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VICI Sports
Techstars '19New York City, US · Founded 2020 · 13 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
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FanFest operates a white-labeled loyalty platform that captures fan actions across digital and physical touchpoints and converts them into revenue through automated rewards. The platform serves sports organizations and teams, integrating with existing systems to recognize fan behavior at stadiums, online, and at third-party venues.
Also known as FanFest · VICI Sports, Inc. · VICI TV
Investors · 2
How we know: Comcast Ventures's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026VICI Sports, Inc. operates FanFest, a white-labeled fan engagement and loyalty platform sold to sports leagues, clubs, federations, broadcasters and platforms. The product line is modular and consists of three components: FanFest X-Ray, which uses computer vision to verify opt-in, fan-submitted proof of off-channel fandom (for example a photo showing a jersey, a broadcast on screen and a sponsor product); FanFest Connect, an SDK that consolidates actions from apps, web, retail and ticketing properties into a single XP ledger that converts actions into automatic rewards; and FanFest HQ, a white-labeled destination and no-code console where fans compete and interact on gameday and between matches, and where the program is administered.
The platform is positioned as additive rather than a replacement: it plugs into a client's existing SSO, membership program, CRM and CDP, and publishes XP, enriched profiles and insights back to the client's systems, with the client retaining ownership of fan data. Privacy handling is described as opt-in only, with redaction, consent and audit trails, and verification artifacts not retained beyond the check. The company states deployments go live in roughly four weeks with no upfront platform cost.
Earlier product generations focused on virtual watch parties and a connected-TV network. In 2020 FanFest was described as a digital platform where fans created watch parties to cheer, bet and buy merchandise together, used by fans in more than 100 cities across four continents. Before that, the company's VICI TV product pushed club content to supporters' groups, sports bars and superfans via simple IoT hardware plugged into televisions, combined with AI-driven content personalization and fan data capture.
Founding story
The company was launched around the 2018 World Cup in Russia with a focus on soccer. Its co-founders were former Verizon consultants who had previously launched a mobile video platform; they set out to address the saturation of clubs' local markets and the difficulty of reaching the large majority of fans who live outside a team's home market and cannot attend matches. Adam Jones, co-founder and CEO, initially wrote the product code himself.
Business model
FanFest is sold to rights holders with zero upfront platform cost and is monetized through revenue sharing rather than a license fee. The company describes three revenue lines for clients: conversion of fans into paid membership tiers, in which FanFest shares in the revenue it helps convert; "superfan boosts" such as FanFest+ subscriptions, digital consumables and one-time purchases, which are revenue-shared with the client; and sponsor activations built on verified fan behavior, where the resulting revenue is stated to be entirely the client's.
Revenue share on membership conversions and on fan-facing purchases (subscriptions, digital consumables, one-time purchases) generated through the platform, with no platform fee charged at the outset.
Traction
The company's site cites more than 30 million fans commercialized across leagues, teams and platforms and over 150 activations delivered in European football, the NFL and esports. A season-long AC Milan destination linked from the club's website is reported to have reached over 40,000 fans, with 43% of season traffic occurring between shows, 38% fan retention after 30 days and 13-19 minutes average time per show for registered fans. Earlier VICI TV work with Paris Saint-Germain was reported to have produced 4.6 million total minutes viewed and 1.5 million impressions among overseas fans between February and May 2019 across New York, Montreal, London and Guangzhou, with a stated 20%+ increase in average PSG fan club membership. In 2020 FanFest was described as used by fans in more than 100 cities across four continents for nearly two hours on gameday.
Latest developments
The current site presents the three-product FanFest suite (X-Ray, Connect, HQ) and an AC Milan season-long club destination, with client testimonials marked as pending approval. An independent API profile published by API Evangelist lists VICI Sports as a Techstars portfolio company and a stub awaiting enrichment.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as a fan-engagement and loyalty layer for sports organizations, emphasizing recognition of fan behavior that occurs outside a rights holder's owned channels. A third-party research profile groups it with Fan Powered, FanWide, Virtual Tables and The Famous Group; in its earlier watch-party form it was deployed alongside, rather than against, HearMeCheer at the Royal Belgian Football Association.
