SPORTICO: Fanatics Partners with The Pivot Podcast as Business Expands

Fanatics is getting into podcast sponsorship, a first for the company as it continues to expand its business in new directions.

The company is becoming the primary partner of The Pivot Podcast, an interview show hosted by a trio of former NFL players—Fred Taylor, Ryan Clark and Channing Crowder. Under the multiyear agreement, the many different Fanatics brands will have placement on the podcast, and the show will have access to Fanatics’ events (such as CEO Michael Rubin’s Super Bowl party) and its network of athletes. The partnership kicks off this week when the show drops an interview with Tom Brady, a frequent Fanatics collaborator.

Announced Tuesday, the partnership showcases much of Fanatics’ modern business ambitions. In the past few years Rubin has pushed the business in a number of new directions, with the ultimate goal of having his company serve as a one-stop shop for anything sports fans might want to buy. As the company expands, so too does the breadth of many of its partnerships. Four years ago, all Fanatics would have been able to offer The Pivot was its dominant sports apparel business; now there’s also a sportsbook, NFTs, a trading card empire, memorabilia, music apparel and a growing events vertical…