Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin appeared on The Ringer's Bill Simmons’s podcast earlier this week and said while the company is looking at ultimately acquiring sports rights, that is not happening in the immediate future. Rubin noted Fanatics is in three businesses -- commerce, sports collectibles and online sports betting -- “where we have so much to do.” He said, “We can’t take on anything more today. But we’re studying that business, we’re watching it, we’re seeing how it develops and, yes, it’s a massive opportunity. Long-term, do we absolutely want to be able to have live sports where you can bet on the sports, buy the products, collect them, trade them, get tickets in our platform? Absolutely.” Rubin noted Fanatics’ vision is “how do we give the digital sports fan anything they want in one place.” He noted there is a “big opportunity” to drive growth through “product innovation.” Simmons noted Fanatics has a “war chest of a mailing list” of customers who shop at the site. Rubin said, “We have over 100 million fans today and I look at that and say, ‘We’re just getting started,’ because there’s 8 billion people in this world and billions of them are sports fans and they should all be fans of Fanatics.” Rubin: “We have a lot of work to do and we want to become a beloved brand” (“The Bill Simmons Podcast,” The Ringer, 11/29).
