SPORTS BULL

What SPORTS BULL does

SPORTS BULL (スポーツブル株式会社) is a Tokyo-based, Japanese-language sports media platform founded in 2015 (originally as 運動通信社, Undotsushin) that aggregates sports news, free live streaming, and on-demand video across 30+ sports categories for Japanese consumers. Its core product surface centers on the sportsbull.jp web platform and iOS/Android mobile applications, with dedicated sub-products including バーチャル高校野球 (Virtual High School Baseball) for regional Koshien tournament coverage, COLLEGE ATHLETE TV for university athletics, バーチャル春高バレー (Virtual Spring High School Volleyball), Tokyo Big6 Baseball, FIFA World Cup coverage, Senbatsu, Inter-High championships, and high school soccer. The company holds exclusive live-streaming partnerships for events that mainstream Japanese broadcasters do not broadly cover, particularly regional high school and collegiate competitions — this is the structurally differentiated asset of the business.

The business model is product-led growth and consumer-direct: live streaming of major events is free, with advertising on the platform serving as the primary revenue stream and a premium tier (manga / 見逃し動画 / catch-up replay video) offered as paid content. Distribution is digital-first through mobile apps plus social media channels (YouTube, X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook) used as top-of-funnel discovery surfaces. Customer segments are horizontal — general Japanese sports fans and university sports enthusiasts — with no enterprise B2B revenue concentration disclosed.

In 2025–2026 SPORTS BULL began expanding beyond pure media into adjacent verticals, launching the SPORTS×HUMAN ENGINE joint venture with PERSOL CAREER and PERSOL INNOVATION and the dodaSPORTS recruitment platform, as well as partnering with Now Do (Keisuke Honda) on the CORPORATE LEAGUE. The company renamed itself to スポーツブル株式会社 in May 2026 alongside a 'second founding' management refresh explicitly framed around AI and DX, though no deployed AI products have been disclosed. The company remains private, founder/management-controlled, with 11–50 employees and no parent company identified.

Name

SPORTS BULL

Legal name

スポーツブル株式会社

Website

https://sportsbull.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SPORTS BULL (スポーツブル) is a Tokyo-based Japanese sports media platform founded in 2015 that delivers free live streaming, news, and on-demand video across 30+ sports categories to Japanese consumers via web and mobile apps, with a premium catch-up video tier and advertising as the primary revenue model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Media & Live Streaming

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Spectator Sports (7112)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Streaming Distribution & App Platforms (CTV, Mobile, Web) (MPAKAOAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Live Streaming Platforms (MPACACAF), Sports Streaming Platforms (MPACAAAE), Sports Programming Syndication & Highlights Distribution (MPABAMAG)

Keywords

• Sports media streaming
• Live sports coverage
• Sports news platform
• Amateur sports streaming
• Digital sports content

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The platform displays advertisements and promotional content from partners, likely serving as a primary revenue stream alongside premium content offerings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SPORTS BULL operates a Japanese-language sports media platform that delivers free live streaming of sporting events, sports news articles, and on-demand video content across more than 30 sports categories through its website (sportsbull.jp) and iOS/Android mobile apps. The platform provides free live coverage of high school baseball regional tournaments and national championships (Summer Koshien and Spring Senbatsu), university baseball leagues (Tokyo Big6, Tohto, Toppan), FIFA World Cup matches, and high school volleyball (Spring Haruko) and soccer championships. Premium paid content includes manga (マンガ) and replay videos (見逃し動画).

