With most sports still on coronavirus hiatus, Stephen Curry is hosting a competition turning everyday stay-at-home activities into a competitive event to benefit WHO’s COVID-19 rsponse.
The NBA star teamed with YouTube Originals to organize the spoofy “UHC: Ultimate Home Championship” fundraising event featuring pro athletes and influencers competing for the title of the “world’s greatest at-home athlete.”
“UHC” features seven competitors from the world of YouTube and sports — DeAndre Jordan, Kristopher London, Von Miller, Ronda Rousey, Lindsey Vonn, The F2, Ryan García — along with “sideline commentators” including gaming superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, ESPN’s Katie Nolan and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Ego Nwodim.
The showdown will feature “high-octane rounds” of events including laundry-hamper basketball, garbage-container hauling, and a DIY high-jump.
The “Ultimate Home Championship” special will premiere Friday, June 26, at 12 p.m. ET on Stephen Curry’s YouTube channel. Viewers will be encouraged to donate to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund on the watch page.
“With ‘Ultimate Home Championship,’ we were able to create a fun and safe environment for entertaining competition,” Curry, the UHC “commissioner,” said in a statement. “We invited the best athletes in the world to compete and raise money for a great cause.”
Curry relaunched his channel on YouTube in 2018, and has since drawn more than 1.25 million subscribers
“UHC: Ultimate Home Championship” is part of a new slate of YouTube Originals, geared around supporting, entertaining and educating viewers during the COVID-19 pandemic — coming as YouTube has folded virtually its entire slate of scripted original programming, including “Cobra Kai,” which is moving to Netflix for Season 3.
Other recent YouTube Originals projects include “Bear Witness, Take Action,” a fundraiser special hosted by Common and Keke Palmer, and “Dear Class of 2020,” a virtual graduation event featuring the Obamas, BTS, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and more.
The “UHC” special is executive produced by Stephen Curry, along with Curry’s Unanimous Media company and Portal A. The special was developed and produced by Unanimous Media and Portal A. YouTube Originals head of unscripted Alex Piper and development lead Lauren Celinski will oversee the project for the video platform.
