There aren't very many things that bring people together like sports. Whether you're competing alongside your teammates to be the top team in the league or you're rooting for your favorite squad with friends, sports are the perfect medium for getting emotions high and people fired up.
But there's more to it than just what we see on courts and fields. The sports industry is enormous and constantly growing, consistently integrating new technological achievements and a more complete understanding of how athletes perform.
Notable Sports Companies in the Bay Area
- GreenPark Sports
- The Athletic
- Bleacher Report
- Fanatics
- Gametime
- Blue Wire
- Sleeper
Responding to advancements in training, reporting, analysis, machine learning and consumer needs has allowed these companies to keep sports culture alive, vibrant and transformative in both San Francisco and the world at large.
Founded: 2018
Focus: Mobile gaming
What they do: GreenPark Sports creates games that bridge the gap between sports and esports. Founded by former YouTube CEO Chad Hurley, GreenPark Sports’s flagship game allows users to compete against each other to become the “Best Fans” of their league and seasons, fostering a strong community and an immersive experience.
Founded: 2016
Focus: Digital Media
What they do: The Athletic is a subscription-based sports media website featuring a staff of reputable beat reporters, podcasters and feature writers covering teams across each of the major American sporting leagues, as well as soccer, motorsports, MMA and more. The website’s paywall allows it to maintain a clean, ad-free aesthetic while constantly providing subscribers with new voices and additional content.
Founded: 1995
Focus: E-commerce
What they do: Fanatics is a one-stop virtual shop for all-things sports-related. The online sports store carries jerseys, memorabilia and millions of other accessories from every major sport league in the world, including MLB, NBA, English Premier League, NFL and NCAA.
Founded: 2012
Focus: Live events
What they do: Gametime is an app designed to make the ticket purchasing experience easier, featuring deals on tickets to local shows, concerts and sporting events on an easy-to-use platform. The web application is designed for both same-day purchasing and for future events. Gametime’s seating charts also makes it easy to see exactly where you’ll see the show so you’ll always receive what you expect from your ticket.
Founded: 1903
Focus: Digital Media
What they do: Major League Baseball (MLB) leads the athletic entertainment industry, boasting 30 national teams and a global digital presence. As the oldest major professional sports league in North America, MLB is widely regarded as the go-to platform to find the latest baseball scores, stats and analysis. In addition to broadcasting baseball games, the organization also provides information about injury updates, starting lineups, prospect rankings and more.
Founded: 2000
Focus: Recruitment
What they do: BeRecruited is a leading platform for helping high school students make the leap into college athletics and land with the program they have always dreamed of. The platform allows students, parents and coaches to build out a profile featuring statistics, gameplay footage, achievements and more. The platform also connects student athletes with college coaches and scholarship opportunities, thus eliminating many of the roadblocks that come with the journey of being a student athlete.
Founded: 2007
Focus: Digital Media
What they do: Acquired by Turner Broadcasting in 2012, Bleacher Report has grown from independent roots into one of the most prominent sports reporting websites competing in the crowded market. Since the acquisition, Bleacher Report and Turner have diversified the website’s media offerings, including video series, podcasts, live sports and more, all available via Bleacher Report’s website and apps.
Founded: 2018
Focus: Digital Media
What they do: Blue Wire teams up with influential sports podcasters who have existing audiences across social media to grow its robust sports media network, covering the NBA, NFL and other leagues as well as their individual teams. The company oversees revenue opportunities for its podcasters and assists with creating content, audio production and solidifying growth strategies, setting a standard for how innovation will affect sports media in the future.
Founded: 2011
Focus: Wearable
What they do: Instabeat is one of the most innovative tools for measuring performance amongst both professionals and amateur swimmers. The device hooks up to any pair of goggles, connecting to iOS and Android devices to provide real-time results. Instabeat is key for maximizing routine and training in the pool, identifying training zone feedback, drill analysis and steps towards increased recovery.
Founded: 2013
Focus: Sports management
What they do: Playpass is an application that helps streamline processes for sports managers with limited time available to devote to their leagues. The app allows managers to create schedules quickly, register players online, collect waivers, build a website and grow faster. Playpass also provides “sports for good” organizations with free standard subscriptions to encourage participation in sports.
Founded: 2015
Focus: Fantasy Sports
What they do: Advancing the game of fantasy sports is what Sleeper is all about, and the company is doing it with an entirely free application. Sleeper adds several features not often found through other fantasy league providers, including dynasty leagues, keeper leagues and other enhanced features.
Founded: 2014
Focus: Analytics
What they do: StatMuse is an intuitive service with the ability to answer nearly any statistically driven question about the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL. Available as an application/plugin compatible with smart speakers, iOS and Android devices, Facebook Messenger and Slack, StatMuse makes it easy for those who need access to on-the-fly sports statistics to be able to receive and analyze information in real-time.
Founded: 2014
Focus: Sports Betting
What they do: Swish Analytics is combining the power of machine learning with fantasy sports and sports betting through one convenient website. Delivering analytics-driven predictions and easy-to-use tools, including the lineup optimizer that features innovative projection models, Swish Analytics’s offerings are designed to identify value and provide maximum ROI.
Founded: 2019
Focus: Digital Media
What they do: Tallysight Sports is a hub for sports media’s top analysts to combine all of their work into one centralized platform, making it easy for those covering games to keep up with colleagues’ reports, team news and more. Users can compare their own work against others in the industry using Tallysight’s ranking features, plus a variety of tools are available through the hub that analysts can add to websites, blogs and articles to give readers a fresh experience.
