Benzinga | Aug 2, 2021 08:06AM EDT

Dolphin Entertainment Reports Partnership With West Realm Shire Services To Create 'large-scale, consumer-facing NFT marketplaces for major sports and entertainment brands,' No Terms Disclosed

Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLPN), a leading entertainment marketing and premium content production company, and West Realm Shire Services Inc.( "FTX" or "The Company"), owner and operator of FTX.US, today announced a partnership to create large-scale, consumer-facing NFT marketplaces for major sports and entertainment brands.

Dolphin will develop and execute the creative branding, production and marketing of these programs alongside FTX, who will use their crypto exchange services and technical development as the backbone of the marketplaces. Together, the award-winning production and marketing teams of Dolphin and the industry-leading team at FTX behind one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world will develop and program global NFT marketplaces targeting brands within the sports, film, television, music, gaming, eSports, culinary, lifestyle and charity industries.

"We see the trading of NFTs as much more than just a list of digital products - we view our marketplace experiences as the future of fandom for internationally-recognized brands and franchises in sports and entertainment," said Bill O'Dowd, CEO of Dolphin Entertainment. "To achieve this vision, we have searched for the absolute best technology partner. We are unbelievably excited to partner with Sam, Brett, Avi and the entire team at FTX, who we consider the market leader for customer experience in the crypto and blockchain worlds."

"Buying NFTs today is clunky," continued O'Dowd. "To be able to offer a seamless user experience, where the wallet and the product are all in one place; to allow the consumer to pay with crypto, credit card or traditional currency; to have the product available on wholly-owned and programmed online destinations; to have the same product available for purchase directly in app; and to also have actual customer support, when necessary, are enormous differentiating factors that FTX provides. Combined with Dolphin's unparalleled access and relationships across the film, television, music, gaming, eSports, culinary and sports industries, our joint offerings are distinct from the rest of the market and, most importantly, immediately put NFTs on a level playing field with all other consumer products available for purchase online."

Brett Harrison, President of FTX.US commented on today's news, "Dolphin's reach and scale across all of pop culture is very impressive to us. We are excited to build marketplaces with Dolphin, both because of their ability to access content and IP, but also because they are leaders in public relations and influencer marketing for every major vertical of entertainment. With that said, there are several items on the horizon that we can't wait to launch together."

Dolphin's wholly-owned subsidiaries include 42West, ranked the most powerful PR firm in the entertainment industry by the New York Observer, with the preeminent content marketing division for films and television, and an expansive and diverse celebrity roster; Shore Fire Media, believed to be the largest music PR firm in the world, with an artist roster that spans virtually every genre of recorded music; The Door, a market-leading celebrity chef, hospitality and lifestyle PR firm; BHI, a division of 42West, servicing the gaming, eSports and entertainment consumer products industries; Be Social, a top-tier influencer marketing company, executing both consumer campaigns for a variety of major brands and managing a substantial roster of well-known online celebrities; and Viewpoint Creative, an award-winning creative agency.