Genius Sports has announced the acquisition of Sports Innovation Lab (SIL), a move designed to expand its media division and strengthen its ability to deliver data-led fan engagement.

Building a broader fan picture

The company explained that the deal combines its official sports data rights portfolio with SIL’s fan intelligence platform, which tracks consumer behaviour including purchases, attendance and broadcast viewing. Genius Sports said the integration would provide rights holders, brands and agencies with a clearer view of how fans engage both inside and outside the stadium.

Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, said: “By integrating the most comprehensive official sports data with unmatched fan intelligence, we are strengthening our foundation and providing partners with a powerful new way to understand and engage fans at scale.

“The Sports Innovation Lab acquisition transforms our media business, instantly extending our reach into an established customer network across multiple verticals. It positions us to lead the market, accelerate growth, and drive a step-change expansion of our customer base.”

New opportunities for sponsors

Founded as a research and insights provider, SIL has worked with global advertisers and sports bodies on sponsorship and media targeting strategies. Genius Sports highlighted that the combined dataset will enable partners to measure campaigns against real transactions and improve sponsorship efficiency.

Josh Walker, CEO of Sports Innovation Lab, commented: “Joining forces with Genius Sports represents an incredible opportunity for both our business and our team.

“Genius has always led the way in making sports more innovative, reshaping how technology connects fans to the games they love. We look forward to uniting our visions, scaling our platform globally, and delivering even greater value to our clients and partners.”

Distribution and partnerships

Genius Sports confirmed that fan audiences from SIL will be distributed through its FANHub platform, with syndication partners including LiveRamp, The Trade Desk, and Amazon Ads. The company also pointed to opportunities for sports organisations to gain deeper insights into supporter spending patterns, with US sponsorship spend on major teams reaching $7.6bn in 2024.

The acquisition follows a series of moves by Genius Sports to grow its media arm, including an NFL extension and partnerships with PMG, EA Sports and Verizon.

Financial performance

The deal comes after Genius Sports reported 24% year-on-year revenue growth in Q2, continuing what the company described as a strong start to 2025.

Group revenue for the quarter rose to $118.7m (Q2 2024: $95.4m), while Adjusted EBITDA climbed 64% to a record $34.2m (Q2 2024: $20.8m).

The company’s Betting Technology, Content and Services (BTCS) unit remained the main driver of growth, increasing 30% YoY to $87.5m, supported by higher betting volumes, stronger contract pricing and broader product uptake. While below the $106m achieved in Q1, Genius noted that the earlier figure was boosted by the launch of Brazil’s regulated betting market in January.

Revenue from Media Technology, Content and Services rose 4% YoY to $18.6m (Q2 2024: $18m), while Sports Technology and Services surged 22% to $12.6m (Q2 2024: $10.3m), with sales of products powered by GeniusIQ technology singled out as a key factor.

Both the media and sports tech divisions generated lower revenue than in Q1, which the group said was consistent with the seasonal slowdown in global sporting activity heading into the summer months.