Reddit is making a significant move into the vibrant sports marketing industry.
On Monday, the social media platform unveiled a series of new partnerships with prominent sports leagues, including the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), the PGA Tour, and NASCAR.
As part of these collaborations, Reddit users will gain access to a range of exclusive content, including video highlights from games, player Q&A sessions (AMAs), behind-the-scenes footage, and other unique material provided by the leagues throughout their seasons and major events.
Reddit has reported over 1,000 active communities dedicated to sports, noting a substantial increase in user engagement. Screenviews in these sports forums have surged by 26% over the past year.
The sports marketing sector is projected to grow more than 20%, reaching a value exceeding $55 billion by 2030, with fans predominantly engaging with sports content on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
To bolster its revenue streams ahead of a planned public offering, Reddit previously secured a $60 million-per-year AI licensing agreement with Google in February. Following its successful IPO, Reddit reported first-quarter revenues nearly 50% higher than the previous year. The announcement of new sports partnerships led to nearly a 7% increase in Reddit shares on Monday.
Key statistics include:
– 1,000: Number of sports-related Reddit forums
– 20.4 billion: Screenviews of sports-related Reddit forums in the last year
– 249 million: Monthly engagements (posts, votes, comments) in sports subreddits globally
– $55 billion: Estimated value of the sports marketing sector by 2030
– $243 million: Reddit’s first-quarter revenue