Sports Fans Love to Talk, Rabble Gives Them Airtime

By Karen Fratti 

RABBLE_FullKNow that we’ve accepted that television viewers are great multi-taskers, more and more new platforms emerge to engage them while they’re watching. And if the sheer entertainment value of following a Twitter feed during a big event, like say TGIT on ABC or a big game is any evidence — viewers are into talking to each other during a show.

Commenting, complaining, ooh-ing and ahh-ing is as natural as wanting something good to snack on while you watch a game. Which is why Rabble, a new platform, lets users call games and host their own broadcasts. Users use their phones as a mic and broadcast their “shows.” It has a Periscope quality to it, there are regular shows and users can ask questions in real time.

Rabble users are a dedicated base, with people tuning in to specific hosts for everything from WWE matches to the GOP Debates. While they’re still working out how to engage viewers who are into series as opposed to sports and events, the format could easily complement Twitter or act as a substitute for people who want something more interactive.

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Their user base is growing and their first pre-roll ads will start to roll out early next year. We got a chance to ask co-founder Ryan Tyrrell about the platform and what they’re up to.

Lost Remote: What was the idea behind Rabble? 

Ryan Tyrrell: When I was young, my Dad and I would turn down the television volume during Tennessee Volunteers football games, and turn on the radio to listen to an announcer named John Ward. I guess you could say that was the beginning of Rabble. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of fans calling games. Passionate fans know their teams inside and out. They follow them  seven days a week.  We want to be a platform for those fans to provide audio commentary and interact with fellow fans.

LR: Who are your users?  

RT: Right now our users are primarily sports fans — fans who have a passion for their teams and want to create broadcasts or fans who are looking for an alternative audio option. We’re getting ready to make a big push more into the TV, movies, and live events side of Rabble.  We’ve already seen huge engagement with a couple of broadcasts during the Republican and Democratic debates, so we know the demand is there. Overall, we’ve been sitting back, watching, and discussing how to best engage non-sports audiences, and I think we have a good plan in place.

We’re big sports fans at Rabble…We see ourselves as a platform that increases fan engagement with their favorite sports and teams. We have a lot of people using Rabble who might be not fit the exact template of what you would think of as traditional fans of certain sports.  I’m particularly happy to see all the women getting involved.  I was listening to a girl named jraethefanatic the other day during a football game, and she and her co-host were absolutely amazing. Very entertaining.

LR: Do you have any personal favorites? Anything you’re looking forward to?

RT: We have lots of fun broadcasts coming up.  They’re all cool in their own way, but if I had to throw one out there, I’d say the October 28 Republican debate with Rude Pundit and Jeff Kreisler.  It’s definitely a different way to watch a debate.  We hope other people jump on board and create broadcasts during the debate and future debates – Republican, Democrat, serious, funny, whatever. We also have three broadcasts coming up for this weekend’s WWE “Hell in a Cell” event.  My wrestling knowledge died off with the Junk Yard Dog in the early 80’s.  I figure it’s time to get back into it.

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