Reach Sport

What Reach Sport does

Reach Sport is a UK-based specialist sports publishing and creative services company operating as a division of Reach plc, the UK's largest news publisher. Founded in 2009 with offices in London (Canary Wharf) and Liverpool, the company produces official matchday programmes, monthly club magazines, commemorative books, autobiographies, digital editions, and bespoke digital publications for elite sports brands including Premier League clubs (Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur) and international governing bodies (FIFA, UEFA, World Rugby, Premier League). The company pioneered digital matchday programmes in the Premier League approximately 15 years ago and has extended into digital scrapbook apps and interactive digital publications for athletes.

The company's technology platform supports digital publishing across iOS and Android, featuring animated graphics, interactive games, and touch-screen experiences. Reach Sport leverages the parent company's extensive media infrastructure, including over 150 years of national and regional news archives (such as the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo archives), 70+ websites reaching 110 million unique browsers monthly, and 540 million newspaper circulations annually for promotional campaigns and content sourcing.

Reach Sport generates revenue through a diversified mix of one-time licensing fees for matchday programmes, tournament publications, and books; recurring subscription revenue from monthly club magazines (e.g., Chelsea's official magazine, Celtic View); professional services fees for corporate publishing (Foundation reports, multi-lingual pre-season Tour Guides); and direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales through reachsportshop.com and retail partnerships. Distribution occurs via stadium sales, WHSmiths, supermarkets, independent newsagents, and club/athlete social media channels. The company employs 1-10 staff and is wholly owned by Reach plc, a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange.

Name

Reach Sport

Legal name

Reach Sport

Website

https://reachsport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Reach Sport is the UK's leading specialist sports publishing division of Reach plc, producing official matchday programmes, club magazines, commemorative books, and digital publications for Premier League clubs, FIFA, UEFA, and World Rugby. It serves elite sports organizations and athletes across the UK, Europe, and global tournament markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Publishing Services

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports & Recreation Magazines (MPAJAEAJ)

Keywords

• Sports publishing services
• Matchday programme production
• Official club magazines
• Sports book publishing
• Commemorative sports publications

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Official Matchday Programme Publishing: Production and publishing of official matchday programmes for football clubs including Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton, Celtic, and others. Includes both print and digital editions.
2. Sports Books Publishing: Publishing of official club books, autobiographies, and commemorative publications. Examples include Sergio Aguero's 'Born To Rise' and 'Aguero: Goal King', Craig Bellamy's 'Goodfella', and club milestone books.
3. Magazine Publishing: Monthly official club magazines and special edition publications. Includes titles like Chelsea's official monthly magazine, Liverpool's LFC ICONS series, Celtic View Magazine.
4. International Tournament Publishing: Official tournament programme publishing for FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, Rugby World Cup, and other major sporting events.
5. E-commerce Sales: Direct consumer sales through reachsportshop.com including matchday programmes, books, magazines, and official club merchandise.
6. Corporate Publishing Services: Full publishing services for clubs including Foundation reports, Women's and U-21 programmes, staff newsletters, and multi-lingual pre-season Tour Guides.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Reach Sport produces official matchday programmes, monthly and weekly club magazines, commemorative hardback books, athlete autobiographies, and digital editions for major sports clubs including Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC, Manchester United, Manchester City, Celtic FC, Everton FC, and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as international governing bodies such as FIFA, UEFA, and World Rugby. The company provides end-to-end publishing services covering editorial research, design, print, digital production, stadium sales, and retail distribution. As a division of Reach plc, the UK's largest news publisher, Reach Sport leverages over 150 years of national and regional sports archives for content and promotional campaigns.

Product overview

Reach Sport is the UK's leading specialist sports publishing business operating as a unified publishing services offering rather than a modular software platform. The portfolio consists of matchday programmes, official club magazines, digital editions, commemorative books, autobiographies, and digital applications produced for major sports brands and clubs including Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC, Manchester United, Manchester City, Celtic FC, Everton FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, and international governing bodies such as FIFA, UEFA, and World Rugby. Services include editorial content creation, design, printing, stadium sales, global retail distribution, and digital publishing across iOS and Android platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Matchday Programmes Official matchday programme publishing for major football clubs including Premier League teams (Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton, Tottenham, Manchester City, Celtic) and international rugby tournaments. Programmes are produced in print and digital editions and distributed via stadium sales, retail outlets, and the company's e-commerce platform.
• Official Club Magazines Monthly or weekly official club magazines for football clubs such as Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester United (Inside United), and Celtic FC (Celtic View). Includes editorial content, player interviews, club features, and special commemorative editions celebrating club milestones.
• Sports Autobiographies and Books Publishing of athlete autobiographies, biographies, and sports-themed books. Notable titles include Sergio Aguero's 'Born To Rise' and 'Aguero: Goal King', Craig Bellamy's 'Goodfella', Antoine Griezmann's autobiography, Jimmy White's book, and Shay Given's work. Books are supported by national TV and radio promotion campaigns.
• Commemorative Hardback Books Commemorative and milestone hardback books celebrating club achievements and anniversaries, such as Manchester City's 'The Centurions' (100-point Premier League season), Chelsea's 'Champions Of Europe', Everton's 'Farewell to Goodison' and Official Autobiography, and Liverpool FC's 'LFC 125: An Alternative History'.
• Digital Editions Digital magazine and eBook versions of official publications distributed via iOS and Android platforms, featuring animated graphics, interactive elements, and enhanced reader experiences. Includes quarterly digital magazines distributed to official club membership databases.
• Digital Scrapbook Apps Ground-breaking digital scrapbook applications featuring cutting-edge touch-screen interactivity, created for sports legends such as Liverpool FC legend Ian Rush to give fans unique interactive user experiences.
• International Tournament Programmes Official tournament programmes for major international events including the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia (all 48 matches plus corporate hospitality editions), UEFA Euro 2024 (main tournament, semi-finals, final programmes, and pre-tournament magazine), and Rugby World Cup 2015, 2019, and 2023 (bilingual 100-page programmes).
• Testimonial Match Programmes Souvenir matchday programmes for testimonial matches, charity events, and one-off games. Includes programmes for Unicef's bi-annual Socceraid charity match and David Beckham's 'Match For Children'. Services include content creation, design, print, sales, and marketing.

