Nate Bloom has been brought on board production company Open Swim as full-time chief blockchain officer. Bloom and Open Swim founder Bradley Ross are no strangers in collaboration as they have previously worked together to build what has become Open Swim’s digital portfolio. Together they have tracked and invested in emerging properties, as well as curated over 50 NFTs from collections including Bored Ape Yacht Club, Doodles, World of Women, Cool Cats and Gutter Cat Gang. Bloom’s responsibilities as chief blockchain officer will include guiding interested partners in development to their own properties, relationships, sponsorships and fundraising.
A former car lover turned NFT connoisseur, Bloom formed his passion for all things technical working as an automotive technician for the first 16 years of his career–a skill set that came in handy when the wiring in both hero vehicles failed the day before production began on Centigrade, a film executive produced by Ross and released in the fall of 2020. Bloom’s first interaction with NFTs came from digital NBA trading cards and as he continued to explore and develop his knowledge in the metaverse, it soon became his newfound home, career and community. While still working as a mechanic, Bloom and a group of friends formed a community for NFT enthusiasts called the “Non-Refungible Network” that has continued to thrive featuring content including podcasts, blog posts, videos, Discord chats, Instagram and Twitter spaces all revolving around the education of NFTs.
“Nate has earned clout and recognition for his sharp, innovative mind in the digital properties space and is the perfect fit to shepherd web3 opportunities into the film and advertising world,” commented Ross. “This aligns with Open Swim’s mission to bring perspectives together in a non-linear way and enable creative strategies in filmmaking and storytelling.”
“We’re creating a department that will use tools like virtual land, decentralized finance, NFT curation, and crypto currencies for film financing and storytelling,” shared Open Swim’s EP Amyliz Pera. “On every set, we end up engaging in conversation about possible ways to partner with our clients in the emerging properties space. So with Nate on staff full time, we will have a dedicated expert on set with us to address those questions and help actualize ideas.”
“I already have a busy schedule of meetings with clients at Open Swim — from startups to agencies,” said Bloom. “There is definitely a need for expertise in this industry when it comes to advising and birthing projects. I’m super excited to be a part of the team and looking forward to contributing to the creative voices already on board.”
ESPN and other channels return to DirecTV with a new Disney deal after a nearly 2-week blackout
DirecTV announced Saturday it had reached a deal with Walt Disney Co. that will restore ESPN and ABC-owned stations to its service after a nearly 2-week dispute that blacked out those networks for millions of viewers across the U.S.
The end of the impasse came in time for sports fans to watch ESPN's slate of college football games on DirecTV. It also will ensure that ABC's telecast of the Emmy Awards on Sunday night will be available in more major markets where viewers subscribe to DirecTV's pay service.
ABC had been unavailable since Sept. 1 on DirecTV in several markets where the station is owned by Disney. Those were located in the San Francisco Bay Area; Fresno, California; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Houston; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
DirecTV's 11 million subscribers abruptly lost access to ESPN, the ABC-owned stations and other Disney-owned channels such as FX and National Geographic during the Labor Day weekend in a dispute over carriage fees and programming flexibility.
Some viewers were watching the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament when ESPN suddenly went dark and others were getting ready to watch a college football showdown between LSU and Southern California.
The impasse also kept the NFL's opening game of Monday Night Football off of DirecTV's service.
Financial details of Disney's new deal with DirecTV weren't disclosed as part of Saturday's announcement. DirecTV's payments to Disney will be based on "market-based" pricing, according to the announcement about the deal.
The agreement also will give DirecTV the ability to offer Disney's video streaming services a la carte as well as in its own bundled packages. DirecTV won the right to include ESPN's forthcoming direct-to-consumer... Read More