Product overview

SPORTS BULL is a unified sports media platform that delivers sports news, live streaming, and video content across multiple sports categories in Japan. The platform operates through its core SPORTS BULL website and mobile app, supplemented by specialized sub-products including Virtual High School Baseball (バーチャル高校野球) for baseball tournaments, COLLEGE ATHLETE TV for university sports, Virtual Haruko for volleyball championships, and dedicated coverage for FIFA World Cup, Tokyo Big6 Baseball, high school soccer, Inter-High championships, and the Spring Senbatsu tournament. The company also publishes sports business news and operates social media channels for content distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COLLEGE ATHLETE TV: University sports news and coverage section focusing on collegiate athletics
• バーチャル高校野球
• バーチャル春高バレー
• FIFA W杯
• 東京六大学野球
• интернет

Products and services

• SPORTS BULL (スポーツブル)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Now Do (本田圭佑代表)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 December 2025Partnership for 'CORPORATE LEAGUE' - an inter-company sports league developed by Now Do (led by Keisuke Honda), PERSOL Innovation, and Sportsbull/Undotsushin. Group stage broadcasts on SPORTS BULL, with finals on ABEMA.
• パーソルキャリア (PERSOL CAREER)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2025Sports personnel joint business 'SPORTS×HUMAN ENGINE' launched with first initiative dodaSPORTS Powered by SPORTS BULL - a sports recruitment platform combining sports talent with HR expertise to accelerate human mobility in sports industry.
• パーソルイノベーション (PERSOL INNOVATION)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2025Joint venture for sports personnel business 'SPORTS×HUMAN ENGINE' - combining sports media, HR technology and recruitment expertise to serve sports industry human resources needs.
• dodaSPORTScoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSports recruitment platform powered by SPORTS BULL, a collaborative product with PERSOL GROUP offering sports-focused job matching services.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• DAZN Japan: Global sports SVOD dominant in Japan with pro-league rights (J.League, J League, MLB, etc.). Comparable as a sports streaming subscription platform operating in the same Japanese market, though focused on pro rather than amateur sports.

Direct peers

• Baseball King: Japan-focused digital baseball media site providing news, scores, columns and minor-league / amateur coverage. Comparable as a Japan-centric sports digital media company overlapping heavily with SPORTS BULL's baseball-centric audience.
• Number Web (Bungeishunju): Major Japanese sports news and commentary site with deep coverage of baseball (including high school and university), soccer and other sports. Comparable as a Japan-focused digital sports media outlet serving similar fans.
• スポーツナビ (Sportsnavi / NTT): Long-standing Japanese sports news and scores portal operated by Yahoo Japan / LY Corporation covering professional and amateur sports nationwide. Comparable as a broad Japanese sports content platform with overlapping sports categories and audience.

Broad incumbents

• ABEMA: CyberAgent-owned AVOD streaming platform and one of the largest free Japanese sports broadcasters (FIFA World Cup, Koshien). Comparable because it directly competes for Japanese sports streaming audiences and even broadcasts SPORTS BULL-produced CORPORATE LEAGUE finals.
• J SPORTS: Premium Japanese sports pay-TV channel covering MLB, golf, motorsports, winter sports and rugby. Comparable as a Japanese multi-sport broadcaster with overlapping sports categories (motorsports, golf, parasports, winter sports) SPORTS BULL also covers.
• TVer: Japan's leading free catch-up streaming platform backed by major commercial broadcasters. Comparable as a free ad-supported Japanese streaming service competing for the same sports catch-up viewership, though broader in scope.
• Rakuten Sports: Rakuten Group's sports media property aggregating news, video highlights and team content (including Rakuten Eagles, Vissel Kobe, Barcelona). Comparable as a vertically integrated Japanese sports content + e-commerce hybrid.
• Yahoo! JAPAN Sports (LY Corporation): Japan's largest sports news and stats portal with score, news and select streaming. Comparable as a horizontal Japanese sports content destination competing for the same fan attention and ad budgets.

Emerging players

• Live Sports X (StreamHatchet / equivalent): Emerging sports-focused live streaming aggregator model outside Japan. Comparable as an emerging digital sports streaming platform pursuing similar content aggregation and ad-supported monetization.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sportsbull_jp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKwqba9IWuSKIk3DIpryOHw
• Facebookfacebook.com/sportsbull
• Instagraminstagram.com/sportsbull_official
• TikToktiktok.com/@sportsbull_jp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SPORTS BULL