Reddit is making a significant move into the sports marketing arena, as the platform announced several new partnerships with prominent sports leagues including the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), PGA Tour, and NASCAR.
Starting Monday, Reddit users will have access to a variety of exclusive content including game and tournament video highlights, player AMAs (ask me anything sessions), behind-the-scenes footage, and other unique material shared by the leagues during their seasons and major events.
The platform has reported that it hosts over 1,000 active sports-related communities, with interest in these forums having surged significantly. Specifically, screenviews on sports forums saw a 26% increase over the past year.
The sports marketing industry is projected to grow by more than 20%, potentially reaching a value of over $55 billion by 2030, with many fans currently accessing sports content primarily on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).
In recent months, Reddit has been looking for new revenue streams in anticipation of its public offering. The company struck a noteworthy $60 million-per-year AI licensing agreement with Google in February. Following a successful initial public offering (IPO), Reddit reported first-quarter revenues that were nearly 50% higher compared to the same period last year. The announcement of the new sports partnerships resulted in a nearly 7% increase in Reddit’s shares on Monday.
By the numbers:
– 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 worldwide
– $55 billion: Projected value of the sports marketing sector by 2030
– $243 million: Reddit’s first-quarter revenue