Underdog Fantasy has built a robust portfolio of content, featuring a wide array of original shows led by prominent creators and former athletes.
Among these, its flagship program, ‘Gil’s Arena’, has stood out as a resounding success. The show, hosted by former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, boasts an ensemble cast that includes Josiah Johnson, Rashad McCants, Nick Young, Kenyon Martin, Sheryl Swoopes, Brandon Jennings, and Lexie Brown.
Riding on the success of Gil’s Arena, Underdog Fantasy announced new contracts for the show’s entire cast, along with an ambitious goal for 2025.
Underdog Signs Gil’s Arena Cast to New Contracts
In a press release published Tuesday morning, Underdog Fantasy confirmed the cast’s contract extensions and reiterated its commitment to redefining sports content.
“This partnership is at the center of our media network expansion and serves as proof of concept for our belief in delivering unvarnished and incredibly deep sports content,” said Liz Marro, Chief Marketing Officer of Underdog. “Working with Gil and his team has been incredible, and we are excited to continue elevating our sports content to build the best sports entertainment experience for our customers.”
Tim Livingston, Underdog’s VP of Content, added, “We teamed up with Gil to create a wholly authentic show for the basketball community. The success is a testament to the hard work of Gilbert, Josiah, and the entire cast and crew. We’re grateful for the last two years and excited for the next ten.”
In its announcement, Underdog highlighted that Gil’s Arena is now the largest basketball-focused digital show in the United States and the fifth-largest daily sports show nationwide across all platforms.
According to Underdog, Gil’s Arena averages 275,000 viewers per episode and has amassed over 500 million views on YouTube, tens of millions of audio downloads, and billions of social media impressions.
With the cast secured under new contracts, Underdog has set its sights on a lofty goal: surpassing ESPN’s First Take as the most-watched daily sports show in the country.
Currently, First Take averages close to 500,000 viewers per episode on linear TV, making this a bold and ambitious target for Gil’s Arena. Nonetheless, the goal reflects Underdog’s rapid growth and confidence in its expanding media network, which recently surpassed 1.3 million YouTube subscribers.
In addition to Gil’s Arena, Underdog’s growing media network includes other popular shows such as ’89’, hosted by former NFL star Steve Smith Sr.; ‘Clean Pocket’, hosted by Jay Gruden, Colt McCoy, AQ Shipley, and Justin Pugh; ‘Section 10’ and ‘Baseball is Dead’ with Jared Carrabis and MLB veteran Dallas Braden, ‘Fantasy Football’ with Josh Norris and Hayden Winks, and ‘Heed the Call’ with Dan Hanzus and Marc Sessler.
