Team Whistle, the global sports and entertainment media company announced a partnership with eBay, one of the world’s top destinations for buying and selling trading cards, on a new season of Card Clout which premiered on August 9th on Whistleâs YouTube page.
Card Clout is a Co-Production between Whistle Sports and Dash Radio. The talk show series features host DJ Skee interviewing a variety of top name celebrities and athletes who are avid collectors of their respective collections. To cater to all levels of collectors including those new to the game, the series will provide new âtradersâ with a segment featuring easy-to-digest tips and tricks. In the season premiere episode, a Spencer Dinwiddie Prism Parallel card, signed by Spencer himself is auctioned on eBay to the highest bidder. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to the City of Hope organization.Â
“We love working with Whistle on the Card Clout series. Our relationships combined with their strong distribution capabilities make the partnership extremely complementary,” said Alex Boyce, Chief Business Officer, Dash Radio.
After a record breaking year for the trading card industry in 2020 (the trading cards category on eBay grew by a remarkable 142%), the trajectory continued in 2021; in the first quarter of this year alone, trading cards GMV on eBay generated more than $1 billion, with an astounding average of 139 cards sold per minute.
When the global pandemic hit, trading card and sports memorabilia markets experienced a tremendous resurgence, making 2020 a historic year for this booming business. Whistle, found that 77% of Gen Z and Millennials actively sought content based on their hobbies as a reprieve from the news. Of all the hobby categories, sports cards gave users the most comfort and most excitement. Think one-of-a-kind Kobe Bryant cards which Snoop traded his car for (!), exclusive Michael Jordan cards and a Mike Trout rookie card selling for a record $3.93M at auction.
âeBay has always been a leading marketplace for buying and selling trading cards,” said Nicole Colombo, General Manager of Collectibles & Trading Cards, eBay. As new collectors are entering the space and given Whistleâs access to such a young audience that is turning to trading cards as another avenue of investments. It was a natural fit for us to partner and familiarize this audience with our capabilities.âÂ
âIt wasnât just trading cards that saw a spike: through data from our insights team we saw that the desire for content surrounding the topic was growing rapidly,” said Dustin Fleischman, SVP of Brand Partnerships, Team Whistle. âWe immediately went back to the drawing board of our original IP and assessed what kind of a unique series could lend itself well to serving the fandom of trading cards and that is how we developed Card Clout. Incorporating eBay for awareness of their expertise in the space is a perfect fit.â
In the first episode, DJ Skee meets with NBA star Spencer Dinwiddie as the duo learn more about each other over their shared passion for trading cards. Four additional episodes featuring sports and entertainment talent will run through the end of the year.
Check out the full video from the first episode here:
About Team Whistle:
Team Whistle is a sports and entertainment media company built to engage and activate todayâs fans worldwide through positive and relatable content, wherever and however they want it. Team Whistle is a pioneer in the data-driven creation and distribution of positive and relatable content in sports and entertainment for young audiences globally. Team Whistle’s proven portfolio of unscripted, scripted and interactive shows are available across its expansive social and AVOD media distribution network. The company’s video content IP and audience combined with its powerful analytical, production and commercial capabilities serve to help brands, distributors, talent, sports leagues and media companies activate and engage consumers across the content ecosystem.
About eBay:
eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers in 190 markets around the world. We exist to enable economic opportunity for individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations of all sizes. The ebay.com marketplace and its localized counterparts, as well as the eBay mobile apps, are among the worldâs largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection.
About Dash Radio:
Dash is the biggest original digital radio broadcasting platform in the world, streaming live 24/7. Founded by DJ Skee in 2014, Dash Radio features the biggest DJ’s, personalities and curators in the world on 75+ original & exclusive stations in every genre (with more added weekly).
