Guests attend Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images for Fanatics Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Fanatics, the Michael Rubin-led company at the heart of the sports commerce, collectibles, gaming and events space, is pushing into a lucrative new line of business: Sports advertising. The company on Tuesday announced the launch of a new division, Fanatics Advertising, which is being led by Jeremi Gorman, the former head of ad sales for Netflix and Snap. Gorman initially had joined Fanatics last year in an advisory role after exiting Netflix, and will now work as chief revenue officer for the division. Fanatics Advertising will include both internal advertising opportunities (such as sponsorships for Fanatics Fest, but more notably is also launching a pair of ad networks meant to power the sports ad ecosystem outside of its owned platforms. Related Stories Business Peyton Manning Calls an Audible in Bud Light's NFL Kickoff Campaign Business Former Fox and Discovery Executive Peter Liguori Named CEO of VideoAmp Those networks, the Fanatics Advertising Network (FAN) and Sports Video Network (SVN), will function as connections between marketers and advertisers, and sports fans, across digital media and video platforms as a supply-side platform (SSP). The networks will launch in connection with the NFL season, delivering CTV and digital video placements alongside key sports moments like highlights. "In a increasingly divided world, there are a few things that can bring people together, and sports is one of them," Gorman says in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Brands want to surround themselves with those moments that people are finding joy in." And given the complex media landscape (which Gorman knows well from her time at Netflix, Snap and Amazon), sports still have a way of standing out. "There are just very few water cooler moments anymore in a sort of bifurcated trifurcated, quadricated landscape," Gorman says. "We may be watching the same show, but you're on episode six, so we're not talking about it. Sports are the one thing that everybody watches in real time. "The world is clearly moving to a place where people recognize the value of a sports fan, and so that's the why and the timing [of the launch]," she adds. Indeed, sports have been at the heart of the TV ad sales business for years, and this year's upfront discussions have been defined by it, with sports driving the vast majority of growth across the different media companies. Fanatics might not have the live rights, but it thinks that it can nonetheless carve out a piece of the business for itself, leveraging its data and insights from commerce, gaming, Fanatics Fest and other areas. Fanatics Advertising is betting that both established sponsors of teams and leagues will be interested in leveraging its platform, as well as marketers and brands that haven't been major players in the space yet. "There are so many brands that want to get into sport, and they're either locked out due to competitive restrictions or just budgetary reasons," Gorman says. "Sponsoring a team is very expensive. Sponsoring a league is even more expensive. But it doesn't mean that those brands don't want to reach sports fans, and we believe that we sit very much at the center of that ecosystem, and that we can enable brands both to extend their season, but also we can enable brands who may not be able to be a part of a sport officially, to still reach the fans of a particular team, league, athlete, or just sports fans in general." "A unified advertising division unlocks cross-collaboration and creates incredible value for brands who are looking to get the most out of the Fanatics platform - a combination of assets that includes more than 100 million global fans, innovative businesses that reach across the full sports ecosystem, deep relationships with the world's top sports properties, and a brand that has become synonymous with fandom," adds Tucker Kain, Fanatics chief strategy and growth officer. "With her impressive track record building and scaling Ad businesses for some of the most transformative global companies, Jeremi is the right leader to launch our new advertising model and offer unique ways for brands to engage deeper with fandom." THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Peter Friedlander Peter Friedlander Departing Netflix, Jinny Howe Upped to Head of U.S., Canada Scripted Series Theater Broadway Box Office: 'Mamma Mia!' Sees Highest Gross Yet THR, Esq Anthropic Settles AI Lawsuit From Authors YouTube YouTube Hits Six Consecutive Months as Top TV Distributor EchoStar EchoStar Strikes $23 Billion Deal to Sell Spectrum Licenses to AT&T Sports Netflix Inks Streaming Deal for World Baseball Classic ... But Only in Japan