Year of the Fan: Half-time report

This spread from the June 2019 issue of Bassmaster Magazine celebrates some of our favorite fans.

With the 2019 Bassmaster Elite season more than halfway done, we want to pause and thank the best fans in the world for a fantastic six months. So far, this year has been one of our best on record. The reason why is simple: it’s you, the fan. 

We also want to thank the Elite Series anglers fishing our tournaments, for their passion, professionalism, for being great advocates of the sport, and tremendous partners to B.A.S.S. 

Speaking of key partners, we could not support this loyal fan base without the long-term commitments of our sponsors.  

Last but not least, a big shout out goes to Bassmaster employees and contractors for raising the bar and continuing to evolve this 50-year-old organization.  

Here’s a quick look at how fans – the most important part of our sport – are engaging with Bassmaster on our various platforms, January through June of 2019:

  • Over 50,000 fans attended the six Elite tournaments; over 150,000 attended the Bassmaster Classic
  • Bassmaster memberships have grown from 500,000 to 510,000, with plans to go to 525,000
  • Bassmaster Magazine continues to serve over 4 million readers per issue
  • The Bassmasters TV show on ESPN2 averaged 150,000 viewers per show– up 67 percent from first-half 2018 – with 250,000 for Toyota Texas Fest
  • 14 million visits to Bassmaster.com
  • 4.8 million video views on Bassmaster.com, with 72 million minutes viewed
  • Total social media audience (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube): 1.6 million; YouTube subscribers just crossed 100,000
  • 14 million videos views on Bassmaster social media channels 
  • Elite anglers’ social channels have grown more than 100 percent in 2019
  • The Bassmaster Roku channel, which launched in March, has already had 12,000 fans install it — watching over 20,000 hours of video to date

These numbers represent great strides in our efforts to continue advancing B.A.S.S. They embody the loyalty and pride our fans have in the B.A.S.S. shield, and for that, we are grateful. Thanks for your support! 

Sources: MRI, ESPN2: 2019 Nielsen Live +7 p2+, Adobe Site Catalyst, Brightcove, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube