RTB Digital Secures $30 Million to Expand Web3 Media Platform and Launch New Global Sports Network, ‘RoundtableSports’

Seattle, Washington, September 5, 2025: RTB Digital, Inc. founder and serial media tech entrepreneur James Heckman today announced $30 million to support the digital platform for “RoundtableSports” and expand development of RTB’s revolutionary Web3 technology.

The elite-journalist network was created by more than 100 former Sports Illustrated reporters, fully credentialed and providing coverage for every North American team and comprehensive reporting on European powerhouse clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The new network also secured SI’s former leading audience partner and iconic brand, The Hockey News, adding another 70+ veteran journalists.

RTB’s Web3 Platform will host Roundtable’s network of more than 170 sports journalists and is now anchored by a $30 million Bitcoin treasury. “Our focus is to empower great human-created journalism and media brands, standing directly against - and as an alternative to - AI,” said Heckman. “RTB’s technology was built to restore trust, authenticity, accountability, and genuine community connection for modern audiences.”

Roundtable represents the 10th major sports media network architected by RTB founder James Heckman, who has built platforms in partnership with global brands including the NFL, Fox, Yahoo, MSN, and Sports Illustrated. As the founder of Rivals.com, Scout.com, and Maven (NASDAQ: AREN), and former head of digital media strategy for both Yahoo and News Corp, Heckman has been creating market-changing technology for over three decades.

Concurrent with the launch, RTB announced it raised $30 million to accelerate Web3 innovation and integrate a Bitcoin liquidity pool, designed to autonomize payments, modernize publishing infrastructure and empower the next generation of global media brands.

“This venture will be our most impactful to date, because we’re offering an opportunity for professional media to recover and permanently secure their digital assets,” said RTB co-founder and CTO, Eyal Hertzog, inventor of the key DeFi protocol, and architect of RTB’s Web3 technology. “Social platforms commoditize media to the lowest common denominator and steal publisher data - then auction it off to competitors, block communication to their audience, and hide revenue data, while arbitraging publisher inventory.”

Image: RTB Digital Image: RTB Digital Hertzog added:

“Sadly, the situation for publishers has only worsened, tech giants now use AI to extract and plagiarize content, stripping creators of the value of their work. RTB’s platform is designed to solve these challenges for professional media.”

The Platform

RTB's underlying architecture (“DeWeb”) was designed by Bancor founder Eyal Hertzog, inventor of DeFi protocol (automated market making and decentralized liquidity pool); the breakthrough technology that empowered millions of investors and unleashed a three-trillion-dollar industry. Hertzog has applied those same principles of autonomy, data control, and encrypted security to RTB’s platform.

Story Continues ## RoundtableSports Network

The elite, invite-only Sports Network will be led editorially by former Sports Illustrated top publisher, Tom Brew, announced today as Roundtable’s National Editor-in-Chief. Brew is a 40-year media veteran and award-winning journalist for brands like Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star, and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. His experience across America’s major sports and venues helped bring together this market-changing coalition of professional journalists.

“RTB not only provides state-of-the-art technology, but treats us like business partners,’’ said Brew. “I’ve been in the media business for 40-plus years, and I am beyond excited about the huge technical advantages afforded to our elite journalists and brands at Roundtable, with tools and control of our work never imagined until this partnership.”

Leading Sports Illustrated team publisher Kade Kistner, now Roundtable’s EVP, Global Sports Network, says his decision to join Roundtable was primarily driven by RTB’s ethics and groundbreaking tech platform.

“Frankly, RTB may be a journalist’s best hope for survival. AI is an existential threat to our future, and our decision to invest our careers with Roundtable stems from its empowering technology,” Kistner said. “This is the most advanced media platform in the industry, with fully integrated video and community features, including on-demand video conversations. More importantly, RTB provides journalists absolute data control and irrevocable IP ownership, protected on-chain, plus a real-time smart-contract payment system. These capabilities simply do not exist elsewhere, I believe intentionally, which is why we see RTB as the best chance for the survival of our profession.”

The Hockey News proved the model

RTB’s beta network was launched in partnership with The Hockey News in early 2025, as hockey industry mogul Graeme Roustan agreed to pioneer all his NHL sites on the platform. Roustan was Sports Illustrated’s most successful content partner before joining Roundtable, and now operates 50 hockey channels as Roundtable’s flagship.

“We have millions of users loyal to The Hockey News, with a 70-year-old brand that requires the utmost professionalism and quality at all levels,” explained Roustan. “I trusted these pioneers in DeFi and SaaS media to revolutionize the opportunity and it paid off.” Roustan added, “I’m proud we are now the world’s largest Web3 publisher, and invite our major media peers to follow my lead to restore our digital assets and data, reassert control of our brand, and rebuild the communities co-opted by social media. I believe RoundtableSports will soon have the world’s largest sports audience.”

About RTB Digital

‍RTB Digital, Inc is a Web3 digital media SaaS technology company, providing white-label, full stack distribution, community, publishing and monetization for professional media brands, journalists and communities. Visit RTB.io

About RoundtableSports

RoundtableSports is a coalition of professional, credentialed journalists delivering on-the-ground coverage and direct access from the locker room. The network provides breaking news, video, and interactive communities for fans deeply connected to their favorite teams, all powered by RTB Digital’s Web3 platform. From the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college sports to rodeo and European soccer, RoundtableSports delivers comprehensive coverage. Learn more at roundtable.io/sports.

Visit some of the best of the RoundtableSports Coalition:

• The Hockey News
• Toronto Maple Leafs
• Roundtable Sports
• PSG World, covering Paris Saint Germain football club
• CowboysRoundtable
• LSURoundtable
• CavaliersRoundtable
• DodgersRoundtable
• Western Sports News

Product Summary and background

RTB’s digital assets motivated over one hundred Sports Illustrated Network journalists and media brands to rejoin its founder; in partnership with powerhouse syndication/advertising partner Yahoo. Former Sports Illustrated Network’s highest revenue publisher, Graeme Roustan outlined the benefits to move his assets to Roundtable/RTB:

• Most advanced Media App platform in the industry; custom to each publisher
• Instant video production seamlessly integrated into the CMS
• Fully integrated community platform including “on-demand” video threads
• Community Moderation ensuring professional engagement and contribution
• Absolute data control: irrevocable IP ownership - blockchain protected
• Audience Ownership: uninterrupted communication, app-powered, on-chain
• Real time reporting & payment system, creating nanosecond value to publishers
• Censorship-proof Web3 platform, ensuring permanent safe storage of IP
• Leaderboard ensures publisher and consumer value is validated and rewarded
• Decentralized publisher wallet, ensuring publisher control of revenue
• Integrated community/professional profiles, keeping media human-driven
• Syndication Platform, internal and external, integrated with major syndication networks like AppleNews & Yahoo, plus personalized recommendation engine
• “White-label” UX ensures major media restores brand power stolen from social
• Encrypted and secure; data protected on-chain, restorable
• Zero Operational expense!; Full stack tech/ops, jewel of industry with zero cost
• Revenue share model, with guarantees; Op/X elimination + incremental revenue
• Industry Pioneer Experience: bringing together the inventors of enterprise SaaS publishing networks, blogging networks, DeFi protocol, video sharing platform, network subscription model, and team-sports-networks, along with senior-level leadership and tech architecture experience from Sports Illustrated, TheStreet, Yahoo, News Corp, Myspace, Fox Sports, NFL, NCAA, Rivals.com, Scout.com, Arena Group, Bancor, and MSN.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Sep 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Innovation section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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