Fanatics Collect is a platform hobbyists use to buy, sell, and grade trading cards. Now, it has become a hub for original content, too.
To keep pace with rivals like Whatnot, the team at Fanatics is pushing into the original programming space. Beginning on June 22, some of the biggest names on the Fanatics Collect app are going live with a mix of streaming and pre-recorded shows. Those programs won’t focus on the purchase and sale of rare cards; instead, Fanatics is shining light on the charismatic collectors who have emerged within the trading card community.
The first shows in the Fanatics slate go live on the 22nd, though premieres will continue throughout the following week. Some originals, like KingoftheKards‘ Keeping Up with the Kards, are hosted by the sellers who stage some of the biggest, most-hyped auctions on the Fanatics Collect app. The KingoftheKards’ Fanatics original will borrow the format of Antiques Roadshow and apply it to live, high-stakes appraisals of trading card value.
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In other cases, Fanatics is forging partnerships with celebrities who will resonate with both collectors and newcomers to the space. Chris Costa‘s interview series One of One will feature conversations with notable guests — including MLB All-Star Bobby Witt, Jr. — who will share the deets related to their personal card collections. Raw Recap: WWE Now, a co-production between Fanatics and the WWE, will move outside of the trading card space to highlight professional wrestlers.
If you’re wondering why Fanatics is focusing on original programming when it already has a prime position in the ten-digit collectibles market, look no further than Whatnot. With its innovative mix of live streams and product auctions, Whatnot generated $8 billion of gross merchandise value from live sales in 2025, and trading cards are the platform’s most prevalent and lucrative sales items.
By turning its sellers into entertainers, Whatnot has achieved an $11.5 billion valuation while processing more than one billion total orders since launch. In 2026, those numbers have been hard for other ecommerce companies to ignore. TikTok bought into the collectibles hype by teaming with Panini to roll out a digital set of limited-edition World Cup trading cards.
Fanatics, alongside its vanguard of 24 creator partners, is now building its version of a vending-streaming hybrid. Fanatics Collect may still put the focus on trades, but if you want to learn the stories behind the collectibles, they’re becoming easier to find.
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