First-Ever Shaq's Fun House vs Gronk Beach Livestream, Presented by the General® Insurance, Generates More Than 9 Million Viewers

NEW YORK, June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hall of Fame legend and 4x NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal and 3x Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski teamed up for the ultimate livestream event this past Saturday night. Shaq's Fun House vs Gronk Beach, Presented by The General^® Insurance, featured seven epic Shaq vs Gronk challenges and superstar performances from DaBaby, Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki, Diplo and Carnage, which were all livestreamed to a virtual audience. The event, aptly referred to as the ultimate "party with a purpose," raised money for the NAACP and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in an effort to help in the fight against social injustices, including a $100,000 donation by The General Insurance. In addition, the official food delivery partner of the event, DoorDash, donated 1.25 million meals to people in need for each viewer in the livestream through their partnership with Feeding America^®. Over nine million people tuned in for free across streaming platforms: TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, LiveXLive, Twitter and on the official website, www.ShaqVsGronk.com, from all 50 states and over 100 countries. 

In true Shaq and Gronk fashion, the event was an internet sensation - with a highly engaged audience, with over 543,291 comments, likes and interactions during the livestream. The first-ever Shaq vs Gronk event created several viral segments, which generated over 20 million social views within 24 hours of the event, featuring highlights across ESPN, Bleacher Report, SportsCenter, Barstool Sports, Complex, and Yahoo, cementing it as one of the largest, most engaging livestreams of all time. 

Shaq and Gronk competed head-to-head in seven epic challenges. The winner of each challenge earned a donation to their charity -  Team Shaq represented Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Team Gronk represented the NAACP.

• Lip Sync Battle Presented by The General Insurance - Shaq started off hot singing to "Beggin'" by Madcon with an entourage of friends wearing wigs and other costumes, while Gronk sang the "SpongeBob SquarePants" theme song while spiking a pineapple into the ground in lieu of a football. Ultimately, this contest was too close to call, so The General Insurance graciously donated $50,000 to Team Shaq and $50,000 to Team Gronk to support their fight against social injustice.    
• Gronk channeled his inner Steph Curry and took down Shaq in the Game of HORSE, presented by YAPPA, but Shaq literally took down the rim off the backboard on his dunk, breaking the rim off the hoop and creating one the biggest highlights of the night.
• The pair went head to head in The McCormick Grill Mates Steak Challenge. Shaq made his special recipe - Shaq's Buttery Grilled Montreal Steak, taking home the title of top chef, as Gronk fell short on his custom recipe - Gronk's Savory & Sweet Montreal Steak.
• Gronk took home theJousting competition presented by Monster Energy by knocking the 7'1 Hall of fame center out of the ring onto the floor.
• Shaq was crowned the winner in theRocket Mortgage Sports Showdown in a photo finish during the final obstacle - an egg and spoon race. 
• Sports Trivia, presented by BioSupplies.com, paired up the physical phenoms in a mental challenge, as Shaq took home the title in a hilarious match up that went down to the one-yard line 
• In the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin' Challenge Shaq and Gronk barely made their way through the Carolina reaper sauced wings, but Gronk ultimately prevailed! 

"It was incredible to see almost 10 million people coming together for our party with a purpose, alongside my friends at The General Insurance. I had a blast taking Gronk down and jamming out with some of my favorite artists in the world, all while raising money for organizations that are fighting for social justice," says Shaquille O'Neal. 

"It was fun being in some intense competitions against Shaq. It made it feel like sports were finally back. It was truly awesome to bring the world together for some fun alongside some of our favorite artists, all for a good cause too," adds Rob Gronkowski  

The General Insurance was proud to team up with Shaq and Gronk for this fun event, while benefiting organizations addressing social injustices. While participants enjoyed activities brought to them by The General Insurance, like the lip sync challenge and The General Fan Cam, the company made $50,000 donations to both the NAACP and the Boys & Girls Club of America for the Shaq vs Gronk "challenges." Presenting Shaq's Fun House vs Gronk Beach alongside their $100,000 donation was just one of the many ways The General is addressing social injustice issues. "We were thrilled to sponsor this very special party with a purpose that brought millions together for a good cause and a good-natured competition between Shaq and Gronk," said Elicia Azali, Chief Revenue Officer at The General Insurance. "We are especially pleased to provide financial support for and bring awareness to the important work the NAACP and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America are doing in our communities."

During the event, Shaquille O'Neal, a Papa John's board member and restaurant owner, teased his new pizza in collaboration with the pizza company called the Shaq-a-Roni. Designed to deliver a bigger pizza experience, Papa John's will be donating one dollar from every Shaq-a-Roni sold from June 29 to Aug. 23, 2020, to The Papa John's Foundation for Building Community, which supports communities as they work together for equality, fairness, respect and opportunity for all. Conceived by O'Neal himself, the Shaq-a-Roni is an extra-large pizza made from Papa John's fresh, never-frozen six-ingredient dough, topped with extra cheese and extra pepperoni, then cut into Papa John's largest slices to-date.

YAPPA, the official communication platform of the livestream, powered the live chat during the stream so fans could interact with each other during all the competitions and performances, while also being part of the stream by Yapping the type of shot they wanted Shaq or Gronk to take during the Shaq vs Gronk game of HORSE.

"The NAACP is grateful for Shaq's & Gronk's commitment to advancing social justice," said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, NAACP. "We commend them for using their platform to uplift and bring attention to our work in eliminating race-based discrimination and securing the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons."

"We are so grateful for Shaquille's more than 20 years of support and advocacy of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. His understanding and compassion of the critical needs of youth are only matched by his willingness and desire to do whatever it takes to help kids and clubs - what an amazing party with a purpose," says Frank Sanchez, VP of Sports & Entertainment for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

The one-of-a-kind global livestream was produced by Medium Rare. The Shaq's Fun House vs. Gronk Beach livestream was a unique pivot for the live entertainment company. "This was such a fun way to bring together two of the best athletes of our lifetime for something really important," says co-founder of Medium Rare, Joe Silberzwig. "We all know the world is not in the best place at the moment, and it was amazing connecting nearly 10 million people for this party with a purpose," adds co-founder of Medium Rare, Adam Richman.

Click Here For High-Res Photos Credit: Medium Rare 

Media Contacts:

Philip Crimaldi

Smith & Company

201-400-0405

[email protected]

Related Images

shaq-and-gronk-at-shaqs-fun-house.jpeg
Shaq and Gronk at Shaq's Fun House vs Gronk Beach, Presented by The General Insurance

SOURCE The General Insurance