The Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour made a thrilling return last month in Chicago. The event showcased some of the world’s best skateboaders, including Brazilian Olympic silver medalists Kelvin Hoefler and Rayssa Leal, both of whom captured titles to kick off the 2023 season.
The season-opening event marked the latest initiative by Thrill One Sports & Entertainment group, whose portfolio that includes popular motorsport events such as Nitro Circus and Nitro Rallycross, as well as a variety of television shows. The company is co-owned by former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta (through his private equity firm) and UFC president Dana White. It also includes investments from television producer Craig Piligian, who helped create The Ultimate Fighter, and former skateboarder Rob Dyrdek.
Thrill One marked the latest strategic acquisition for Fertitta, who is best known for having helped transform the UFC from an ostracized freak show dubbed “human cockfighting” into a multibillion-dollar property. The casino tycoon, who spent a reported $300m with his co-investors to buy Thrill One in July 2022, plans to use the “UFC playbook” to grow the company.
“That’s creating a better product, making it more consumer-friendly, and bringing the product back into arenas,” Fertitta told Sports Illustrated in April 2023. “That also includes better distribution and doing a better job promoting the upcoming events using a lot of the same tactics we used to promote with fights in the UFC.”
Apart from utilizing tried-and-tested tactics, Thrill One has also reached agreements to stream its events on Rumble, an online video platform popular among the American right and far-right users. Rumble also hosts Truth Social, the social media platform launched in 2022 by Donald Trump.
The Toronto-based company, which promotes itself as a YouTube alternative “immune to cancel culture” has long been a haven for conspiracy theories such as QAnon. It has also hosted channels from far-right figures such as Alex Jones, Steve Bannon and extreme misogynist Andrew Tate, who was recruited to join Rumble shortly after he was de-platformed from mainstream social media platforms in August 2022.
Rumble is also home to far-right news channels Newsmax and One America News Network, as well as Russia’s state-owned television network RT. More recently, however, the platform has also gained favor among mainstream conservatives: the Republican National Committee will livestream the GOP’s first 2024 presidential primary debate exclusively on Rumble.
Despite Rumble’s role in spreading conspiracy theories and election misinformation, Thrill One appeared to have no qualms about its association with the platform.
“We are excited to partner with a growing platform like Rumble to create one truly global destination for action sports fans,” Thrill One CEO Joe Carr said in a March press release. “Our athletes have over 100 million social followers worldwide and that community will finally have the opportunity to watch every NRX and SLS event, live and free, for the first time.”
Rumble’s agreement with Thrill Ones comes on the heels of a previously announced agreement to stream Power Slap League, a controversial venture owned by White, Fertitta, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, Piligian and hedge fund Zeke Capital. The competition debuted on TBS but was not renewed for a second season after a series of controversies including widespread doping, low pay and rapidly declining viewership. However, the venture has since found a new broadcast home on Rumble.
White’s willingness to partner with Rumble comes as no surprise given the UFC’s longstanding love affair with right-wing media. Over the past few years, White has made regular appearances on conservative programming, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s evening program, to spout right-wing talking points such as the dangers of so-called “woke culture”.
“One of the things that I really tried to do through this whole thing is stay out of politics,” White told Hannity during an appearance in 2021. “When people tune in to watch sports, they don’t want to hear that crap.”
White’s claim that the UFC is an apolitical entity could not be further from the truth. In his capacity as UFC president, White has campaigned for Trump during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, defended the indicted former president’s policies, and even produced a documentary showcasing the league’s history with Trump and his role in promoting mixed martial arts on a national stage. The UFC, unsurprisingly, has a channel on Rumble.
While Thrill One and Power Slap’s intention is to partner with a platform popular among both conservative and counter-culture youth, Rumble views its recent deals as an opportunity to expand into live sports.
“We are quickly becoming the go-to destination for live digital sports, particularly sports leagues that are built for social media and amplified by mega influencers,” Rumble Chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski said. “Rumble is virtually the only platform where you can be truly authentic. Sports is content in its most authentic form, which is why it belongs on Rumble.”
Pavlovski may be right about his hopes for Rumble’s growth. The SLS championship in Chicago drew nearly one million views on Rumble. But its users won’t just be getting sports: the vast majority of SLS viewers were also given recommended Rumble posts by right-wing personalities like Dan Bongino and Steven Crowder, who have spread misinformation about the 2020 presidential elections. So much for keeping politics out of sports.
Karim Zidan writes a regular newsletter on the intersection of sports and authoritarian politics.
