How Raptive helped Heavy turn AI disruption into an independent growth engine

About Heavy

Heavy is an independent sports news publisher serving passionate American sports fans. It covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and other major sports through articles, stats, newsletters, and social content. The Heavy, Inc. portfolio also includes EntertainmentNow, a premium entertainment destination, and Ahora Mismo, a Spanish-language news and entertainment site.

Heavy Inc.’s partnership with Raptive began in 2018, and their work together spans the Heavy Inc. portfolio. Nearly a decade in, the partnership has endured thanks to the transparency, expertise, and operational reliability that Raptive brings to Heavy’s business.

“We stayed with Raptive because Raptive is smart, honest, and pays on time,” said Simon Assaad, CEO of Heavy, Inc. “That’s less common than you might think.”

Building an independent distribution network

Heavy has been publishing online since 1999. In that time, Simon has seen multiple eras of traffic, monetization, and platform disruption—but he still believes the fundamentals remain remarkably simple. 

As search became less predictable and audience habits shifted, Simon focused on the part he could control—building a direct relationship with Heavy’s audience through email.

Simon believed an independent distribution network could help Heavy reach consumers directly, rather than continually reacquiring them through search engines and social platforms. To make that investment pay off, Heavy also needed to monetize the audience effectively—with strong, continued support from Raptive.

The goal? Turn Heavy’s investment in email into a more valuable, addressable audience—without adding more complexity to its lean operation.

Turning email into a higher-value audience

Email gave Heavy a direct path to its audience. Raptive’s identity technology helped the company recognize more newsletter readers and monetize those visits more effectively. Its multifaceted approach captures and refreshes privacy-safe IDs that can be shared with trusted partners, helping Heavy earn the highest available CPM in every season from some of its most loyal readers. Simon describes the relationship between Heavy’s distribution strategy and Raptive’s identity technology “like a hand in a glove.”

EntertainmentNow provides a clear example of the revenue opportunity. Year to date in 2026, email accounts for 50% of the site’s traffic but generates 60% of its revenue. At the same time, site traffic from newsletters increased 214% year-over-year.

Raptive’s identity solution makes Heavy’s first-party audience more addressable and valuable in monetization. Instead of merely using email to replace traffic lost elsewhere, newsletters are now a higher-value source of both audience and revenue.

According to Heavy’s internal analytics, site visits from its newsletters drive 300% more engagement than visits from search and 200% more engagement than social referrals. 

“Without Raptive’s identity solution, our investment in email distribution would have been much more capital-intensive,” Simon said.

A leaner model for a nimble media company

The impact went beyond email. Stronger monetization gave Heavy more room to invest in its team and scale the business.

Raptive’s partnership also supports Heavy’s lean operating model, which relies on a small number of deeply integrated, trusted partners rather than recreating every piece of publishing infrastructure in-house. This gives Heavy’s team more time for quality journalism, audience development, and new business opportunities. 

It’s also the kind of operating model that Apex by Raptive is built to support: helping media companies make more of every audience moment, simplify day-to-day ad operations, and keep their teams focused on growth.

Apex is Raptive’s integrated offering for premium media companies like Heavy, designed to help them make more of their audience, content, and business. It combines Raptive’s scale, intelligence, technology, and expertise to drive stronger revenue, smarter decisions, and greater operating leverage.

From defense to offense

Heavy’s investment in first-party audience initially provided protection against increasing volatility in search and platform distribution, but has since become something much more important. Now, it’s a growth strategy with measurable business impact.

Across Heavy, Inc., revenue increased 100% year-over-year, while traffic from newsletters increased 207%, enabling the company to accelerate investment in 2026 and 2027. 

“Our confidence to invest in new destinations and expand our content comes directly from successfully navigating the disruption that AI is creating in content distribution,” Simon said.

The lesson Heavy takes from the experience is that publishers need more than one way to reach their audience, not that search no longer matters. Content, distribution, and monetization have to work together.

More and more, Simon believes the publishers with the strongest businesses will be the ones that control more of that equation themselves.

The test of a lasting partnership

After almost ten years working with Raptive, Simon has a simple test for technology partners. Do they make the publishing business stronger?

In Raptive’s case, his answer is unequivocal.

Ready to make more of your audience?

If you’re building a first-party audience strategy, looking to improve monetization, or giving your team more room to focus on growth, Raptive can help.

Get in touch through the form below to explore what Apex could unlock for your business.