OutKick, originally OutKick the Coverage, is an American conservative sports news website founded by Clay Travis in 2011 as an alternative to mainstream sports media which he described as serving the "elite, left-leaning minority."[1]
History
OutKick's secondary Logo
Foundation
Founded by Clay Travis in 2011 as a right-wing sports news alternative, originally being named OutKick the Coverage.[1] In 2020, Jason Whitlock, an ex-Fox Sports host, joined the company, with his columns resulting in a skyrocketing of the websites popularity to the point they caused the website to crash frequently.[2] Despite buying a one third stake in the company when he joined, Whitlock quickly entered a feud with the other two owners, Travis and Sam Savage. The origin of the feud being that Savage had been with the company at the start, and as such never "purchased" a stake in the company. Whitlock on the other hand had to spend $500,000 for his stake. Whitlock argued that Savage was not putting his "sweat" into the company, and issued an ultimatum, either Savage invests $500,000 into the company, or he will leave. This investment never came and Whitlock left OutKick in early 2021.[3]
Fox acquisition
Travis sold the company to the Fox Corporation on May 6, 2021, stating that the new ownership of the website will allow it to dramatically grow in size and reach a broader audience.[4]Variety assessed that the purchase was for Fox to have a rival to Barstool Sports, which also saw a massive increase in internet popularity from 2020 to 2021.[5][6]
The website made headlines when it hired rising social media personality Tomi Lahren as a new personality to host its afternoon opinion talk-show on 2 June, 2022.[7]
After its acquisition by Fox, OutKick has been able to reach a much broader audience, transforming the website from a small fringe sports news site, to a leading figure in sports coverage. The company has also grown from just 10 employees prior to the acquisition, to over 50, and opened a new larger office in Nashville in March 2023.[8] In January 2023, Business Wire reported that OutKick was the nations fastest growing sports media website in the fourth quarter of 2022 with a 235% increase in site traffic,[9]Business Wire later reported in June of 2023 that OutKick is America's fastest growing sports news site overall, seeing 10 million unique visitors in May of 2023, a 238% increase from May of 2022, and reporting monthly gains between 20% and 30%. Meanwhile, their videos on YouTube and Facebook saw a 505% increase in views from May 2022 to May 2023[10]
It was announced on July 31, 2023, that several of OutKick's internet talk-shows; OutKick The Show with Clay Travis, Tomi Lahren Is Fearless and Gaines For Girls, will be moved to Fox's streaming app, Fox Nation.[11][12] On August 2, 2023, the company claimed to have been locked out of their own YouTube account. Shortly prior to the lockout, Lahren called the COVID-19 vaccine "basically worthless" on X.[13]
References
^ ab"about us". outkick.com. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
