So many sports media outlets and too many to choose from. Here’s a few standouts from the bunch.
With the rise of social media and major news outlets developing their own sports sections, the field has become increasingly crowded but also niche and personal. While sports fans can pick and choose which media they wish to consume, these following platforms’ unique design and accessibility make them some of the best today.
Gone are the days of the early morning sports shows where the hosts give their “hot takes” and personal insights while pushing certain narratives. Pat McAffe, the hilarious, charismatic host of his show, doesn’t just give a player insight into the sports world but also doesn’t pile onto the grapevine that is sports narratives.
The other members of his show, McAfee’s friends, are also standouts like Boston Connor, Ty Schmit and AJ Hawk. You can feel the comradery and goofiness with every episode. It feels like you’re a part of their squad and you can relate to the PMS (Pat McAfee Show) guys with your own friend group.
The show recently partnered with NFL Films to allow PMS to show clips and highlights from games during the season. This has elevated the Youtube show’s production and quality to be on par with shows on bigger networks.
Bleacher Report’s expansion into social media and show production has made it a personal go-to. Their cartoons “Gridiron Heights” for the NFL season and the new NBA animated series “Hero Ball” are fun short recaps of the season that also make fun of the sports world.
Besides having their own writers for different sports and teams, the B/R App acts as a hub for fans by providing links to articles from a specific team’s beat writer or other articles dealing with a certain team or sport — the content provided seems endless.
Besides getting stories from around the sports world, you can personalize your feed by following whichever teams and leagues you like. Their new community aspect to their app also allows fans to share their hot takes and interact with other fans of the same sport or team.
B/R has also stepped into the world of sneaker culture, gaming and betting, producing shows and articles on the latest news in each category.
Formly under the SB Nation name, Secret Base has stepped out and made itself one of the most creative and unique sports media content out there.
While SB Nation shows their bias and opinions openly in their work, Secret Base solely focuses on the art of storytelling in sports. Their youtube channel has 1.28 million subscribers and nearly 3,600 videos that are aesthetic, unique, creative and entertaining.
Secret Base has feature-length documentaries and shorter videos that are a part of running series.
Some of the series they produce are “Beef History,” a deep dive into players, teams and fan rivalries, “Dorktown,” an analytical show about stats and business for the sports nerds and “Weird Rules,” a show were the Secret Base team talks about moments in sports where a weird rule took place.
The way these three companies have reached into sports media sections like talk shows, videos, articles and various content is the reason why they are above the rest. Expect them to continue to set the trend and lead in the growth of sports media.