Sports Illustrated’s FanOS Platform Transforms IPL Franchises with 10 Million First-Party Fan Profiles

By Javier Moreno, Sports Editor

In a groundbreaking development for sports technology, Sports Illustrated (SI) has announced that six Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have collectively surpassed 10 million first-party fan profiles during the 2026 season. This milestone marks a significant shift in how sports franchises engage with their audiences, leveraging SI’s proprietary FanOS platform to build a structured data ecosystem.

The Rise of First-Party Fan Data

The 10 million profiles represent a new era in sports commercialization, where franchises now have access to identifiable, consented users who have actively engaged with their digital ecosystems. Unlike traditional broadcast or social media metrics, these profiles provide detailed behavioral data, including match preferences, content consumption patterns, and loyalty tiers. This shift allows franchises to move beyond “estimated audiences” to measurable, actionable insights.

“Ten million profiles means ten million fans that six IPL franchises can now understand, segment, and activate,” said Chintan Shah, SVP Revenue India at SI. “The data belongs to the franchises; the commercial advantage belongs to the franchises.”

How FanOS Enabled the Breakthrough

SI’s FanOS platform served as the backbone for this achievement. By integrating with franchises’ websites, apps, and loyalty programs, FanOS systematically converted passive followers into registered users. Key strategies included:

• SSO-gated loyalty registration: Tied to match-day rewards to incentivize sign-ups.
• Exclusive content vaults: Accessible only to registered users, fostering deeper engagement.
• WhatsApp journey automation: Triggered by real-time match events to maintain interaction.

Once acquired, these profiles were retained through gamification, personalized content, and predictive analytics, ensuring behavioral data persisted across seasons. This approach creates a “commercial asset with increasing value over time,” as noted by SI.

Implications for the Sports Industry

The success of FanOS in the IPL has broader implications for sports organizations globally.