Reddit Expands With NFL, MLB, NBA For Highlights, Content, Ad Opportunities

NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service

July 22, 2024: In a move intended to expand its presence in sports and offer more advertising opportunities to brands, Reddit social news aggregation, content rating and forum social network said it has signed expanded deals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour and Nascar.

Reddit, founded in 2005, said it would show more game highlights, behind-the-scenes videos and ask-me-anything (AMA) sessions with players “bringing content to Reddit communities alongside new advertising opportunities.”

Advertisers on Reddit can show ads alongside video content posted by the various leagues.

Financial terms were not released.

“The major sports leagues are some of our most engaged Reddit Pro users and best-in-class examples of the power of engagement within Reddit communities,” chief operating officer Jen Wong said via the company.

“In addition, sports are one of Reddit’s most popular and fastest-growing — at +26% year-over-year — interest groups, bringing together highly engaged fans across over 1,000 communities

“It’s therefore not surprising that our first program partners include some of the biggest U.S. sports leagues that have global audiences: the NFL, NBA, MLB, the PGA Tour and Nascar.”

Reddit, which went public in March, said its platform received 20.4 billion screen views to communities in the sports category in the last 12 months. Overall, it claims 249 million global monthly engagements (posts, votes, comments) in Sports communities on Reddit.

“But with more than 100,000 communities on Reddit, there are many other highly engaged fan communities, both globally and in other topical areas such as entertainment and lifestyle, that could be opportunities for similar content programs.”

According to the company, “Reddit advertisers can align their brands to these communities and content experiences just like Samsung, Ford, Volkswagen of America and several others did as part of our initial test with the NFL during the 2023-24 season.

“During the test, an alcoholic beverage brand saw a +11.3 point lift in purchase intent, a +9.4 point lift in brand favorability, and a 5.9 point lift in awareness by activating alongside premium video content from the NFL.”

Called a Reddit Pro early adopter, “the NFL deeply understands the value of Reddit’s audience and the power of our communities. During the 2023–24 season alone, r/NFL grew by over three million subscribers as a result of the league’s authentic engagement and close partnership with the community.

“As Reddit’s longest-standing sports partner, the NFL has been an active participant on Reddit since 2019 and our first test partner for this program. In addition to advertisers aligning with NFL video content last season, the NFL also hosted its first Live Pro Bowl AMA session in r/NFL with participating Pro Bowl players answering questions live during the game from a dedicated Reddit space on the field.”

More recently, the NFL hosted a Schedule Release AMA “to keep fan excitement up during the off-season.”

Building on this growth, Reddit said "the NFL is renewing its partnership with Reddit to bring additional content – via video highlights and AMAs – to Reddit NFL communities."

“We believe these new partnerships can enhance our community experience with content that fans want while enabling advertisers to align with expanded fan content on Reddit,” said Wong.

“Through our official partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour and Nascar, ‘redditors’ will gain access to video highlights from games and tournaments, player AMAs, behind-the-scenes videos, and more special content posted by the leagues throughout their seasons and including during major events like Super Bowl and NBA All-Star.”

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