On The Water Media

What On The Water Media does

On The Water Media, operating as On The Water, LLC, is a privately held niche media company founded in 1995 and headquartered in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, that produces fishing and boating content targeted at recreational anglers in the Northeastern United States. The company covers 11+ regional fisheries spanning Cape Cod, the Chesapeake Bay, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire/Maine/Vermont, Northern and Southern New Jersey, Long Island, Upstate New York, Offshore, and Rhode Island, with a content mix that includes weekly regional fishing reports, a digital magazine, OTW TV video programming, podcasts, and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube). Recurring editorial franchises include the weekly Striper Migration Map tracking seasonal striped bass movement and long-form regional reporting across saltwater, freshwater, surfcasting, and offshore categories.

The company monetizes through four primary streams: digital magazine subscriptions, photo-based tournament entry fees (Striper Cup, Fall Brawl), e-commerce merchandise and gear sales through store.onthewater.com, and advertising/sponsored content partnerships with marine and tackle brands (YETI, SeaEagle, Suzuki Marine, Skeeter Boats, Z-Man Fishing Products). Supporting products include OTW Angling Adventures guided trips, a Boat Mart classifieds marketplace, and the OTW Bass Club membership community, indicating an explicit strategy to layer transactional and community products on top of the core editorial property.

Operationally, On The Water Media is a small organization (11-50 employees) with no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors, and no parent company. The ownership structure is consistent with a founder/management-owned LLC. Technology is described as a standard digital media platform with no proprietary AI/ML capabilities, public APIs, SDKs, or formal integrations; content is produced and distributed through conventional web, video, podcast, and social channels. Headcount disclosures are limited (editor Jimmy Fee, staff author Matt Haeffner, and an OTW staff collective of regional anglers are named in public materials).

Name

On The Water Media

Legal name

On The Water, LLC

Website

https://onthewater.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

On The Water Media is a privately held niche fishing and boating media company serving recreational anglers across the Northeastern United States through regional fishing reports, a digital magazine, video, podcasts, tournaments, and e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recreational Fishing Media

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Fishing & Tackle Retail (CRAMABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fishing & Angling Charters / Guides (THAAALAD)

Keywords

• Fishing media
• Fishing reports
• Outdoor recreation content
• Fishing tournaments
• Angling magazine

Headquarters

HQ city

East Falmouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Magazine Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to the digital fishing magazine covering Northeast fisheries, techniques, and angling content
2. Tournament Entry Fees: Entry fees for photo-based fishing tournaments such as the Fall Brawl ($29 entry) and Striper Cup
3. E-commerce Shop: Online retail store selling fishing gear, merchandise, and related products through store.onthewater.com
4. Advertising & Sponsorships: Sponsored content and advertising partnerships with fishing brands such as Suzuki Marine, Skeeter Boats, and Z-Man

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

On The Water Media publishes a multi-platform fishing media network for recreational anglers in the Northeast US, including a subscription-based digital magazine, weekly regional fishing reports, video/TV programming, and podcasts. The company also operates two major photo-based fishing tournaments (Striper Cup and Fall Brawl), sells branded merchandise and fishing gear through an online store, and runs a Boat Mart classifieds marketplace for boats and fishing equipment.

Product overview

On The Water Media operates a multi-platform fishing media network centered around its core content offerings: a Digital Magazine featuring articles and editorial content on saltwater and freshwater fishing across the Northeast US; Fishing Reports providing regional real-time fishing intelligence; TV/Videos delivering visual content including offshore reports and instructional programming; and Podcasts offering audio fishing discussions. The company runs two major tournament programs: the Striper Cup (annual striped bass photo competition) and the Fall Brawl (bass fishing tournament). Supporting products include the Striper Migration Map feature tracking bass seasonal movements, OTW Angling Adventures guided trips, the Boat Mart classifieds marketplace, and a merchandise Shop. The platform covers saltwater fishing (stripers, blues, tuna, offshore), freshwater fishing (bass, trout, panfish), surfcasting, boating, and cooking with fish content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Striper Cup: Annual photo-based striper fishing competition with prizes
• OTW TV
• OTW Bass
• Fall Brawl
• OTW Bass Club

Products and services

• Regional Fishing Reports Regional fishing reports covering 11+ Northeast US regions including Cape Cod, Chesapeake Bay, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire/Maine/Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Offshore areas. Updated regularly with current fishing conditions, techniques, and catch information for recreational anglers.
• Digital Magazine Subscription
• OTW TV / Video Content
• OTW Podcast Series
• Striper Cup Tournament
• Fall Brawl Tournament
• OTW Online Shop
• Boat Mart Classifieds
• OTW Angling Adventures
• OTW Bass Club Membership

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• YETIcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerYETI provides prize packages for the Fall Brawl tournament including $400+ weekly prizes, YETI GoBox 15 for Big Bass of the Week, and custom-painted YETI Flip 12 as bonus prizes
• SeaEaglecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSeaEagle provides the main prize (FishSUP 1210) for the Fall Brawl tournament, eligible to all entrants
• Suzuki MarineminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsored content partnership featuring boat repower articles with Suzuki Marine products prominently featured
• Skeeter BoatsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStaff pick product reviews featuring Skeeter boats with editorial coverage on the website
• Z-Man Fishing ProductsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProduct coverage and reviews of Z-Man fishing gear including the EVO Swim Jig, with affiliate links to retailers

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fishing League Worldwide (FLW): Major bass tournament organization with associated media, TV, and content operations — competes most directly with On The Water's tournament and OTW Bass franchise at a national scale.
• Outdoor Life: Long-established outdoor recreation publication covering fishing, hunting, and adventure — comparable in producing regional how-to and gear content for anglers but with a broader outdoor remit.
• Field & Stream: Heritage outdoor media brand with broad hunting and fishing coverage including saltwater, freshwater, and gear — overlaps with On The Water in fishing editorial but operates at a wider national scope.

Direct peers

• The Fishing Wire: Daily fishing news and how-to media outlet covering recreational angling across the U.S. — comparable content-led fishing publishing model, though with broader geographic scope.
• Bassmaster: Largest bass-fishing media brand in North America with magazine, TV, podcasts, and tournament circuits — directly competes with On The Water's OTW Bass segment and Fall Brawl tournament.
• Wired2Fish: Digital-first fishing media platform covering bass techniques, gear reviews, and tournament news with video and social channels — directly comparable model as a multi-platform, content-led fishing publisher.
• Sport Fishing Magazine: Long-running saltwater sportfishing publication covering techniques, destinations, and gear reviews for serious saltwater anglers — directly comparable to On The Water's saltwater report and how-to editorial.
• Fly Fisherman Magazine: Specialist magazine and digital outlet focused on fly fishing technique, destinations, and gear — directly comparable niche-fishing media model to On The Water's freshwater coverage.
• Saltwater Sportsman: Established saltwater fishing magazine and digital media brand covering Northeast and broader U.S. coastal fisheries — highly comparable to On The Water's regional saltwater and offshore coverage.

Others

• Tackle Warehouse: Large online tackle retailer producing original fishing content and video — adjacent/ecosystem overlap with On The Water's commerce and gear-review content but a primary retailer rather than publisher.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/onthewatermagazine
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/OnTheWaterTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/OnTheWater.Fishing
• Instagraminstagram.com/onthewatermagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/on-the-water-media-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 On The Water Media