Andrew Barge Joins Buzzer as Chief Business Officer

Andrew Barge has joined Buzzer, the new mobile platform delivering short-form access to the best moments in live sports, as Chief Business Officer. In his role, Barge will oversee Buzzer’s business development and commercial strategy, including the management of new and existing partnerships and strategic revenue opportunities. Barge will serve on the senior leadership team and will work directly with the CEO and CPO on strategic planning and execution of Buzzer’s suite of fan-centric live sports products that complement the existing business models of all industry players.

“As we continue to grow Buzzer into a bridge-building platform that helps rights holders drive new audiences and revenue, building a leadership team that fundamentally understands all aspects of the sports industry and the interests and behaviors of young fans is critical to our success,” says Bo Han, founder and CEO of Buzzer. “I had the pleasure of working closely with Andrew for 5+ years, and his wealth of knowledge and his experience in forging meaningful relationships across the industry — leagues, networks, MVPDs, SVODs — are uniquely aligned with Buzzer’s mission of advancing the ecosystem through a partner-minded approach. His experience making sports accessible beyond the television screen and proven ability to build and nurture authentic and value-generating relationships with partners will help accelerate our growth and revenue generation, as well as fulfill our community-driven mission.”

Barge joins Buzzer after eight years at Twitter, working in the company’s Global Content Partnerships organization in various capacities — most recently as Senior Director, Content Business Development. In this role, he served as Twitter’s lead dealmaker, overseeing business development for content partnerships across all verticals – Sports, Entertainment, Music, & News – globally. In 2021, Barge inked multi-year deals with the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, along with NBCUniversal (including Olympics live and VOD coverage from Tokyo in 2021 and Beijing in 2022) and FOX Sports (including World Cup live and VOD coverage from Qatar in 2022 and Australia/New Zealand in 2023). Barge was also charged with expanding Twitter’s footprint in emerging markets, which included India, Subsaharan Africa, and the Middle East. Before being elevated into a global and multi-vertical role, Barge managed Twitter’s corporate relationship with sports broadcast networks and emerging digital media publishers. His work delivering premium video content for Twitter earned him recognition on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Sports list in 2017.

Prior to Twitter, Andrew spent six years in brand marketing at ESPN, launching 30 for 30’s “What if I told you?” campaign and supporting NFL, motorsports, and action sports properties. His marketing work earned ESPN several industry nominations and wins, including Clio, Promax, and the Sports Emmys.

“In sports media, fans — particularly young ones — are increasingly losing connection to the most valuable asset sports has to offer: the live game,” says Barge. “The trend poses a threat that’s industry-wide — for leagues, networks, teams, athletes, sponsors, distributors and, most importantly, fans — and no company is addressing it with more conviction and focus than Buzzer. I can’t wait to get started with Bo, the awesome team he’s built, and partners across the industry to better understand and serve sports’ ever-changing fanbase.”