How is On3 different than Rivals and 247Sports?

I led Rivals and 247Sports as CEO for a combined 20+ years. When we launched 247Sports, the comparisons to Rivals were inevitable. But 247Sports was built to be different from the start.

Obviously, Rivals and 247Sports crossed over in the same category of college sports and recruiting, but the businesses always had different strategic plans. We executed the plan, and 247Sports grew to more than 30 million monthly users, which, on average, is roughly 10 times larger than Rivals.

Through the years, we have learned a lot from our experiences in digital sports media. On3 will take some of the best ideas we learned from our time in the industry. But, once again, the vision and strategic plan for On3 is immeasurably different than its predecessors. We are creating a company that will look unlike the first two once we are fully launched.

There’s a lot to unpack and we will go into more detail in the coming months, but here are three important differences from the start:

1) The one super database for fans, media, coaches and athletes

On3 at its core is a database and networking company that connects, educates and inspires fans, media, coaches and athletes. “On3 db,” scheduled to be released in phases over the next 18 months, is designed not only with fans and media in mind like prior iterations but also for players, coaches and brands. “On3 db” will do more than just display photos, stats, videos and rankings; it will allow players to control their content and communicate their message; provide NIL data directly to players, fans and coaches; and house an exclusive education section for players and their parents, among other features.

2) Build a national college sports news media group

Before On3, we never attempted to truly build a traditional national college sports news group. Outside of our efforts in recruiting, our previous enterprises focused almost exclusively on local and team-based coverage. From inception and from the ground up, we are assembling a staff of national and regional writers and reporters to not only tell readers what happened in the world of colleges sports, but why it happened and what it means. Ivan Maisel has covered college football for the likes of Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com for more than three decades, and he will be joined on the national team by writers Matt Zenitz and Eric Prisbell and editor Mike Huguenin. Prisbell will specialize in the coverage of college sports business. Other notable hires will follow.

3)    There’s a big difference between a team site and a fan site

On3 builds, licenses, and acquires fan publications and team sites that
capture the passion and voice of the fan through local, team-based
coverage. These iconic team-based brands, combined with recognizable
insiders, create an engaged community that captures the essence of college
sports. But there is a big difference from our previous ventures. We intend
for our team-sites to maintain their own identities as fan sites, putting the
fan site brand and talent front and center, engaging with readers and
creating content, not for a national news desk or a social algorithm, but
rather for the fan.  
 
The above are just a few of the differences, but there will be others in the future.

We are building On3 to be unlike anything in the market, and that will be more clear with each passing day.