• Loading stock data...
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Tuned In is Almost Sold Out! Limited Tickets Remain!
exclusive
Tuned In

Seth Davis Launching Paywalled College Basketball Site

  • “Hoops HQ” is scheduled to launch Oct. 28.
  • “We’re not click-baiting; we’re not aggregating. We’re going straight to the news-makers,” Davis said.
Inside Hook

Seth Davis has covered college hoops for media outfits ranging from CBS Sports to Sports Illustrated and The Athletic. Now the veteran reporter is going into business for himself, launching a start-up media company dubbed Hoops HQ.

During an exclusive interview with “Tuned In,” Davis told me he’ll push the proverbial button on his start-up Oct. 28. His new site will go in-depth on both men’s and women’s college basketball. The “No. 1” differentiator for his site will be “access,” according to Davis.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I have a lot of relationships. The people I don’t know are hopefully familiar with my work,” Davis tells me. “We’re not click-baiting; we’re not aggregating. We’re going straight to the news-makers—and talking to coaches and players and covering games. Doing it the old-fashioned way. Little bit of shoe leather goes a long way.”

Davis is partnering with New York media company InsideHook to launch Hoops HQ. It will be financed by billionaire Steven Klinsky of New Mountain Capital. Davis, the author of Wooden: A Coach’s Life, will get an undisclosed amount of equity and serve as cofounder and editor-in-chief.

Davis says his company will also lean heavily in to social media and video. He recruited Slam writer Alex Squadron, author of Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA, as a staff writer. Danny Saied will serve as the social media editor. Davis has also hired award-winning writer/author Lyndsey D’Arcangelo as senior women’s correspondent. 

“Because of my access, I can get coaches on the phone or players on a Zoom and just do a quickie video, that might not warrant an article, but we can put it behind a paywall on the site and also blast it out on social media,” he says. “Our social media strategy is going to be elite—because it has to be. We hired the social media editor before we hired the staff writer.”

Down the road, Davis says he wants to assemble a team of paid contributors, drawing from his many friends in sports media as well as college hoops scribes looking for exposure. Davis eventually wants to add NBA coverage to the platform. 

Unlike most sports media companies, Davis wants to cover college basketball day in and day out, not just during the NCAA’s men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments. He sees a big business opportunity to go in-depth year-round, not just in March. “There’s 48.5 other weeks where there’s a lot to cover. That’s where Hoops HQ will try to own that space.” 

The new site will “100%” be paywalled, according to Davis, at a cost of $4.99/month or $49.99/year. The company will utilize InsideHook’s email list, which he says has 700,000 “hyper-engaged” users, as a funnel to blast out news of the site to potential subscribers.

During his career, Davis has been the definition of a multimedia talent. He will continue to work as a TV analyst for CBS Sports—including what will be his 21st appearance on the annual “Selection Show”—and in addition to SI and The Athletic, wrote for The Messenger, which closed within a year of its launch.

Davis is frank about his unhappy experience at The Messenger, one of the biggest online news busts. Like many of the site’s employees, he was laid off without warning or severance. But he learned the hard way that start-ups need a robust social media presence to break through.

As Davis recalled, “The Messenger had nothing when it came to social media. I was like, ‘Do we even have a Twitter feed?’”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 19: A detailed view of the MLB Debut patch on the jersey of Patrick Monteverde #44 of the Miami Marlins prior to game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Tiny Jersey Patch at the Center of the MLB Rookie Card..

Autographed cards containing a piece of baseball history have upended the market.

Massachusetts Sues Kalshi To Block Sports Prediction Markets

A lawsuit claims the company’s offerings are indistinguishable from traditional sports bets.

FanDuel, Jaguars Reach $5M Deal Over Employee Theft

A Jaguars employee stole $20 million and gambled much of it with FanDuel.

Featured Today

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
opinion
September 9, 2025

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from NFL’s Week 1 Broadcasts

Many viewers decried the addition of ads to “NFL RedZone.”
opinion

19 Rising Stars in Sports Media

Who are sports media’s rising stars? Here’s an inside look.
People congregate at Turning Point Headquarters in Phoenix after news that the founder, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at a rally in Utah on Sept. 10, 2025.
September 11, 2025

Panthers Staffer, Suns Reporter Fired for Charlie Kirk Posts

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in Utah on Wednesday.
September 11, 2025

Paramount-WBD Merger Would Create Sports Superpower

The companies’ combined sports offerings would rival ESPN.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
exclusive
September 10, 2025

FanDuel TV Renews Michelle Beadle’s ‘Run It Back’

‘Run It Back’ will return for a fourth season.
September 10, 2025

Amazon’s $1B NFL Package Now Has Wider Flex Game Options

“TNF” ratings rose 13% to 13.2 million viewers per game last season.
September 10, 2025

Sling TV’s Day Passes Spark Another Sports-Centric Legal Battle

The disruptive programming options generate a second lawsuit in as many weeks.
September 9, 2025

Networks Set NFL Ratings Records As New Measurements Begin

Network viewership soars on the NFL’s opening Sunday.