Longtime media and marketing agency Good Karma Brands is rebranding this week ahead of celebrating 30 years in 2027. The company, founded by Craig Karmazin in 1997, will be called Good Karma Sports moving forward, and the decision was a simple one
“We’re a sports company, so we should be Good Karma Sports,” he said.
The company started out as Good Karma Broadcasting in 1997 as a small-market radio station operator and transitioned to Good Karma Brands in 2010, but it has grown exponentially over the past decade, both in terms of employees and sports partnerships.
“This isn’t like any tough decision,” Karmazin said. “It was just really like, ‘Why aren’t we?’ And there was no reason that we shouldn’t be Good Karma Sports. Literally, the only reason why not to be is that so many people internally and externally have identified us as GKB.”
Good Karma has grown to 500 employees (or teammates, as they’re referred to internally), aligning with “the explosion of sports” over the past 6-8 years, Karmazin said. The company’s headcount has grown 5X over the past eight years, he said, while Good Karma’s billing has grown 8X in that time frame.
Good Karma has evolved over its three decades. At times, it owned Verizon Wireless stores and even an interior design business. Now, it’s grown to represent 30 different properties across national and local teams, leagues and publishers.
Good Karma supports the NBA’s ad sales across its digital platforms. It also consults with the Bills on distribution, content, operations and ad sales around the Bills Radio Network.
Jason Hartlund, the Bills’ chief commercial officer for the past two years, has a relationship with Good Karma dating back to his years in Wisconsin when he worked for the Bucks, Brewers and Packers. At the end of last year, the Bills decided to take their radio network entirely in house, and Good Karma was Hartlund’s first call.
“The thing I’m most impressed with, as Craig has scaled the business, he’s maintained the culture, which is incredibly hard to do,” Hartlund said. “They view partnerships very much like they view their colleagues: teammates. They make sure it’s beneficial for Good Karma but also for the team or partner they’re dealing with.”
Good Karma also operates the ESPN Radio Network and is the official operating partner of ESPN’s digital platforms.
“Our strategy has always been clear: to serve sports fans wherever they are, and that includes a deep and meaningful local presence,” ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro said via email. “Through authentic regional connections where hometown teams and trusted personalities remain central to the fan experience, Good Karma Sports has been a critical part of how we deliver on that commitment. This rebrand is a natural expression of the work they have done, and of our shared focus on maximizing that experience.”
Just last week, Good Karma renewed and expanded its agreement with MSG Networks that extended deals with ESPN New York for both the Knicks and Rangers. And it still owns a handful of news operations, including Milwaukee’s WTMJ, which also has sports ties as the home of the Brewers, Bucks and Badgers.
“We’re really touching all the parts of the journey of the sports fan, whether it’s national or local,” Karmazin said. “And it’s really allowing — I think the thing that’s probably our urgency right now is there’s never been a place where there’s so much disruption, where there’s so many large companies that don’t do what we do.
“Even our assets that aren’t exclusively sports are really driven by sports because if you’re thinking about media today, you want to be in sports, you want to be in live sports, you want to be in the conversation around sports.”
