Beyond the Merch: Fanatics' Bold Leap Into Content

🗓️ Thrusday, 22^th Jan 2024

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Remember when sports brands just sold you a jersey? Those days are over. Fanatics — the company behind your favourite team gear — just launched a full-scale content studio with OBB Media. We're talking feature films, Olympic documentaries, live specials, and digital series. This isn't a side hustle; it's a fundamental shift in how sports brands connect with fans.

Fanatics has always been the name behind licensed sports merchandise and e-commerce. But now they're making a major leap into content production through Fanatics Studios — a digital-first joint venture with OBB Media.

This signals that for licensing powerhouses, creating content IP is becoming just as important as selling physical products. It's reshaping fan engagement across the entire sports ecosystem.

The Venture: A global sports and entertainment content studio producing films, documentaries, live specials, and digital content for worldwide audiences.

Why Licensing Professionals Should Care:

Brand Extension: Fanatics is leveraging relationships with teams, leagues, athletes, and events (MLB, WWE, ESPN, LA28 Olympics, Fox) to create content that extends fan engagement beyond products.

New IP Creation: Content projects become intellectual property — opening doors for sublicensing, merchandising, sponsorships, and cross-platform monetisation.

360° Fan Engagement: By blending storytelling with their brand ecosystem, Fanatics is blurring lines between merchandise, experiences, and media — a model that will influence how the industry thinks about digital-age fan engagement.

Fanatics Studios marks a strategic pivot into owned content creation. Media IP is now a critical asset for sports brands, diversifying revenue and deepening fan affinity beyond what merchandise alone can achieve.

The content pipeline leverages Fanatics' existing partnerships with MLB, WWE, ESPN, LA28 Olympics, and Fox — giving authentic access to stories fans care about.

The studio will produce:

The digital-first mandate shows Fanatics values direct connection and personalised storytelling on social media, streaming services, and immersive platforms — not just traditional broadcast.

This model creates new licensing opportunities: content-driven merchandise, cross-platform activation rights, co-branded sponsorships, and collectible tie-ins — pushing boundaries of what "licensed property" means.

Content as a Licensing Asset: Sports content is now a brand amplifier and a monetizable asset class — not just a promotional tool. It should be central to licensing roadmaps.

Storytelling Drives Attachment: Long-form narratives create emotional connections that elevate brand IP value.

Multi-Platform Distribution: Integrate rights for social, streaming, live events, and theatrical to maximise reach.

Cross-Category Partnerships: Collaborations with Olympic Committees and award shows demonstrate the power of non-traditional licensing partnerships.

Data-Driven Insights: Fan behaviour data from retail, digital, and media informs smarter content and product decisions that increase lifetime value.

Fanatics Studios demonstrates that the future of licensing is centred on content ownership, storytelling, and multi-platform engagement. Rights holders and brand partners must think beyond traditional merchandise deals to include media content, narrative IP development, and digital fan experiences — the core value drivers in today's licensing ecosystem.

Ready to evolve your IP strategy? Work with RAD to unlock insights and services that help you navigate the intersection of licensing, content, and fan-first innovation.

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