Behind FloSports’ Decision to Invest Heavily in CrossFit Now and in the Future
A week before the CrossFit Games last month, CrossFit announced an exclusive media partnership with streaming company FloSports.
This meant that, for the first time in CrossFit Games history, all divisions, including masters, teams, teens, and adaptive athletes, were streamed globally on one single platform.
Further, FloSports hosted a Daily Recap Show on YouTube during the Games, and awarded more than $25,000 in prize money via their “Performance of the Day” award, presented each day to an athlete in any division who displayed resilience and grit, a shared core value of both CrossFit and FloSports.
Remind Me
Founded in 2006, FloSports’ goal has long been to provide coverage of otherwise “underserved sports.”
The company — which has different channels such as FloElite, FloGrappling, FloHockey, and FloWrestling — is huge in the motorsports community, as well as track and field, wrestling, hockey, cheerleading, and college sports, and is on the rise.
FloSports streams more than 55,000 events a year. More than 2,000 are produced by Flo, while the others, like the CrossFit Games, rely on outside production teams.
- It’s worth noting that these Games weren’t FloSports’ first foray into CrossFit. They streamed Wodapalooza in 2018, 2019 and 2020, as well as a handful of other events in that period, before returning to CrossFit this year when they streamed three Semifinals before inking their deal with CrossFit LLC in the lead-up to the 2026 Games.
Just the Beginning of the Partnership
FloSports’s VP of Global Partnerships, Adam Armstrong, is the first to admit there were some growing pains at the 2026 CrossFit Games, but that was to be expected, as it was their first time streaming the Games and they didn’t have a whole lot of time to prepare.
On Thursday at the Games, for example, CrossFit asked Flo if they could help stream the first two team events live on Barack Obama Blvd., something that hadn’t been in CrossFit’s or Flo’s plans. Flo responded, came up with a plan, and four hours later they executed their live recap show from the street with a three-camera live production.
Moving forward, they are committed to investing heavily both in CrossFit and other fitness competitions in the upcoming months and years.
This includes the addition of Wodapalooza SoCal this September, as well as Wodapalooza in Miami in March, and they are also speaking with all the major players in the sport to build out its portfolio and expect more partnerships this year.
Armstrong couldn’t be more excited about the potential and thinks the timing is right for both FloSports and CrossFit.
- “Over the years, CrossFit has pursued mainstream media, and at other times they have used their media rights as marketing rather than a revenue-producing asset. That strategy takes many years to deliver results, and it gets really expensive. Most of the time it’s not successful in terms of growing the sport due to the lack of investment from a media partner,” Armstrong said. “So at some point you realize you need a partner who is invested in the sport and treats you like ESPN treats the big leagues.”
This is where FloSports comes in.
- “When we started talking with CrossFit HQ, it was clear their media strategy was not delivering the results they hoped for over the last few years. Unfortunately, the likes of ESPN and CBS are so focused on the big leagues; they can’t afford to invest resources into the other 99 percent.” Armstrong said.
The latter, however, is exactly what FloSports does.
- “We have a multi-platform distribution model, which yes, includes a paywall for some content, but we also use social media and free distribution models such as Amazon Prime, and after 20 years of focusing on underserved sports, we think we are best placed to help grow the sport.” Armstrong said, adding that FloSports has further ambitions to “put money in the athletes’ pockets,” as they did with their Performance of the Day award at the Games.
The Big Picture
The 2026 CrossFit Games only reiterated to FloSports that the CrossFit community and fitness community at large are ready for more in-depth coverage, and they are committed to providing just that, all the while building a fan base and growing the sport as a whole.
- “Our vision is to become the home of CrossFit, where we have year-round programming, so at any point of the year, if an event is happening, fans can tune in,” Armstrong said.
He added: “It’s about 365 days of coverage and storytelling. We need to tell the athletes’ stories, and the stories of the events, and create so much value for the sport that the community is happy and willing to invest by committing to a monthly or annual subscription, which fuels the flywheel.”
