Company: Global Fan Network
Website: https://www.globalfan.tv/
Business: Global Fan Network is the world’s largest fan broadcaster, and focuses on football content.
About Robbie and Global Fan Network
Robbie Lyle is the founder of 10-year-old media start-up Global Fan Network. The former reggae music artist started his media company without any experience in filming, editing, or social media. His goal was to give fans a voice.
He set out with a borrowed camera and microphone and interviewed Arsenal fans as they left the stadiums after games. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to his content was what made Robbie take his first channel (AFTV – Arsenal Fan TV) more seriously.
He began working with companies in the form of sponsorships and advertising. By 2017, his turnover was topping £70,000. While he started out editing his videos in his car, or in McDonald’s, he had eventually grown his business to include three London studios.
Robbie’s channel focused on content by fans, for fans. Instead of showing footage from the games, he carved out an authentic, relatable, fan-centric niche. His content is popular not only with his 1.49 YouTube subscribers, but also with some celebrity fans including Ian Wright, Matt Lucas and Micah.
Even with his huge level of success, Robbie has never taken on an investment. Everything in his business has been self-financed since the start, and all his profits have been reinvested back into the business. The company is growing quickly, with Robbie launching new endeavours including DR Sports, a sports channel that got 200,000 YouTube subscribers in its first 18 months.
The company’s turnover is £1.4 million this year, and is forecasted to increase to £1.8 million in 2023. Robbie wants to launch channels in more countries and cities, and is open to investment in the future to help with his international expansion goals. However, he maintains that he is only willing to accept this help from “the right people” in order to continue his tradition of prioritising fans.
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