MLB Invests in Jomboy Media, Embracing Creator Content
The size of the investment was not disclosed, though it is believed to be the league's first direct investment in a creator-led content company. MLB's investment comes from its Baseball Endowment L.P. (BELP) fund, valued at more than $1 billion according to the Atlanta Braves' most recent SEC filings, which was recently used to acquire a stake in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League as well.
Advertisement
More from Sportico.com
In addition to equity, the tie-up includes access to MLB events, IP and sponsorship connections for Jomboy, while the league looks to benefit from Jomboy Media's ability to reach casual fans online.
'Having a strong content creator community is going to be good for baseball in the long run,' MLB EVP, media and business development Kenny Gersh said in an interview.
Jimmy 'Jomboy' O'Brien and Jake Storiale started the company in 2017 with a Yankees-focused podcast before expanding to cover the entire league—and other sports too. Last year, the company tallied 93 million engagements across social media and achieved $10 million in revenue.
Advertisement
Jomboy Media raised $5 million in 2022 in a round led by Connect Ventures, an investment partnership between Creative Artists Agency and New Enterprise Associates. Connect cofounder Jack Davis, a Jomboy board member, helped put the latest deal together, working with recently promoted Jomboy Media CEO Courtney Hirsch.
'It's kind of surreal,' Hirsch said. 'It just shows how important creators are when it comes to sports. It recognizes the fact that meeting people on digital platforms is a way to grow the game. And it shows that our community-centric approach is just really valued and being recognized by the league itself. It just kind of gives us chills.'
Hirsch added that the new relationship won't change Jomboy's approach when it comes to the way the company's talent covers the game and its players. Jomboy Media also runs its own lighthearted sports league and corresponding show, 'The Warehouse Games.'
Gersh said MLB's work with Jomboy came mainly through the league's media department as baseball looks to foster more connections with online voices. A decade ago, executives took heat for being relatively restrictive with digital rights compared to peer sports. Recently MLB has been more encouraging—both to outsiders and to its own—by recognizing the value of virtual conversation.
Advertisement
In April, MLB announced an expanded partnership with Boardroom that included player-driven online storytelling.
'We are focused, as we have been, on helping to amplify content creators' voices,' Gersh said, 'We will look for ways with other potential content creators to make sure that they have a platform to continue to produce baseball-related content.'
Baseball is witnessing a surge of interest, including post-pandemic highs in attendance, Sunday Night Baseball viewership and MLB.TV streaming usage over the last year. The league's own social handles have also swelled, including a roughly 70% year-over-year gain on X from late 2023 to late 2024.
Best of Sportico.com
Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
14 minutes ago
- New York Post
Mets vs. Braves prediction: MLB Wednesday pick, best bet, odds
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. The Mets' offense gets a chance to wake up on Wednesday against a familiar face. Carlos Carrasco, who spent three years in Queens from 2021-23, will take the mound for the Braves amid perhaps the worst season of his 16-year big league career. The 38-year-old right-hander has a 6.18 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) this season, and he's not fooling any hitters at all. Batters are hitting .302/.350/.527 against Carrasco with a 10.6 percent barrel rate and a 39.7 percent hard-hit rate. Unsurprisingly, Carrasco has struggled with the long ball. He's given up nine home runs across 43 ⅔ innings, or 1.5 allowed per nine innings on the mound. It's a trend that's plagued the veteran in recent years. Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 31, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Getty Images Carrasco's 1.74 homers allowed per nine innings since 2023 are the fourth-highest in baseball among pitchers with at least 200 innings pitched over that period. I'm targeting Juan Soto to have a big game against the struggling Carrasco. Soto snapped his power drought last week, hitting a home run in three straight games before logging another two-hit game on Sunday. Learn all you need to know about MLB Betting He's already homered off Carrasco in the past, hitting a three-run dinger off of him in 2021 with the Nationals. Let's see if Soto can help get the Mets back in the win column for the first time in over a week. The plays: Juan Soto to hit a home run (+250, FanDuel) and to have more than 1.5 total bases (-105) Why Trust New York Post Betting Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports. He's particularly knowledgeable about the big three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cincinnati Reds activate Hunter Greene
The Cincinnati Reds made official on Wednesday afternoon what we'd known already for days: Hunter Greene is officially back. Cincinnati activated their ace off the 15-day IL ahead of Wednesday's series finale, optioning RHP Sam Benschoter to AAA Louisville to make way on the active roster. The team announced the move on Twitter. The decision to option Benschoter was the obvious one given the rest of the arm talent on the active roster, but the move itself confirms a pending conundrum of what they'll do with all their starting options. Chase Burns, of course, is running up against a semi-flexible innings limit. The rookie has tossed 100.1 IP across all professional levels so far in 2025, and that's after throwing just 100.0 IP with Wake Forest in 2024 prior to being drafted by the Reds with the #2 overall pick. The Reds haven't yet moved him from the rotation completely, but how they juggle where he's on the mound (and how often) now becomes the tricky part. A similar story (with different motives) is now in play for Nick Martinez, who is still scheduled to start for Cincinnati on Friday in their critical series opener against the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers. He can obviously pitch at anywhere, anytime in any role, and that flexibility is what Terry Francona and Nick Krall want to lean on as every inning becomes critical in the upcoming playoff chase. So, when Nick Lodolo comes back from his blister issue (in hopefully short order), we'll likely see that domino fall, too. First pitch in Greene's return is set for an odd 5:10 PM ET start. How the Reds will line up behind him is posted for y'all below.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pete Alonso breaks Mets home run record, Ohtani in hot water again & MLB's top prospects
Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube A polar bear walks into a ball park and hits a home run. No this isn't the beginning of a joke, it's just another day at Citi Field as Pete Alonso, nicknamed Polar Bear, hit two home runs on Tuesday against the Braves. What was special this time, especially with the first home run he hit in the bottom of the third inning, was Alonso breaking the Mets all-time home run record of 252 set by Darryl Strawberry. Alonso will continue to extend that record, currently at 254, for as long as he remains a Met. Jake and Jordan talk about how long that may be and reflect on this impressive accomplishment. MLB's top 100 prospect lists have been updated and Jordan is here to break it all down. He shares which prospects this season have stood out to him the most, what guys are having breakout years, who may get called up to the big leagues before the end of the year and what teams have the most interesting group of prospects. He and Jake get you caught up on the future of Major League Baseball. How the west was won is the talk around baseball, but it's not the 1962 movie that everyone is talking about. The talk is about the western divisional races that look like they may come down to the wire. With 42 games left in the regular season, the Mariners and Astros are tied for first in the American League West and the Dodgers and Padres are tied for first in the National League West. The guys talk about how they think this final stretch will go and who will come out on top. Plus, Jake reveals breaking news as he finds out that the Minnesota Twins have announced they are not being sold, the guys discuss the Brewers' 11-game winning streak and the restaurant that is giving out free burgers if they make it to 12 games and Shohei Ohtani is in the midst of another controversy. All of this and more to get you over the mid-week hump on Baseball Bar-B-Cast. (2:05) - Pete Alonso HR record (26:14) - Jordan's Prospect Hut (50:58) - Western divisional races (1:00:20) - Twins Breaking News (1:07:48) - Ohtani Scandal🖥️
