--- title: "How Enjoy Basketball Grew to 45,000 Subscribers in 1 Year on beehiiv" canonical: https://www.beehiiv.com/case-studies/enjoy-basketball description: "How a positive-first, Gen-Z basketball brand used beehiiv to launch fast, scale distribution, and build a real media business" source: live-converter generated: 2026-06-03T22:11:18.232Z --- # How Enjoy Basketball Grew to 45,000 Subscribers in 1 Year on beehiiv # How Enjoy Basketball Grew to 45,000 Subscribers in 1 Year on beehiiv ## How a positive-first, Gen-Z basketball brand used beehiiv to launch fast, scale distribution, and build a real media business ![How Enjoy Basketball Grew to 45,000 Subscribers in 1 Year on beehiiv](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aXcPKQIvOtkhB7EC_Untitleddesign-23-.png?auto=format,compress) Written by Kanishka Kumawat Published on 07 Apr 2025 [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fenjoy-basketball&title=How%20Enjoy%20Basketball%20Grew%20to%2045%2C000%20Subscribers%20in%201%20Year%20on%20beehiiv&summary=How%20a%20positive-first%2C%20Gen-Z%20basketball%20brand%20used%20beehiiv%20to%20launch%20fast%2C%20scale%20distribution%2C%20and%20build%20a%20real%20media%20business)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fenjoy-basketball&text=How%20Enjoy%20Basketball%20Grew%20to%2045%2C000%20Subscribers%20in%201%20Year%20on%20beehiiv)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fenjoy-basketball)[](https://www.threads.net/intent/post?text=How%20Enjoy%20Basketball%20Grew%20to%2045%2C000%20Subscribers%20in%201%20Year%20on%20beehiiv%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fenjoy-basketball) ### Table of contents ### Overview - Newsletter: Enjoy Basketball - Founders: Cole Hock, Cody Hock, Kenny Beecham - Cadence: 3x per week - Audience: Gen Z + Millennials - Timeframe: 12 months (launched March 2022) - Result: 45,000+ subscribers in one year (including 10,000 in the first 24 hours) ## The Backstory Enjoy Basketball isn’t just another NBA newsletter—it’s a positive-first media & lifestyle brand built to counter the negativity, hot takes, and clickbait that dominate sports coverage. The idea was simple: - Cover the NBA in a fun, digestible way - Keep it uplifting - Build a community that actually _enjoys_ the game The team launched the newsletter ahead of the 2022 playoffs with a clear voice: like a friend breaking down last night’s games, complete with memes, gifs, and light takes. ## Why a Newsletter They wanted a direct channel that: - served Kenny’s existing audience with deeper, inbox-native content - wasn’t dependent on algorithms or platform risk - let them own the audience instead of renting reach They also saw a gap: most sports publishers weren’t winning in the inbox with 20–30 year-olds or weren’t targeting them well. ## Monetization Strategy Enjoy Basketball monetizes through two core streams: ### 1) Advertising They leaned into brand partnerships that fit the audience, helped by Cole and Cody’s background in talent management (they already work with brands daily). Examples of brand partners mentioned: - NBA - Shopify - Peacock / NBCUniversal - PrizePicks - (and other endemic + adjacent consumer brands) ### 2) E-commerce They built an apparel business under the same brand name. One collaboration (ICEE) sold out in under 5 hours, reinforcing that Enjoy Basketball is bigger than a newsletter—it’s a brand. ## The Challenge ### Find a platform that made launching “from zero” easy Cole and Cody were first-time newsletter operators. They needed a tool that was: - quick to set up - easy to operate without technical experience - built for newsletter growth (not just email sending) They also cared about the team behind the product—specifically leadership with proven newsletter experience. ## Why beehiiv Three reasons consistently came up: ### 1) Ease of use (fast setup) They were able to get up and running quickly—even with no newsletter background. ### 2) Newsletter-first tools + analytics They wanted deep insights into: - subscriber sources - what content performs - where growth is actually coming from (Twitter, Reddit, creator distribution, etc.) ### 3) Creator-friendly pricing They preferred a flat fee model vs. revenue share—so scaling wouldn’t punish them as the business grew. ## Results Since launching on beehiiv in 2022, Enjoy Basketball achieved: - 10,000 subscribers in the first 24 hours - 45,000+ subscribers in one year - Consistent engagement (they referenced strong open + click performance, but did not publish exact %s in the pasted text) They also noted something important: much of the growth continued even during the NBA off-season, when news volume is lower, meaning the brand and format were working beyond headlines. ## Favorite beehiiv Features ### beehiiv Analytics (subscriber + source insights) They rely heavily on understanding where subs come from and which channels are driving results so they can double down. ### Growth-friendly pricing They viewed beehiiv’s ROI as a no-brainer and upgraded early to access growth tools. ### The beehiiv team + support Responsiveness mattered—especially as new operators learning the mechanics of email growth and optimization. They also highlighted beehiiv’s shipping velocity: frequent product updates that directly support creators and growth teams. ## What’s Next The team planned to push into “hybergrowth” by leaning harder into beehiiv growth features, especially the referral program, after proving the concept through organic distribution. They also aimed to broaden the audience beyond just Gen Z + Millennials to anyone who wants a quick, fun basketball brief. ## Summary Enjoy Basketball launched a positive-first NBA newsletter and turned it into a fast-growing media brand. In 12 months, they: - built a 45,000+ subscriber audience - monetized with both ads and e-commerce - created a scalable owned channel that complements creator distribution If you’re building a creator-led newsletter business and want growth infrastructure (not just an email sender), beehiiv is built for that. ## Related Case Studies ![How The Small Bow Left Substack for beehiiv and Grew Open Rates by 35%](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/ahVlu7K9tuLqEJDp_Untitleddesign-39-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How The Small Bow Left Substack for beehiiv and Grew Open Rates by 35% A recovery newsletter breaks free from Substack, builds its own branded platform on beehiiv, and immediately sees a 35% jump in open rates [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/the-small-bow) ![How TechCrunch Streamlined Editorial Workflows with beehiiv](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aPdWMrpReVYa3gfP_Untitleddesign-29-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How TechCrunch Streamlined Editorial Workflows with beehiiv The Growth Playbook Powering TechCrunch’s Media Engine [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/techcrunch) ![How a Queer Sports Newsletter Doubled Its Revenue After Leaving Substack](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/agwKIqYofJOwHWi7_Untitleddesign-37-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How a Queer Sports Newsletter Doubled Its Revenue After Leaving Substack Why leaving Substack was the best business decision Frankie de la Cretaz ever made [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/out-of-your-league) ![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,onerror=redirect,format=auto,width=640,quality=75/www/boosts-promo-2x/rockets.svg) ## The Only Writing & Publishing Tool You Need [ Start Your Free Plan ](https://app.beehiiv.com/signup?plan=max)