Reddit is making a significant move into the sports marketing industry.
On Monday, the platform revealed new partnerships with several leading sports leagues, including the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), PGA Tour, and NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing).
As part of these partnerships, Reddit users will have access to game and tournament highlights, player AMAs (Ask Me Anything sessions), behind-the-scenes content, and other exclusive materials from the leagues during their respective seasons and major events.
Reddit has noted that it hosts over 1,000 active sports communities, which have seen a substantial increase in user engagement. In the past year, the platform reported a 26% rise in screen views on sports-related forums.
The sports marketing sector is projected to grow by more than 20%, surpassing a value of $55 billion by 2030, with fans increasingly turning to platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter for sports content.
In pursuit of new revenue streams ahead of its anticipated public offering, Reddit inked a $60 million-per-year AI licensing agreement with Google earlier this year. Following a successful IPO, the company reported first-quarter revenues that were nearly 50% higher than the previous year. After announcing the new sports partnerships, Reddit shares rose nearly 7%.
Key Statistics:
– 1,000: Number of sports-related forums on Reddit
– 20.4 billion: Screen views of sports forums in the last year
– 249 million: Monthly engagements in global sports subreddits
– $55 billion: Estimated market value of sports marketing by 2030
– $243 million: Reddit’s first-quarter revenue