House of Highlights

House of Highlights (often abbreviated as HoH) is a sports media brand that focuses on the creation and aggregation of viral video clips and original video series for a predominantly Gen-Z audience. HoH is headquartered in New York City within Bleacher Report’s office. Known primarily for popular highlights in the world of sports, HoH has positioned itself as a distributor in the sport media industry as described by Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. In 2019, the NBA experienced rapid growth in social media viewership that has directly benefitted House of Highlights with the rise of mobile viewing and the excitement towards short, entertaining highlights and other content that House of Highlights is known to provide. 
Since being acquired by Bleacher Report in December 2016, House of Highlights has expanded into a multi-platform media business with over 24 million followers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. According to Bleacher Report, House of Highlights accounted for 10% of Bleacher Report’s total revenue as of June 2019.
History.
Founding: 2014-2016.
The company was founded by Omar Raja in his college dorm room at the University of Central Florida in the summer of 2014. The company started when he wanted to relive and share memorable moments of LeBron James and the Miami Heat after the NBA star left the Miami Heat to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers that same summer. Raja then started an Instagram account called “The Highlight Factory”, but eventually changed the name to “House of Highlights”.
Bleacher Report Acquisition: 2015 - Present.
House of Highlights had gained about half a million followers on Instagram by the time the account caught the eye of Doug Bernstein, then the vice-president of social media at Bleacher Report, who expressed interest in the brand in July 2015. After a year and a half later, Bleacher Report officially acquired House of Highlights in December 2016. While under Bleacher Report, House of Highlights started to see increased traffic and viewership as reported by Esquire that HoH would get about 700 million video views a month during the NBA season, with 10,000 new followers daily. In 2016, House of Highlights struck its initial brand partnership deals with the companies such as Lexus, Nike, Jordan Brand, Adidas and Netflix. An early brand partnership with Under Armour had the brand create “The Curry Challenge” where they posted clips of ordinary people trying to imitate Stephen Curry’s signature pre-game basketball moves that went viral. As the company’s followers rose on Instagram and continued to build partnerships with brands such as these, HoH eventually caught the attention of the fast food chain, Taco Bell. AdAge outlined how Taco Bell will sponsor HoH stories on Instagram during the NBA season, to target the company’s young audience.
As reported by Billboard, House of Highlights was a platform for the viral 2016 dance craze the Running Man Challenge, the Drive By Dunk Challenge, and “Hoodie Melo” in which HoH posted clips of Carmelo Anthony working out in a hoodie, which soon became a viral meme with the nickname "Hoodie Melo", which expanded to a clothing brand.
In January 2018, HoH expanded the business and created its own YouTube channel. The channel shares NBA highlights, player recaps, basketball podcasts, House of Highlights original content and other viral clips. The HoH original content series titled “"The Reel"” gives viewers the opportunity to get a candid reaction from star athletes as they relive and break down the most iconic plays of their careers.
In October 2018, the company partnered with Twitter to launch “House of Highlights LIVE”, a recurring live show built for the Gen-Z audience and featuring athletes and entertainers. In effort to improve the brand’s presence across social media, HoH is hoping that the Twitter show will help increase the following on the platform.
In April 2019, Twitter ordered a second season of “House of Highlights LIVE” with a new focus on activating before huge live sporting events including NBA Opening Night, All Star Weekend, and College Football Rivalry Week.
In addition to this, the company conducted its first basketball camp in 2019, that was free for 150 kids. Eben Novy-Williams of Bloomberg, describes how the company’s goal is to build a stronger affiliation with its audience and share memorable experiences with them through live events. The following year, during the NBA All-Star Weekend, House of Highlights put on its second basketball camp for young athletes. The Chicago Tribune was on location and explained how Chicago Bulls star Coby White felt like a kid again as he helped teach the young campers new skills on the court.
Earlier in 2020, it was announced that Raja would be leaving House of Highlights at the end of his contract and join ESPN.
Recognition.
Since 2018, House of Highlights has been nominated and awarded for the brand's success across social media ranging from its use of Instagram, presence on Instagram and collaborative brand sponsorship campaigns.