In a sports media landscape dominated by billion-dollar rights deals and global competitions, FloSports has taken a fundamentally different approach.
Rather than competing for the biggest properties, the US company has built its business by focusing on what it calls “the other 99 per cent” – in other words, the vast ecosystem of underserved sports and passionate fan communities.
At SportsPro New York in March, chief executive and co-founder Mark Floreani outlined how a company that started with a US$10,000 investment and a van has grown into a profitable platform reaching tens of millions of users. The journey reflects a broader shift in how sports media value is created. While top-tier leagues continue to scale globally, there is a parallel opportunity emerging in fragmented, highly engaged communities that have historically been overlooked.
FloSports’ model is built on a simple premise: passion drives monetisation. Fans of sports like wrestling, cheerleading or college athletics may not deliver mass audiences, but they offer deep engagement and willingness to pay for access, content and community. The challenge is not demand, it is infrastructure.
Over the past two decades, FloSports has invested in building that infrastructure, from rights aggregation and production tools to distribution and data systems. This has allowed the company to scale across thousands of events while maintaining a level of authenticity that resonates with niche audiences.
In doing so, FloSports is challenging conventional assumptions about sports media, particularly around subscription viability, content strategy and the role of technology in unlocking fragmented markets.
Here are five takeaways from the session.
1. Building around underserved audiences
FloSports’ strategy is centred on sports that are overlooked by traditional broadcasters but have highly engaged, niche fanbases. Rather than competing for major rights, they focus on long-tail sports where demand exists but coverage is limited, allowing them to build loyalty and capture value where others aren’t looking.
2. Monetisation through aggregation and ownership
By aggregating multiple niche rights under one platform, FloSports creates a more compelling subscription offering. This bundled approach increases perceived value for fans while also giving FloSports greater control over pricing, distribution and long-term monetisation.
3. A direct-to-consumer-first model
FloSports prioritises direct relationships with fans through its subscription platform. This allows them to own customer data, refine pricing strategies and continuously optimise the user experience based on behaviour, rather than relying on third-party distributors.
4. Content beyond live rights
Live events are the core product, but FloSports supplements this with additional content including highlights, storytelling and editorial coverage. This helps extend engagement beyond match windows and creates a more consistent value proposition for subscribers.
5. Scaling through depth, not breadth
Rather than chasing scale through mass-market appeal, FloSports grows by going deeper within specific sports. By becoming the go-to destination for each niche, they strengthen retention, increase lifetime value and build defensible positions within each vertical.
Final thought
FloSports highlights a critical shift in sports media: growth is no longer solely driven by scale, but by depth of engagement. As the industry becomes more fragmented, platforms that can aggregate niche audiences, deliver authentic experiences and operate efficiently at scale will be well positioned to unlock new value. In many ways, the future of sports media may not be about reaching everyone – but about serving the right communities better than anyone else.
Want to hear more from Floreani? Watch his full session below.
As platforms multiply, audiences fragment and media rights deals plateau, it’s time to understand what’s really going on in sports media. Join us at SportsPro London this April to learn more.