Rant Launches Fan Stats, a New Social Mobile Sports Application for iOS, Android Devices

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 10, 2014) -  Rant, a leading sports, lifestyle and entertainment media company, today announced the launch of its first mobile app, Fan Stats, a social sports app that connects fans with fellow enthusiasts and encourages friendly peer-to-peer rivalry throughout the year during various sports seasons. Fan Stats is one of Rant's innovative product developments off the heels of their recent funding, as part of the company's broader mission to continually create new, engaging and rewarding experiences for users.

At the heart of Fan Stats, users create individual identities of themselves as fans, creating 'digital trading card profiles.' Through these profiles, users can track their performance as a fan of specific players or teams by participating with a variety of Rant's interactive content (e.g., polls, trivia, contests, leaderboards, etc.) and engaging in peer-to-peer experiences (e.g. forums for players and teams, game day debates, etc. Today, sports apps largely focus on reporting news and displaying player, team, and individual game stats; Rant brings the social aspect of fandom to users who have become increasingly mobile.

"We're absolutely thrilled about the launch of our first mobile app," said Brett Rosin, CEO at Rant. "No one has ever before combined the very social aspect of being a fan -- friendly competition with family, trash talking with coworkers, and quirky superstitions (i.e., wearing orange jerseys only on Monday night home games) -- with the level of intensity that people equally have about tracking their own stats as a fan. We have always been big believers in giving back to people who have helped us grow -- our writers, for example. We continue to listen on what our users want, and Fan Stats is yet another platform that helps us give it to them."

To ensure Fan Stats delivers fresh new experiences to its users, Rant plans to release new features and capabilities in the social mobile sports app on an ongoing basis from its initial launch, while keeping a constant eye for new innovations as the marketplace evolves. In the immediate term, users will be able to view the same sports content they enjoy on the RantSports.com website, comment and react on articles, players, and games, and participate in interactive polls, long-term predictions, and trivia games. In the longer term, Fan Stats users will be able to track their individual 'Career Stats,' see what's trending with other sports enthusiasts, and accumulate points, called RantCoins, that can help users rank highly on leaderboards, earn prizes, and eventually be redeemed for real merchandise at Rant's online store, RantStore.com.

"I'm excited for the launch of Fan Stats," said Vik Kathuria, Global Chief Media Officer at Razorfish. "Brett and his team have come up with an incredibly innovative, yet simple concept around socializing sports' fans activities and interactions with other sports fans in the digital world. Across the dozens of new digital publishers I evaluate on a daily basis as potential marketing channels for our brand clients, Fan Stats is definitely at the top of my list. I look forward to working with Rant as Fan Stats' audience base grows."

Rant's Fan Stats app can be found as a free download in both the Apple App Store and Google Play stores.

Download: Google Play | Apple App Store

This story first appeared in Forbes.

About Rant, Inc.:

Rant, Inc., a leading creator and distributor of online media, owns and operates a network of opinionated sports, lifestyle, and entertainment content. Its expanding portfolio of sites includes RantSports, RantLifestyle and RantChic. RantSports, established in February 2010, covers all major world sports, leagues, teams, players and sporting events. RantLifestyle, established in October 2013, delivers celebrity, dining, and entertainment content of interest to men. RantChic, also launched in October 2013, creates content for women on topics including beauty and fashion, food and health and shopping.

Across its sites, Rant leverages its broad network of more than 400 paid writers across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom to provide male and female enthusiasts with entertaining and engaging content. Major brands partner with Rant to develop unique native content experiences and to reach its passionate audience. Rant offers deeply engaging content across its 100% owned and operated and fully transparent network of sites.