In recent months, Rolltech, a downtown Las Vegas-based tech startup that tracks bowling scores, has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, from ESPN to Bowlmor AMF, which operates 300 bowling centers.
On Friday, however, the VegasTechFund-backed firm announced its biggest collaboration yet.
The mobile-app company, founded in 2011, will be a title sponsor of the Professional Bowlers Association’s World Championship on Dec. 17.
ESPN plans to televise the Rolltech World Championship during a Thursday prime-time slot.
This is not the first time Rolltech — which gives bowlers a way to track scores, do a pin-by-pin analysis of their turns, and compete electronically with other users — has teamed up with the PBA.
For two years, Rolltech has provided live scoring at tour events, and company CEO Rich Belsky called the latest collaboration “a natural progression.”
For Rolltech, which plans to release its first TV commercial during the program, the sponsorship is an opportunity to gain exposure as it looks to expand its services and persuade more bowlers to download its mobile application.
“It’s like the dream scenario for exposing our product to our demographic,” Belsky said.
The company, which has an office downtown and operates with a staff of 15, has raised $3 million. “It means the world...to show we have reached the level that we are capable of doing something at this magnitude,” he said.
This will be the first year for ESPN to televise the PBA’s two-hour world championship live in weekday prime time.