Recognizing the pivotal role of social media in its growth, ESPN has committed to retaining a key architect behind its thriving social media platform.
The Worldwide Leader announced Monday that it has signed Omar Raja, the mastermind behind House of Highlights, to a multi-year contract extension. Since joining ESPN in 2020, Raja has been the creative driving force behind SportsCenter‘s Instagram presence and one of the leading strategists of the network’s overall social media strategy.
“Omar’s talent is unique in that he’s a gifted content creator who also relentlessly studies metrics and trends to stay connected with ESPN audiences wherever they’re spending time,” said Kaitee Daley, SVP, Social Media, Content Optimization & ESPN Next. “We’re excited to continue building on the innovation and success that he has driven during his four years with ESPN.”
In announcing the multi-year deal to begin the week, ESPN PR made sure to tout Raja’s accomplishments since he joined the company. Monday’s release highlighted Raja’s impressive track record since joining the network. Under Raja’s leadership, SportsCenter’s Instagram following has soared to 38.9 million, doubling its initial size.
In addition to Instagram, Raja’s personal YouTube channel has surpassed 13 million subscribers, with over 22 billion views and 190 million watched hours. Raja also played a crucial role in ESPN’s TikTok account, becoming the No. 1 most-followed brand on the app with 46 million followers.
ESPN surpassed Paris Saint-Germain as the most-followed brand on TikTok last October.
Raja established himself creating clips with a distinct voice for Instagram with House of Highlights nearly a decade ago, and his profile exploded once he joined Bleacher Report soon thereafter. However, he soon expanded his content beyond Instagram to YouTube and hosted a live Twitter show.
As Raja’s influence only grows, ESPN is betting on his ability to shape the future of sports media consumption.
[ESPN PR]
