Amid competition for sponsors, top sports clubs are investing in social media operations

“They provide for us a space to really speak to a massive fanbase; they’re one of the most influential sports and cultural markers in the world,” said CMO Lara Kerbaj.

A key element that attracted BlueAir was the Knicks’ own media channels and presence on social platforms, said Kerbaj. The Knicks boast 1.9 million followers on TikTok and 4.7 million on Instagram, and the partnership agreement will allow BlueAir to offer that audience promotions and sweepstake competitions.

Sports teams are well aware of this pull factor. “It is typically on the first four or five pages of a sponsorship deck,” said Ross Watson, managing partner, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment.

Because they rarely have access to match footage, big sports teams have invested in media operations to build out IP they own — and can sell back to commercial partners. NFL franchise L.A. Chargers, for example, built a dedicated media and podcasting studio into their new training and corporate site, which cost $250 million to develop.

“With our clients, I’d say we are seeing an increased interest in exploring additional media opportunities the rights holder can provide us,” said Tim Davy, vp at sports management agency Excel Sports Management. Clubs “could do more” to create such opportunities, he added.

While it’s typical for sponsors to amplify their partnerships with paid media spending, James Kirkham, co-founder of brand consultancy Iconic suggested piggybacking on owned channels might prove more effective than “brand intrusions.”

“If you’re building an ecosystem or platform which genuinely gives and genuinely adds value and is a place fans want to spend time with… brands can live more easily amongst it,” he said.

While soccer clubs like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain boast handsomely outfitted media production facilities, few clubs in Europe — the center of gravity for the beautiful game — have been able to follow the same path. They’re twigging to the depth of advertiser demand, however.

A Nielsen Sports estimate placed the European sports sponsorship market at a value of €24.79 billion ($28.60 billion) in 2025, a rise of 5.9% compared with the previous year.

Last week, current Premier League leaders Arsenal unveiled an app and media platform dubbed “The Arsenal,” granting fans access to exclusive content shot with its players, including behind-the-scenes footage and documentaries.

It’s not the only soccer club investing in media production. Italian giant Internazionale has overhauled its social media presence in recent years, expanding its total social media fanbase, including YouTube and TikTok, to 90 million followers; its follower count across all platforms increased 5% since the beginning of this year.

“We were having very good success on the pitch, [but] the goal was to … leverage this… and how the brand could fulfil its promise,” said Luca Adornato, brand and marketing director at Internazionale. 

When he joined a year ago, the club had contested two Champions League finals in three years, but hadn’t recorded a profit in 15. Adornato, who is a soccer marketer with almost 20 years’ experience, declined to share the club’s media production budget but said the club had adopted a focus on narrative and “storytelling” to expand its profile online.

The club’s content operation now spans 13 languages and is distributed across 16 countries, all made with both the ultra-loyal and casual fan in mind. As well as featuring players like club captain Lautaro  Martínez, it’s brought in creator talent and struck formal partnerships with TikTok and YouTube, for guidance on best content practices.

A larger social presence helps boost the club’s merchandise and ticket sales; visits to its San Siro stadium from soccer tourists are an important boon for the Milanese club. It has also helped reinforce its value to sponsors; organic growth in sponsorship revenue pushed the club into profit at the end of 2025. Inter’s current commercial partners include Nike, Qatar Airways and Budweiser.

“The wider goal is to increase the awareness of our brand on an international scale,” said Adornato. “Brands are now more prepared to understand how a [sports] property is able to generate interest, relevance and amplification [through] collaboration.”

​​In particular, international fans are on the rise; the U.S. audience for its YouTube channel has risen 350% year-on-year. That’s an important improvement for a club in Italy’s Serie A. Though sponsorship investment has lifted in recent years, it’s not been distributed equally. Even a club with Inter Milan’s fame and on-field success is at a disadvantage in the eyes of potential commercial partners weighing up pitches from the Spanish or English teams that dominate the game’s international profile.

Furthermore, as sports fandom becomes more focused on individuals rather than teams, media power has shifted gradually towards big game personalities. Active players like Jude Bellingham and Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, have built media businesses from the sidelines of their playing careers that eclipse the efforts of some clubs — Bellingham has more than 10 times as many YouTube followers as Birmingham City FC, his breakout club.

Iconic’s Kirkham said sports teams need to build out their media operations if they’re to remain attractive to sponsors choosing not just between sports clubs or partnering solely with a star player.

“It’s important for [clubs] that they build these environments, because their players are fully adept and fully equipped,” he said.