Ralph has had great success launching TikTok content for ESPN – gaining millions of views with his creative and confident approach to interviewing and presenting for a younger audience. As one judge said, Ralph may well be gracing our TV screens in future and so “rising star” is absolutely fitting.

ESPN’s Ralph Karumazondo is a natural talent, humble yet charismatic. Multi-skilled, dynamic, and smart, he has helped transform the ESPN UK brand within nine months with his innate understanding of social-first content.

Ralph joined ESPN UK to help the iconic brand attract new, younger audiences and commercial partners looking to speak directly with those fans. In just nine months he launched ESPN’s TikTok channel and built a following of more than 1 million. His input to this channel has been truly dynamic; he captured a behind-the-scenes clip at UFC London that has generated more

than 25 million views. He suggested asking Bayern Munich footballer Kingsley Coman which UK music artists he listens to - Coman said Stormzy and the clip racked up 6.3 million views.

Not only does Ralph have an intuition for what works, he can also edit video and engage with talent in front of the camera. His edits always cut through, providing snappy, fun and accessible clips that younger fans love to devour and share with their friends. As a presenter, Ralph has a natural charisma and relatable voice that enables him to communicate with fans in our regular vox pops, as well as elite athletes that open up and let their guard down when the production crew has a small window to capture content.

After shooting an episode of blindfold penalties, Arsenal and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale said it was the best shoot he’d ever done, with Ralph key to that. The video generated millions of views, including engagement from Ramsdale himself who shared and commented on the video.

Blindfold penalties is just one social-first format Ralph has helped develop. Another is combined XI, a format that ESPN commercial partner bet365 has used on Instagram to great effect. These formats and Ralph’s ability to engage directly with a younger audience is opening up ESPN’s own commercial conversations as a business. Athletes and brands want to be part of that conversation, and much of that stems from his relatability.

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