Reddit is making a significant move into the thriving sports marketing industry.
On Monday, the social media platform announced new collaborations with several major sports leagues, including the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), PGA Tour, and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).
As a result of these partnerships, Reddit users will gain access to a range of engaging content, such as video highlights from games and tournaments, player Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes footage, and other exclusive materials shared by the leagues throughout their seasons and key events.
Reddit currently boasts over 1,000 active sports communities, and user engagement in these forums has surged, with screenviews related to sports increasing by 26% over the past year.
The sports marketing industry is projected to experience substantial growth, expected to rise over 20% to exceed $55 billion by 2030, as fans increasingly use platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) to engage with sports content.
In its efforts to enhance revenue ahead of a potential public offering, Reddit secured a $60 million annual AI licensing deal with Google earlier this year. Following a successful IPO, the company announced that its first-quarter revenues were nearly 50% higher than the previous year. After unveiling the new sports partnerships, Reddit shares rose by nearly 7%.
Key statistics include:
– 1,000: The number of sports-related Reddit forums
– 20.4 billion: Screenviews of sports-related Reddit forums over the past year
– 249 million: Monthly engagements (posts, votes, comments) within sports subreddits worldwide
– $55 billion: Estimated value of the sports marketing sector by 2030
– $243 million: Reddit’s revenue for the first quarter