By Julian Cardenas
Homegrown app Kumu has become the favorite of athletes and professional sports leagues, resulting in its partnership with several sports organizations.
The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is one of the most prominent partners of Kumu, where games are streamed live on specific schedules and have the option to be replayed by viewers. It also became a favorite of athletes, including Alyssa Valdez, team captain and open striker of Creamline Cool Smashers.
“Kumu has helped us in such a way to get us connected with fans and supporters to thank them for their support. Kumu is a nice avenue to that,” Valdez said.
She added that the app significantly helped her and her team to reach out to worried supporters during the COVID-19 lockdown. The app also helps inspire people, allowing everyone to interact with one another during streaming sessions.
Petro Gazz Angels’ team coach Jerry Yee supports Kumu for the same reason. He believes fans should keep following their sports idols’ methods to apply them to their everyday lives so those who aspire to become athletes can one day become just as good as they are.
The stream of fans viewing the athletes’ personal lives and games was significant that Paolo Pineda, the chief commercial officer, and Victoria Herrera, the Vice president of Marketing, proclaimed that the company has begun focusing on enriching the experience of the viewers who are watching the games.
Kumu will start developing innovations and forming more partnerships with other sports leagues and mediums, such as basketball and music. The app even launched Top Class, dedicated to supporting aspiring Filipino musicians and P-pop bands.
Herrera stated that competition from other apps inspires the company to make themselves and their community of supporters better because the viewers occupy the top of their priorities. Kumu also helped its supporters when they struggled to cope with the canceled games and the inability to connect with their sports idols during the pandemic.
Kumu, a community platform launched in 2018, brings Filipino audiences locally and internationally together. It champions the community through sports and music, which made it an immediate favorite by aspiring content creators, especially athletes who stream their personal life and games through it.
The app received positive reviews from users as it became one of the highest-grossing apps in the world, with an estimated 10 million app downloads and 60 million live streams viewed per month. In the Philippines, it surpassed the downloads of TikTok, Facebook live and Instagram within a short period. Company executives also noted that Filipinos from across the globe also show their support for the app.
Kumu is currently looking for potential partners to showcase more sports and genres.
