In 2020, Wave Sports + Entertainment (WSE) had just five shows on Snap. Today, WSE boasts nearly two dozen shows on Snap. As of January 2022, WSE brands had more than 30 million subscribers and rack up more than 90 million unique views monthly. WSE content on Snap is broad and deep, from traditional mainstream sports to physical feats, backyard sports, and other oddities -- like hot air balloon performance art -- that appeal to digital sports fans.
WSE's full list of Snap channels includes the following: Bench Mob; Break Point; BUCKETS; FTBL; Gone Fishin'; GYM HEROES; HAYMAKERS; JUKES; Odd Balls; Off Track; Phenoms; Pop Therapy; Reborn; TBH; The Grip; The Pump; WAVE.tv; Hall of Insane; Superhuman; Worldwide; Supremme; and, Zen Zone.
Already a leading sports publisher to Snap, WSE set out to raise the bar even higher with objectives that included the following:
Engage with young sports fans in a way that cannot be done by legacy media, and in doing so, increase subscribers and engagement for WSE owned brands on Snap
Spotlight more diverse stories and expand representation for underrepresented groups
Broaden coverage areas by introducing new shows and brands to the platform, going beyond the big four to include niche programming focused on sports like fishing and rock climbing
Demonstrate to leagues, rightsholders, and brand partners that WSE understands the Gen-Z and millennial demographic
Increase programmatic revenue and be a trusted partner to Snap in their growth markets of Mexico, the Middle East, Africa, and more
Today’s digital sports fans consume content differently. They want highlights, memes, takes, commentary, analysis, off-field culture, and stories on the players and movements that are shaping the world of sports. This is WSE’s sweet spot.
Leveraging content from leagues and rights holder partners, as well as original content and user-generated content, WSE set about to tell stories in a format that appealed to the video viewing habits of Gen-Z and millennials.
WSE content is broad and deep, from traditional mainstream sports to physical feats, backyard sports, and other oddities -- like hot air balloon performance art -- that appeal to digital sports fans. This diversity in storytelling is key, but it goes far beyond a focus on alternative sports. WSE is committed to spotlighting marginalized groups of people who are accomplishing incredible feats of athleticism (and occasionally pop culture!).
WSE follows the data, and when content starts to gain traction, WSE acts quickly, digging deeper to tell those stories. This net new content keeps WSE followers engaged. Among WSE’s most popular Snap shows are GYM HEROES that spotlights the fitness journeys of incredible everyday people; POP THERAPY that features the work of physical therapists; and PHENOMS that tells the motivational and transformation stories of female athletes.
WSE’s Snap shows reached an all-time high of 86 million views monthly, on average;
As of January 2022, WSE has more than 30 million subscribers across its Snap shows;
Premium brand JUKES, which focuses on American football, realized all-time highs during Super Bowl week 2022 when Snap subscriber counts reached 194,000. And that week, JUKES on Snap had 21.6M views and reached 885,000 fans.
PHENOMS, WSE’s show that features women accomplishing extraordinary feats of athleticism, is among the company’s fastest-growing, and was awarded the 2021 Hashtag Sports Award for “Best Female Representation in Sports Storytelling”;
WSE launched more than a dozen new shows in new coverage areas, including FTBL (soccer), BUCKETS (basketball); Break Point (tennis); and more;
WSE increased coverage by more than 25% in niche sports areas like fishing, and rock climbing;
Demographics across the board have expanded in key markers of gender, age, and more;
WSE locked in deals for brand partnerships with Nike, Gatorade, Gymshark and others, paving a durable foundation for which to demonstrate success and secure future partnerships;
While exact revenue numbers are confidential, WSE’s efforts with Snap have profoundly increased the organizations’ programmatic revenue, and Snap is the top revenue driver for WSE; and,
WSE continues to work alongside Snap as they push into both new innovations as well as new regions worldwide.
