The Comcast SportsTech Accelerator is a premier program designed to fast-track startups innovating in the sports technology sector. By providing unparalleled access to industry leaders, mentorship, and resources, this accelerator aims to propel early-stage companies to new heights. This guide outlines the key aspects of the program and offers insights to enhance your application.
Comcast SportsTech Accelerator Program Overview
📍 Locations: Primarily based in Atlanta, Georgia, with hybrid options available.
🕒 Program Duration: 6 months
💸 Funding: $50,000 investment in exchange for equity; over $1.7 million in perks and resources.
💼 Equity Taken: Negotiated individually; typically involves common stock.
🌎 Global Network: Partnerships with leading sports organizations, including NBC Sports, Sky Sports, PGA TOUR, NASCAR, and the Premier League.
🎯 Focus Areas: Media & Entertainment, Fan/Player Engagement, Athlete/Player Performance, Team & Coach Success, Venue & Event Innovation, Fantasy Sports & Betting, Esports, and the Business of Sports.
🧑🤝🧑 Program Structure:
- Customized Mentorship: One-on-one sessions with industry experts and executives.
- Strategic Networking: Opportunities to connect with decision-makers from partner organizations.
- Pilot Programs: Potential to secure pilots, partnerships, and commercial deals during the program.
- Demo Day: Showcase your startup to a curated audience of investors and industry leaders.
Eligibility Criteria
✅Startup Stage: Early to growth-stage companies with a market-ready product.
✅Funding Cap: No strict cap, but companies should demonstrate financial readiness for scaling.
✅Location: Open to startups globally.
✅Industry: Must align with one or more of the accelerator’s focus areas.
✅Team Strength:
- Dedicated Founding Team: Full-time commitment with a clear vision.
- Industry Expertise: Relevant experience or a unique approach to the sports tech industry.
- Coachable Founders: Willingness to receive feedback and adapt accordingly.
Investment & Funding Opportunities
Startups accepted into the Comcast SportsTech Accelerator receive a strong financial and strategic boost to accelerate their growth.
💰 What You Get:
- $50,000 investment in common stock equity (terms negotiated individually).💸
- $1.7M+ in perks including AWS credits, access to software, and infrastructure support.💸
- Potential pilot projects and commercial deals with Comcast NBCUniversal brands and partners.
- VC exposure through demo day and introductions to investors like Comcast Ventures and TitletownTech.
🧠 Pro Tip: The real value of this accelerator goes far beyond the initial funding. Strategic alignment with partners can lead to multi-year contracts and enterprise relationships that scale.
Comcast SportsTech Accelerator Application Process
📝Step-by-Step Guide:
- Initial Application: Complete the application form on the Comcast SportsTech Accelerator website. This includes providing company details, product information, and alignment with focus areas.
- Portal Submission: After the initial application, you’ll be directed to a dedicated submission portal where you can provide more detailed information about your startup, including business metrics, team background, and traction.
- Interviews: Shortlisted candidates will undergo interviews with the accelerator team and partner representatives to assess fit and potential.
- Final Selection: Successful applicants will be notified and provided with further details about program participation.
🌟 Application Tips:
- Demonstrate Strategic Fit: Clearly articulate how your startup aligns with the accelerator’s focus areas and partner interests.
- Showcase Traction: Provide evidence of market validation, such as user metrics, revenue, or pilot programs.
- Highlight Team Expertise: Emphasize the experience and skills of your team members relevant to the sports tech industry.
Benefits for Founders at Comcast SportsTech Accelerator
Joining Comcast SportsTech isn’t just about acceleration—it’s about plugging into one of the most powerful networks in the global sports and media ecosystem. 💼 Here’s exactly what founders get when they’re selected for this elite program:
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| 🎓 Mentorship | 80+ expert mentors across sports, tech, and media |
| 🌐 Corporate Access | Direct introductions to NBC Sports, NASCAR, PGA, and more |
| 💰 Resources | $1.7M+ in perks, equity investment, AWS credits |
| 📊 Pilots | 132+ real-world partnerships since 2021 |
| 🚀 Exposure | Events in Atlanta, Philly, and national sports hubs |
| 🤝 Growth Support | Strategic coaching, partner-fit planning, investor exposure |
Acceptance Rate & Competitiveness
Highly Selective: The program receives over 1,500 applications annually, selecting only 10 startups per cohort, resulting in an acceptance rate of less than 1%.📊
Comcast SportsTech Accelerator Focus Areas & Industries
Key Sectors:
- 🎥Media & Entertainment: Innovations enhancing content creation and distribution.
