MOJO's user base to TeamSnap's vast customer base of millions. TeamSnap, founded in 2009, offers parents and youth team managers an easy-to-use platform for organizing rosters, schedules, and facilitating communication between parents and coaches. Additionally, TeamSnap has a business-to-business arm that helps league owners manage registrations and payments.

The partners believe that utilizing MOJO's coaching resources and live game streaming will enhance the overall experience of youth sports for players, families, and coaches. MOJO's data indicates that its platform decreases coach turnover and reduces player dropout rates.

The platform offers a variety of coaching materials, created by MOJO's partners in professional sports such as Major League Baseball, to help coaches improve their team practices and make them more enjoyable, according to Sherwood.

According to Sherwood, the main reason children stop participating in sports is that practice is unenjoyable and the coach is incompetent.

Weekends become Super Bowl weekends when your kids participate in youth sports, according to TeamSnap CEO Peter Frintzilas.

Frintzilas told CNBC that the company recognized a significant opportunity to speed up its consumer-facing business. To achieve this, the company aims to leverage advanced technology on mobile devices to enhance the youth sport experience. Frintzilas is thrilled to have Ben and his team on board, and he believes that Mojo will help the company achieve its goal of becoming a global business.

Frintzilas stated in a company statement that this moment is significant for both TeamSnap and youth sports.

MOJO rising

In 2021, MOJO Sports launched its platform with coaching materials, virtual player cards, and a photo library for players. However, the main draw is its live game streaming service, which allows grandparents to watch their grandkids' games from anywhere in the country.

Russell Wilson, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, joined MOJO as a founding partner and investor in 2021. In August 2021, MOJO announced a partnership with NFL Flag, where Wilson serves as chairman.

Wilson stated, "I am deeply committed to MOJO's mission of improving the youth sports experience. The combined resources of TeamSnap will make our new platform unbeatable in achieving this goal."

MOJO's streaming and training content will be scaled to two million daily active users on TeamSnap's platform, Sherwood stated.

Although professional leagues like the NFL and NBA generate billions in revenue, youth sports are not insignificant. The market is worth $37.5 billion worldwide, with an estimated 60 million young athletes participating, according to Sports Business Journal, citing Maia Research. In 2022, the NFL made nearly $12 billion in revenue in its main market, the U.S., NBC Sports reported.

According to Tom Farrey, the director of the Aspen Institute and a youth sports expert, the youth sports market is experiencing a surge in interest following a decline during the pandemic, when social interactions and events were restricted due to Covid.

Billions of dollars in private equity are being invested into the youth sports market, as firms are acquiring and consolidating clubs in various sports and developing new products for an industry that caters to 30 million children and has the potential to serve millions more in the U.S. if it can decrease attrition rates, according to Farrey.

In 2021, TeamSnap became majority-owned by Waud Capital, an executive partner of which is Frintzilas.

Unlike top professional sports leagues, youth sports has a strong appeal to a more devoted customer base. On average, American parents spend $883 per year on their child's sports activities, with many families paying even more, according to a 2022 report by the Aspen Institute. This amounts to an annual expenditure of $30 billion to $40 billion for youth sports, the report stated.