The company's stated point of difference is rewarding and monetizing fan actions on any channel, including behavior outside the rights holder's owned properties, rather than only tracked first-party interactions. It also emphasizes not replacing the client's existing membership program, SSO or CRM, keeping fans inside the client's own destination without a new app or login, returning all generated data to the client's CDP/CRM, and charging no upfront platform cost.
Technology
The platform combines computer vision for verifying fan-submitted proof of off-channel behavior (photos, receipts, QR codes), an SDK that aggregates tracked actions from client-owned digital and physical properties into a single XP ledger, and a white-labeled front end with a no-code administrative console. It integrates with client SSO and writes data back to client CDP and CRM systems. Earlier iterations used IoT hardware that plugged into televisions to deliver club content to supporters' venues, together with AI-based content personalization, and the company worked with Sportradar on data capture.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise sales to clubs, leagues and federations, with activations run alongside club marketing (raffles, contests, giveaways, supporters' club programs). Pilots and free-to-launch offers have been used to enter accounts, including a federation-level test run with the Royal Belgian Football Association and broadcasters VTM and RTBF. The company has also used sports-tech accelerator and incubator networks, including Techstars and HYPE Sports Innovation, for club introductions.
Sports rights holders and adjacent media businesses: European football clubs, national federations, NFL and esports properties, US pro-team ownership groups and arena operators, and broadcasters. Named or cited deployments and partners include AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid supporters' clubs, the Royal Belgian Football Association, Univision, Monumental Sports & Entertainment and the MSG Company.
Geography
Headquartered in New York City, with earlier reporting describing the startup as Boston-based during its Techstars period. Deployments and activations span Europe (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom), North America (New York, Montreal, Washington D.C.) and China (Guangzhou).
History
VICI Sports launched its first product, VICI TV, during the 2018 World Cup, delivering club content to supporters' groups and sports bars over connected televisions. The company took part in the Techstars Boston 2019 accelerator and ran activations with Paris Saint-Germain during the 2019 Champions League, later working with supporters' clubs of Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and with US partners Monumental Sports & Entertainment and the MSG Company. In 2020 it launched FanFest, a virtual watch-party product used by Paris Saint-Germain, the Royal Belgian Football Association and Univision, including a September 2020 test around the Belgium-Iceland match played behind closed doors. The product has since developed into a modular white-labeled loyalty and rewards platform comprising X-Ray, Connect and HQ.
Risks & controversies
Third-party sources are inconsistent on basic company facts, including founding year (2019 per an investor research profile versus a 2018 World Cup launch and 2020 FanFest launch in press coverage) and headquarters (New York City versus a Boston-based description during the Techstars period). Customer testimonials on the company's website are labeled as placeholders pending approval, and several site metrics, including the illustrative $1.2M annual revenue calculation, are company-stated. In 2019 the company reported that it had raised only a friends-and-family pre-seed round and needed to hire engineering and sales staff. The name is shared with the unrelated NYSE-listed REIT VICI Properties.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 7
launches, deals, and filingsThe RBFA used FanFest, alongside HearMeCheer, to let supporters video chat during the closed-door Belgium-Iceland match at the King Baudouin Stadium, in a test run with broadcasters VTM and RTBF; the startups were sourced through the HYPE Sports Innovation virtual incubator.
A season-long club destination linked from AC Milan's website reached over 40,000 fans, with 43% of season traffic occurring between shows and 38% fan retention after 30 days.
Created by VICI Sports, Inc., FanFest launched in 2020 as a digital platform for fan-created watch parties to cheer, bet and buy merchandise together.
PSG launched with VICI during the Champions League, targeting supporters' clubs in North America, Europe and China; the company reported 1.5 million impressions to overseas fans from February to May 2019.
The company reported completing a friends-and-family pre-seed financing round and said it was seeking additional capital to hire developers and sales staff.
VICI Sports took part in the Techstars Boston 2019 accelerator program.
The company launched its connected-TV product for soccer supporters' groups and sports bars during the 2018 World Cup.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- VICI Sportsfanfest.vip · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does VICI Sports do?
- VICI Sports runs FanFest, a white-labeled platform that verifies, rewards and monetizes sports fan actions across digital and physical channels.
- Who are VICI Sports's investors?
- VICI Sports's investors include Comcast Ventures, Techstars.
- Where is VICI Sports headquartered?
- VICI Sports is headquartered in New York City, US.