- 🙌Fan/Player Engagement: Technologies improving interaction between fans and players.
- 🏋️♂️Athlete/Player Performance: Solutions advancing training and performance analytics.
- 🧠Team & Coach Success: Tools aiding team management and coaching strategies.
- 🏟️Venue & Event Innovation: Enhancements to the live event experience and venue operations.
- 🎯Fantasy Sports & Betting: Platforms and technologies related to fantasy sports and wagering.
- 🎮Esports: Developments in competitive gaming and related ecosystems.
- 💼Business of Sports: Solutions addressing the commercial aspects of sports organizations.
Evaluation & Selection Process
The selection process is rigorous and designed to find startups with the strongest fit for partner collaboration.🔍
📌 How Selection Works:
- Initial Screening: Based on your application form, pitch deck, and alignment with SportsTech’s innovation focus.
- Top 50 Chosen: These are reviewed by the program’s corporate consortium partners.
- Partner Interviews: Top 25 startups are invited to present directly to Comcast NBCUniversal executives and partners.
- Final 10 Selected: Startups chosen based on strongest commercial potential, traction, and team fit.
💬 Selection is highly influenced by how well your solution matches the needs of Comcast SportsTech Accelerator’s partner brands. Tailor your pitch accordingly.
Tips to Get Into Comcast SportsTech Accelerator
Getting accepted into Comcast SportsTech accelerator is no small feat—with less than a 1% acceptance rate, competition is fierce. If you’re serious about landing a spot, you need more than a great idea—you need alignment, traction, and readiness to execute at the highest level.🧠
Here’s how to rise to the top of the applicant pool:
🎯 Show Strategic Partner Fit
This isn’t a generic accelerator—it’s a partner-driven program. That means Comcast and its consortium members (like NBC Sports, PGA TOUR, NASCAR, Sky Sports, and US Olympic organizations) have specific innovation goals. You must do your homework:
- Identify which partner(s) your product aligns with.
- Speak to their known pain points or innovation priorities.
- Show how your solution would improve workflows, engage fans, enhance athlete performance, or generate new revenue.
📌 Example: If your tech boosts audience engagement for live sports, explain exactly how it could plug into NBC Sports broadcasts or Peacock streaming platforms.
📈 Highlight Traction (Not Just Potential)
Comcast SportsTech Accelerator is looking for startups that are already in motion, not those still in the idea phase. Demonstrate progress by showing:
- Active pilots or proof-of-concept projects
- Paying customers or enterprise contracts
- Revenue growth, even if modest
- Capital raised (typically Seed or Series A)
This tells partners you’re capable of executing quickly, which is essential for launching pilots during the program.
📌 Tip: Include quantifiable milestones like “$50K MRR” or “3 paid pilots with D1 athletic programs” to back up your claims.
🧑💻 Prove You’re Coachable
Coachability is a non-negotiable trait for founders accepted into the program. Comcast and Boomtown mentors invest significant time guiding startups—they want founders who are:
- Open to feedback, not defensive
- Able to adapt strategy when needed
- Collaborative with mentors, peers, and partner teams
Even if your traction is strong, a stubborn or dismissive attitude can derail your chances. Show you’re hungry to learn, improve, and build alongside seasoned executives.
📌 Red flag to avoid: Acting like you have all the answers. This is a partnership, not a solo mission.
🔁 Focus on Pilot-Ready Execution
The program is designed around real-world pilots. That means partners want startups whose solutions can be tested quickly and effectively. You should:
- Demonstrate technical readiness (ideally post-MVP)
- Be prepared to launch a pilot within 4–6 weeks of joining the program
- Offer clear onboarding or integration pathways
- Highlight use cases that can deliver fast wins for partners
📌 If your startup needs 6+ months to implement or test, this may not be the right time to apply.
