Episode 7: Influencing the future of sports media with Stefanie Rapp

Stefanie Rapp is the Chief Revenue Officer at Bleacher Report. She oversees all aspects of the sales and partner strategy across all of the company’s digital and social entities with an emphasis on serving as the primary liaison to all sports teams, leagues, brands and platforms. 

In this episode, Stefanie shares her perspective on how a 24/7 sports media company, like B/R, can create new and engaging content even in the absence of live sports. She tells us how she has navigated HER career, and shares her mindset and approach to being one of the only women in the room.

Keep a ‘fans first’ mentality.

Fans shape the industry trends and we should pay attention to what they like.

“Everything we do at Bleacher Report from a content perspective—whether it's organic editorial content or branded content—is all about putting fans first.”

Always be evolving.

Bleacher Report has been around for 15 years and, in that time, the brand has completely evolved. The company started out following different sport teams and streaming their content. Today, they have partnerships and sponsorships with a variety of different media companies to increase their revenue streams.

Maintain and nurture old relationships.

The pandemic forced all live sports into suspension for almost a year. Stefanie explained that, despite the stoppage of live competition, Bleacher Report was still able to create content due to the existing relationships the company had with different sport teams.

With such great rapport with sports leagues, B/R was able to create 24/7 content around “best moments”, famous anniversaries and events in sports.

Keep your audience in mind.

The pandemic highlighted how important individual players are to fans, in many cases, over teams. Stefanie explained the transition from following teams as a whole to following individual players. This shows that, like the media, sports fans have also involved.

With the help of social media, people want to know more about their favorite players’ workout routines and daily activities. Stefanie shared that Bleacher Report has catered to that more over the past year and started posting content around players’ journeys during the pandemic in real time. 

Be selective about who you want to work with.

When asked about her approach to leadership, Stefanie shared that she tries to lead with empathy and transparency. She is aware of what she knows and focuses on different skill sets she either doesn’t know or is interested in.

At this point in her career, Stefanie also shared that it is extremely important that she works with the right people. Past experiences early in her career taught her the type of people she thrives around and she tries to join spaces that have those people present.

“I made a very conscious decision—pretty early on in my career—to work with really good people. And that part of my journey has really dictated the last 10 years of that career path. Because it is all about the people you work with, right? We spend more time in the office talking to the people we work with than anyone else in our life. And I couldn't imagine not liking the people I worked with.” 

Confidence builds strength.

Unlike men, women are not always taught to be confident in their abilities and roles. Stefanie explains that she never felt like she didn’t belong as the only female because she came from print media. There were mostly women executives so Stefanie was fortunate enough to always have confidence in being the only woman in the room.

With the new responsibility to help other women follow in her footsteps, Stefanie tries to understand what is missing for women. She listens to the women around her and becomes their voice in the different rooms.

“If you feel confident, you become stronger and you'll be able to be more vocal about asking for what you want.”

Invest in women’s sports.

Stefanie shared that Bleacher Report is doing their part in highlighting women's sports. Their HighlightHer brand channel sheds a light on different moments and players in women’s sports. It promotes female empowerment and positivity around women’s sports. B/R has also ramped up their WNBA coverage because fans are built by exposure. Stefanie shares that B/R is trying to cater to the female fandom and meet their demands in all categories; not just in female sports.

Thank you Stefanie for sharing your story with us.

This interview was powered by WINS, our exclusive media membership for women in sports and entertainment. To learn more about the membership and become part of our mission, visit wins.media.

Deja Wiggins is the Sales Coordinator for Ticket Operations at Madison Square Garden Sports.