Reviewing the best partnership returns across our network
Kat Rogers August 06, 2026
Power Play — Best Buys: Part 1
POWER PLAY / 08.03.26
This week's play
Best Buys: Part 1
Our most recent partnership, highlighting the power of post-action momentum.
The Setup
The way media reaches sports fans has changed, and national television is no longer the whole distribution story. The 2026 NBA Finals averaged 20.6 million TV viewers, but the real traction was the 15 billion views it pulled on social. In a WSC Sports study on fan viewing habits, 55% of fans said they discovered a new team, player or league through short-form video.
Fans are changing how they consume sports media, and there are opportunities for both sports properties and brands alike. Properties can make real money on content they're already posting, and brands can reach a targeted audience for a fraction of what traditional channels cost. We just saw it play out live with Bare Knuckle Boxing and Producer Mezcal.
What we did
Producer Mezcal is a challenger spirits brand without any previous spend in sports. BKB is a fast-growing property with a loyal fight audience and a content engine that fires at every event, but had never thought to sell it.
We saw the fit and built the partnership around two assets fans care about most, the post-fight interviews and the fighter spotlights. Producer owned the categories and BKB posted across all their platforms as they normally would.
Our platform tracked the value, and the results showed it was a knockout for both parties.
How it went
19.7×
EMV ROI
5.3M
views
113.5K
total engagements
Over a 30 day period, BKB produced 65 branded posts across two events, BKB56 in Los Angeles & BKB57 in London, that resulted in 5.3M views, 113.5K engagements, and a 19.7x earned media value ROI for Producer Mezcal. That's real reach, real engagement, real value, all in a channel that historically gets put as an afterthought.
The BKB x Producer partnership shows us the future of sport commercialization, one where sports properties become the distribution channel and brands own whole moments rather than TV minutes.
Athletiverse is actively looking to spend across our properties to see more partnerships like this one happen. If you're a team or a brand looking for sponsorship, click the buttons below and we'd love to chat.