📊 Know Your KPIs and Metrics
This is a data-driven program. You’ll be pitching to some of the most analytical minds in media and sports—so be ready to talk numbers confidently:
- Market size (TAM, SAM, SOM)
- CAC, LTV, retention rate
- Gross margins, revenue projections
- Pilot KPIs and performance benchmarks
It’s not about having perfect numbers—it’s about showing that you understand your business, track progress, and make informed decisions.
📌 Tip: Prepare a KPI sheet alongside your pitch deck and use it to show progress in real-time if you get into interviews.
📹 Craft a Sharp, Strategic Pitch Deck
Your pitch deck is often the first impression you make—it needs to communicate value quickly and clearly. Here’s what your deck should do:
- Frame the problem with urgency and relevance to the sports industry
- Present your solution with clarity, visuals, and real-life use cases
- Walk through your business model, pricing, and GTM strategy
- Showcase your team: Why are you the ones to solve this?
- Add traction slides to show progress, milestones, and validation
- End with a clear ask and vision for how you’ll scale
📌 Bonus points if you tailor your deck to the Comcast SportsTech accelerator partners—mention how your solution fits into their roadmap.
Comcast SportsTech Accelerator Past Participants & Success Stories
Since its launch in 2021, the Comcast SportsTech Accelerator has supported dozens of startups that have collectively secured:
🚀 132 pilots, partnerships, and commercial deals with consortium partners.
Some standouts:
- LetzChat: Language translation tech now used by NBC Sports Next.
- nVenue: Predictive analytics platform integrated into live sports broadcasts.
- Uru Sports: Global athlete marketplace, now expanding via WWE and Olympics connections.
- Aquimo: Mobile fan engagement games used during NBA events.
- Orreco: AI-driven athlete analytics, growing via partnerships with elite sports franchises.
🌍These aren’t just “success stories”—they’re proof that pilot-driven engagement works.
The People Behind the Program
👩💼 Jenna Kurath – VP of Startup Partnerships and Head of Comcast SportsTech accelerator
She leads the program with a mission to create mutually beneficial partnerships between startups and industry leaders.
Other key players include:
- Will McIntosh – President, NBC Sports Next
- Jim Denney – Chief Product Officer, Peacock
- Lora Dennis – EVP of NBCUniversal Local
- Plus 70+ mentors from Comcast, PGA TOUR, Sky Sports, and NASCAR.
💼 Venture Capital Partners
The program opens doors to top-tier VC connections, including:
- Comcast Ventures – Comcast’s venture capital arm.
- TitletownTech – A VC firm backed by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft.
- Boomtown Accelerators – Program operators with deep investor connections.
💡 These partners aren’t just observing—they actively participate in selection and mentorship.
FAQs
❓Does Comcast SportsTech accelerator take equity?
Yes. Equity terms are negotiated with each startup individually.
❓Do I have to be in Atlanta?
No, the program is hybrid. There are three in-person events, but you can participate remotely most of the time.
❓How many companies are accepted?
Only 10 startups are selected per year—less than 1% acceptance rate.
❓Is this open to international founders?
Absolutely. Over 40% of the cohort typically comes from outside the U.S.
❓What if I’m early-stage?
The program prefers startups with traction. Ideal stage is late seed to Series A with a deployable solution.
❓Can I apply with just an idea?
Not recommended. You’ll need something ready for a partner pilot—at least a working MVP.
Final Thoughts on Getting Into Comcast SportsTech Accelerator
If your startup is building serious tech for the sports world and ready to scale, Comcast SportsTech might be your ultimate springboard.
But it’s not for everyone. This is a program for execution-ready founders who:
- Know how to work with enterprise customers
- Are serious about commercial partnerships
- Have a team that’s ready to go now—not someday
What you’ll get in return isn’t just capital. You’ll get real intros, real pilots, and the kind of traction that makes fundraising easier and growth faster.
🧭 Start here: Study the partners. Tailor your pitch. Focus on fast wins.
📌 Apply early. Prepare deeply. Follow through fast.
Comcast SportsTech accelerator isn’t just another badge—it’s a business accelerator in every sense.