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Gill HessminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Irish publishing agency partnered with for Kieran Donaghy autobiography, providing first-class promotion and sales coordination for Irish market. Book launched at major event in Tralee attended by hundreds of fans.
• IMGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked closely with brand teams at IMG and World Rugby for Rugby World Cup Japan 2019, developing dual language publishing strategy and unique cover designs for all 48 fixtures.
• Stan ChowminorOthersRenowned Manchester artist who illustrated the 'United Heroes' children's book celebrating 30 Manchester United legends.
• UnicefcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced programme for bi-annual Socceraid charity match in aid of Unicef. Also provided programme for David Beckham's 'Match For Children'. Supports club partners in fundraising activities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Immediate Media: Immediate Media is one of the UK's largest special-interest consumer magazine publishers, with broad lifestyle, hobby, and entertainment titles. While not sports-specialist, its scale, digital-first strategy, and magazine production capabilities overlap with Reach Sport's core publishing services and represent a wider incumbent in the same publishing market.
• Bauer Media Group: Bauer Media is a major global magazine and digital publisher with broad consumer titles across lifestyle, entertainment, and sport. While much larger than Reach Sport, it competes in the same UK special-interest magazine market and shares similar B2B publishing and digital edition capabilities that overlap with Reach Sport's magazine and book product set.
• DC Thomson: DC Thomson is a long-established UK publisher of newspapers, magazines, and books with a portfolio including sports-related content. As a broader incumbent in the UK publishing market, it shares operational similarity with Reach Sport's parent-affiliated publishing model and competes for similar special-interest audience attention and advertiser spend.

Direct peers

• Future plc: Future plc is the UK's largest specialist magazine publisher, producing a portfolio of sports titles (including FourFourTwo, Cricket, Rugby World, etc.). It is the most direct competitor to Reach Sport in UK sports magazine and special-interest publishing, with comparable B2B relationships with sports IP holders and similar print + digital distribution economics.
• River Group: River Group is a UK-based independent publisher producing special-interest magazines and digital content for niche enthusiast audiences across sport, lifestyle, and outdoor categories. It is directly comparable to Reach Sport in business model, scale, and approach to B2B content partnerships for specialist sports titles.
• Anthem Publishing: Anthem Publishing is a UK-based independent publisher of special-interest magazines and books, with titles across sport, lifestyle, and hobbies. It operates a similar specialist publishing model to Reach Sport, producing niche sports content for engaged enthusiast audiences via magazines, books, and digital editions.
• Haymarket Media Group: Haymarket is a privately-held UK and global media group publishing consumer and B2B special-interest titles across sport, automotive, and lifestyle categories. Its portfolio of sports magazines (cycling, motorsport) makes it a directly comparable specialist sports publisher with similar revenue mix and B2B club/federation relationships.
• Mark Allen Group: Mark Allen Group is a UK-based independent publisher of trade, consumer, and specialist magazines including sports titles such as Rugby World and The Football League Paper. It is directly comparable to Reach Sport as a mid-sized specialist publisher producing official-grade sports publications and magazines on a B2B basis.
• Key Publishing: Key Publishing is a UK-based independent publisher of enthusiast and special-interest magazines including aviation, rail, and selected sports titles. It is directly comparable to Reach Sport as a small-to-mid specialist publisher combining magazine, book, and digital publication output for niche enthusiast audiences.

Emerging players

• Play Sports Network: Play Sports Network operates a portfolio of digital-first sports media brands (Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly, etc.) with strong video and DTC content offerings. While more digital-native than Reach Sport, it competes for the same sports-IP licensing economics and direct-to-consumer sports audience, representing an emerging alternative model in sports publishing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reach-sport

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Reach Sport