FANZO has acquired The Rail Media to expand in the US

FANZO, the sports bar finder and global fan engagement platform has announced its entry into the U.S. market via the acquisition of The Rail Media. A trusted voice of the North American hospitality industry for over twenty years, The Rail Media is the publisher of the long-running industry bible, The Sports TV Guide.

This move gives FANZO immediate access to The Rail Media’s network of bar and restaurant operators and communications reach into the U.S. venue ecosystem, accelerating its mission to redefine out-of-home sports viewing globally. Backed by investors including Inspiring Sport Capital (Lucien Boyer and Laurent Damiani), Claude Ruibal, and 24 Haymarket, FANZO is well-positioned to scale rapidly while maintaining strong leadership and vision.

“Acquiring The Rail Media gives us boots on the ground in the U.S. while preserving the trust and relationships they’ve built for decades,” said Leo MacLehose, Co‑Founder of FANZO. “We now have both the infrastructure and vision to bring a new era of fan engagement to the American Sports Bars Market. Our goal is to unlock previously untapped value through measurable, authentic connections between fans, venues, brands, and rights holders, on a scale not seen before in the U.S.”

FANZO has raised $8.2 million in funding since its inception and has already attracted over 6 million users in 2025 alone, reflecting its growing relevance and momentum in the global sports tech space. Today, the platform is used by over 40,000 venues worldwide.

For two decades, The Rail Media has served as a primary communications channel to venue decision-makers across the U.S. The acquisition provides FANZO with a direct line to thousands of venue operators, a built-in database of paying customers and prospects, and long-standing credibility with major hospitality brands including Buffalo Wild Wings, Applebee’s, Twin Peaks, and TGI Fridays.

FANZO will upgrade The Rail Media’s existing clients onto its global platform, layering enhanced venue discovery, activation tools, and audience analytics on an already established foundation.

With 15 years of experience building a global out-of-home fan engagement business, FANZO already powers campaigns and venue partnerships in the U.K., France, Ireland, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. Its platform serves fans, venues, brands, rights holders, and broadcasters in a unified engagement ecosystem.

The U.S. market offers unique scale: Americans make 500M visits to pubs, bars and restaurants to watch live sport each year. Yet no platform currently links these fans with premium venues, measurable brand activations, or rights-holder monetisation in a unified way.

With The Rail Media acquisition, FANZO gains an immediate launchpad to scale across the U.S., combining deep local relationships with proven global tech. This is strengthened by key partnerships with major sports and media organisations such as UEFA, World Rugby, Canal+, TNT Sports, Diageo, Anheuser-Busch, and Joe Hand Promotions, validating FANZO’s commitment to delivering unmatched value across the ecosystem.

Andrew Jaffee, Founder of The Rail Media, said: “Joining forces with FANZO marks a powerful next chapter for The Rail Media. We’ve spent over two decades building trusted relationships with venues across the U.S., and FANZO brings the technology and global vision to elevate that work. Together, we’re creating the future of sports engagement in bars and restaurants.”

Lucien Boyer, Founding Partner at Inspiring Sport Capital, said: “This is the perfect time for FANZO to enter the US market, with the FIFA World Cup this summer, rapidly followed by the LA Olympics in 2028. Inspiring Sport Capital are excited to be backing this journey, and welcoming The Rail Media team to the family”