Front Office Sports Makes Training Courses More Permanent

Between the advent of online gambling, college athlete monetization and cryptocurrency, the business of sports has changed rapidly over the last two years—and Front Office Sports wants to capitalize on that disruption. The independently owned publisher announced Tuesday the launch of its new platform, Front Office Sports Learning, a permanent landing page on its website that will house a growing number of free, interactive classes. To mark its debut, Front Office Sports is also premiering a new course, sponsored by Ticketmaster, that explores the business of modern ticketing—and it will release another course in May, from Coinbase. The publisher released its first course in February 2021, a six-lesson package sponsored by Pepsi that examined sports marketing. It launched its second last July, a survey of the tools college athletes could use to monetize their brand, underwritten by Meta. An Investment App Is Footing the Bill for College Students Using FOS’ First Paid Product The success of the two standalone courses, which attracted 15,000 registrants, convinced the publisher to routinize the program, said chief executive and founder Adam White. Front Office Sports Learning is on track to generate a seven-figure revenue by the end of the year, according to White, though he declined to share financial specifics. The publisher hopes to unveil six more courses and net 100,000 registrants by the end of 2022, and White estimates that the business could generate up to $5 million in revenue by the end of next year. The product drafts off two major trends: first, publishers with subject area expertise have grown more creative in their ability to translate that knowledge into revenue, often through courses, like The Economist, but also through other methods, such as consulting and pay-to-access insights. The platform serves as a vehicle for brands looking to associate themselves with such service-oriented content, said media analyst and Toolkits co-founder Shareen Pathak. Second, Front Office Sports Learning also responds to the shifting landscape of professional sports, which has been upended by factors such as online gambling and cryptocurrency. When an industry finds itself in a period of rapid change or regulation, operators within the business often place a greater premium on reporting that helps them navigate the uncertainty. “Front Office Sports has built a really strong brand that is neither purely b-to-b or b-to-c––it lives in the so-called prosumer space,” Pathak said. “As a result, the size of their audience could matter a little bit less, as long as they are reaching the right people.” Developed in partnership with brand sponsors Front Office Sports develops its courses in partnership with its brand sponsors, which means they resemble branded content more than a traditional education play. As a result, student-athletes taking the course on athlete marketing essentials will only learn how to use tools developed by its sponsor, Meta. Three members of the Front Office Sports team are responsible for creating the content, and the process takes between six to ten weeks, according to White. The publisher offers two tiers of packages to potential sponsors, the six-part Essentials or the three-part Fundamentals. So far, the publisher has exclusively sold Essentials. When registrants complete the courses, they take a quiz. If they pass the exam, the publisher provides them with a digital badge that they can affix to their various social platforms, giving the courses an air of legitimacy and a built-in marketing device. A handful of universities, including Syracuse University, have incorporated the digital courses into their sports marketing curriculum, according to White. For brands, the courses offer a way for companies to communicate with a sports marketing clientele, White said. Pepsi, the initial sponsor of Front Office Sports Learning, signed on in part because its team believed the course could lead to them receiving better pitches from external partners. The appeal of creating new avenues for brands to connect with sports professionals aligns with other changes in the sporting ecosystem, Pathak said. With viewership shifting from linear channels to connected ones and more sports consumption occurring online, brands are experimenting with new ways to reach valuable demographics. “The places where brands like Pepsi used to reach people have changed, so they might be looking for new ways to reach out,” Pathak said. “This could be something they do more of.” An Investment App Is Footing the Bill for College Students Using FOS' First Paid Product

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Front Office Sports Is Making Its Training Courses More Permanent

Thanks to brand sponsorship, its Learning platform is on pace to turn a seven-figure revenue

Mark Stenberg

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