WhipClip, a platform that allows viewers to create and share clips of TV, is adding its first live sporting event tonight by teaming up with Bellator MMA for the Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock fight on Spike. WhipClip launched in March for the Justin Bieber Roast, has partnerships with Conan O’Brien, and also provides Lost Remote with a weekly roundup of the most shared clips from leading social shows.
Tonight, they’ll drive tune-in and discovery for Bellator’s fans. Richard Rosenblatt, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of Whipclip said over email that:
The addition of live sporting events to Whipclip is a key part of our strategy going forward. Through our first sports partnership with Bellator, MMA fans can legally share the most exciting moments of the highly anticipated fight between Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock. Further, the clippable nature of MMA fights, combined with Bellator’s highly engaged fans, make it the perfect fit for [us].
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Bellator is looking forward to the evening, too. Eric Burak, vp of digital at Bellator MMA talked with us over email about expectations for tonight:
LR: Do you find viewers share and discover clips organically?
EB: Yes, we find Bellator fans consistently share content by finding it both organically and engaging with posts that they are served via our social channels.
LR: How do you describe your target viewers and what are their social/engagement tendencies? How does the org interact with them usually?
EB: MMA viewers are social by nature. They skew young (18-34), so Bellator fans are on multiple social platforms each and every day to stay informed and connected. We use a social media tool called Twitter on TV to integrate into our our live broadcast on Spike. Fans tweet using our event hashtag to see their posts live on air. Surrounding each event, we’re constantly sharing unique content with fans – that they can’t find anywhere else – through our various social media channels. Most recently, we have ramped-up our original digital content with short form features such as, “In Focus,” “5Rounds,” and “What to Watch.”
LR: How are you guys defining digital success for tomorrow’s fight?
EB: Social media chatter is always a big barometer for us. We monitor the fight specific hashtag and various keyword uses in real-time with the help of our social media monitoring system, NUVI, to see what is trending and which influencers are sharing our content. We’re very excited to begin this partnership with Whipclip tonight and feel it will give fans an even better opportunity to consume share our highlights in this very big tentpole event.