The demand for sports content across the globe continues to grow to a larger scale by the second. An endless 24/7 news cycle produces headlines that grab the attention of the masses. Digital brands continue to evolve in how to deliver unique and customized content to the individual user. The goal is simple: be better and more customizable to the singular user so they don’t go anywhere else. Yahoo Sports has recently made several moves to better serve that consumer. They deliver content across mobile, web, YouTube, and FAST channels under the mission of its president, Ryan Spoon.
“You spend the year in preparation to put your best foot forward come September. We’re not just doing that on the content side, but also on the product and experiential side,” said Spoon. “This doesn’t happen in four weeks. It’s the buildup of one to two years of work.”
Spoon joined Yahoo in June 2023 as the new president of the Yahoo Sports brand. In his role, he was tasked with leading the growth and innovation of Yahoo Sports. He aimed to position it for a new generation of sports fans. In 2025 alone, Yahoo Sports has made headlines by investing in content creators under the Yahoo Sports umbrella.
“Content is the engine that makes everything move. The product’s job is to surround, showcase, and personalize how to deliver that content,” noted Spoon. “At the end of the day, the content is what drives the usage. It’s the heartbeat of it.”
Building The Roster
Just in the last month, Yahoo Sports began a campaign of 28 Days of Fantasy to celebrate the 28th year of delivering Yahoo Fantasy Football. With the rollout of new features over that time, the company also announced several moves regarding its dive into the content space.
The company announced investments in college sports coverage. They signed partnerships with Josh Pate’s College Football Show and brought Steven Godfrey and Andy Staples to the brand. Yahoo Sports also extended a contract with Ross Dellenger. Additionally, they launched a new live morning show called Yahoo Sports Daily featuring Jason Fitz and Caroline Fenton.
Yahoo wasn’t done in August. The company then announced the signing of former NFL Network host Andrew Siciliano to host Inside Coverage for the 2025 NFL season. Additionally, they hired Dan Wolken as the brand’s college sports columnist. Spoon said these additions all serve a single goal.
“We don’t think about competitors or other sites. The muse is creating and delivering smart sports content,” said Spoon. “Smart to us is the barometer of the quality part.”
Spoon noted that Yahoo Sports has the luxury of several options to cater to different audiences. The investments made over the past several months have led to more opportunities for creating unique content under the Yahoo brand. Spoon also credits the excellent work of Yahoo Sports partners. This partnership assists in reaching different verticals and expanding the scale of Yahoo’s audience.
“We’ve tried to go vertical by vertical and say if our north star is smart sports coverage to make you a smart sports fan, we have to be the best in the world at that,” said Spoon. “We don’t ever feel like we must control all our own and everything. It’s how do we build the best experience for the fan? How do we do it in a smart way? I have a firm belief that there is a role for us to play there. A great wide net of partners too. Those combined create a unique experience—whatever you are closest to, we could craft something as deep as it is wide.”
A Quality Newsletter
A key indicator of Yahoo Sports’ success is its daily newsletter—a morning blend of headlines, columns, fun facts, and what to watch for in a digestible design. Spoon calls the Yahoo Sports newsletter the “hallmark” of smart sports coverage. He credits the brand’s reputation with fans for its success.
“The mission is not to drive clicks or put ads. The mission is to start with why should this newsletter be opened and read by fans,” said Spoon. “If you do a good enough job there, you earn the right to do the other things like partner integration, driving traffic, etc. But it has to answer that first part. The first part is: tell me what I need to know in sports from last night and tell me what I need to know today.”
Spoon adds the creation of the new Yahoo Sports Daily morning show featuring Fitz and Fenton was treated as an extension of the daily morning newsletter. Both properties are positioned as guides for the user across the Yahoo Sports network to start their day. With the empowerment of a search engine behind it, Spoon notes the biggest advantage is in the company’s focus.
“There are a lot of advantages of being at Yahoo just in terms of the scale, habit, and the brand. The biggest advantage is our culture, people, and the ability to move fast,” said Spoon. “We do not wait to look for what we should be talking about on a show or putting in a newsletter based on a trend or insight we see elsewhere. We do it on the sports calendar and what the fan dictates.”
The Yahoo staff is always evaluating content and data to determine where content should be placed. They aim to be more proactive than reactive. Spoon says the ability to move fast, be creative, and be great partners is what separates Yahoo Sports most when news happens.
Launching Yahoo Sports Network
Possibly the biggest move Spoon’s team at Yahoo Sports has made was the announcement of creating a Yahoo Sports Network. This network is a free ad-supported streaming TV channel. The channel is an all-access pass containing more than 60 hours of original programming per week.
As the company’s video business has continued to grow rapidly, the Yahoo Sports Network FAST channel will focus on the biggest stories told by the most trusted voices in sports. It delivers 24/7 expert commentary and analysis from Yahoo Sports and its partners.
“This is honest to the mission of you as a sports fan: where do you like to consume? Is it mobile, desktop, TV device? Guess what, we must be everywhere,” explained Spoon. “We’re able to do that today in a way we weren’t a year ago, certainly not two years ago. We have a library now, we have compelling talent now. Vertical by vertical, we now have several partnerships. We have enough content, and we’re just getting started to build out a robust, high-quality experience.”
Spoon says that since the announcement of the Yahoo Sports Network FAST channel, he’s been taken aback by the feedback. He said there have been a number of what he termed “excellent, exciting, and in some cases wow” types of conversations. These comments came from other potential creators or partners.
“There’s no doubt that more will come. I’m very excited about building from 60 [hours of content] to whatever the next number is,” said Spoon.
Since Spoon entered the doors at Yahoo Sports, the brand has gone from one video show focused on fantasy to a network showcasing content for all verticals launching their own FAST channel. As football season has officially arrived in the United States, Yahoo Sports—under Spoon’s leadership—has positioned itself as a prime-time player for sports content for all fans in all places.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
