Fantasy sports is a booming industry
in today’s society, as millions of individuals are playing in games which can
be accessed on all their electronic devices. And the thirst for Fantasy is only
increasing. In his article “Fantasy Big Leagues: How Fantasy Sports are Scoring
with Users”, Nielsen suggests that “Fantasy sports players are also taking
their teams with them on the road, as more than 10 million Americans accessed
fantasy football apps on their smartphones, up 15 percent from a year ago”
(Nielsen). 10 million Americans and counting are downloading apps to access
their fantasy teams across a range of technology platforms, from smartphones to
iPads to laptops. As the popularity of Fantasy sports rises, the demand for
advertising spikes as well, creating a revenue stream where the world of
Fantasy sports is well positioned to remain profitable and popular.
Fantasy games allow a fan to take
control and virtually live out their dream of managing a team of real athletes.
The concept has been around for roughly 30 years, and the rules are simple;
participants draft real life players to create their team and score points
based off how well their athletes perform. They compete with a group of friends
or a group of strangers and try to outscore them in order to win. The hobby has
skyrocketed in popularity with the rise of companies, technology platforms, and
enhanced smartphones contributing to the user experience. “Fantasy sports
participation surged more than 60 percent since 2007, and more than 32 million
people aged 12 and older play in the United States and Canada, research
conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association in
the past year showed” (Clapham).What Fantasy does is it allows fans to feel as
if they are a real General Manager and created a sports team. Participants in
Fantasy sports tend to feel extremely engaged and invested in their teams, the
same way they would in reality.
Some fans take Fantasy sports
incredibly seriously, gambling thousands of dollars on their teams and placing
side bets on their game’s outcomes. One such Fantasy Football League, called
the “Tattoo League”, involves groups of friends who have agreed that whoever
comes in last place during the season has to get a tattoo. Fans are also
spending large amounts of money purchasing trophies for their leagues. “Taylor
Trophies & Sporting Goods in Allen Park typically has a bump in business
just before the regular football draft, and another at the end of December,
when football season winds down, manager Cindy Seamon-Darty said. She sells six
or seven trophies, valued at up to $400 each, every year to fantasy football
leagues. ‘It's very big,’ she said. "These guys will spend $300 or $400 on
a trophy without blinking an eyelid" (Youssef). There is no doubt Fantasy
plays a major role in people’s lives (along with their wallets), and companies
behind the games are seeing revenue soar.
With the rising demand and money in
the Fantasy marketplace, Fantasy sports technology production is increasing to
cater to this large audience. And players themselves have interacted with their
fans about Fantasy sports. Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White tweeted
out, “If I don’t practice on Friday don’t start me in Fantasy.” The television
show “The League” on FX is a show about a group of friends and their Fantasy
Football league. They get appearances from athletes such as Adrian Peterson,
Chad Johnson, Blair Walsh, Vernon Davis, Greg Jennings and many more. On top of
this, having more ways at your fingertips to access teams through technology
has allowed for more use: some friends of mine join mock drafts (a practice
draft) every time they take a seat in the bathroom. It has also interfered with
people’s jobs, schoolwork, and their social lives, which has led to discussions
on Fantasy Sports Addiction and how it can be best compared to a gambling
addiction.
With all of this said, I wonder what
the world of Fantasy sports will look like in 10 years. As popular as it is
now, I can only imagine what it will become, because instead of turning on NFL
countdown on ESPN on Sunday mornings, fans are tuning into Fantasy Now or
Fantasy Live. These shows have expert analysis on who to start and who to sit.
They also give live injury updates and suggest players to pick up that may be
free agents in your league. The NFL in my opinion is gaining more fantasy fans
than “true” fans. As fans find themselves in situations where they are watching
their favorite team on TV but simultaneously own a fantasy player on the
opposing team (who they want to perform well because money and points are on
the line), it becomes hard to identify where your true fandom lies. But as
Fantasy continues to increase in users and revenue by the millions, it will
continue to fuel sports fulfillment, and unfortunately addiction. The demand
for this popular game is booming, and I believe it will only get more popular
as virtual engagement and technology continues to transform our everyday lives.
Nielsen.
"FANTASY BIG LEAGUES: HOW FANTASY SPORTS ARE SCORING WITH USERS." Nielsen. N.p., 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 3 Apr.
2014.
Youssef,
Jennifer. "Fantasy Sports, Real Profits: Entrepreneurs Cash in on Leagues'
Growing Popularity among Fans." Detroit
News [Detroit] 4 Nov. 2009: B6. Print.
Brian, I think that the growth in popularity of fantasy sports games is an extremely interesting topic. I also like that you titled your post “The Certain Future of Fantasy Sports,” because I agree that we will not be seeing a decrease in their popularity in the coming years. Although I personally do not engage in managing fantasy sports teams, I have recently noticed more and more of my peers discussing their fantasy sports teams. A few months ago at work, I actually overheard two of my coworkers talking about their fantasy football draft picks. When I questioned them about it, two other coworkers joined in the conversation and were apparently all part of the same network.
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports games are indeed becoming increasingly popular, not only because they create the feeling of owning and managing your own team, but also because of the simplicity of accessing them. According to Nielsen, “more than 10 million Americans accessed fantasy football apps on their smartphones, up 15 percent from a year ago” (Nielsen). With technology constantly developing and the use of smartphones only increasing, it was inevitable that apps would be created to make fantasy sports games available on mobile sites. Based on the same principles of social media, users can interact with their peers and essentially build a “team” with their friends. I also agree with you that fantasy sports games will endure because they not only provide entertainment to the users, but also support the big brands and companies. According to another recent Nielsen study, “National TV sports generated $10.9 billion in advertising expenditure last year” (Nielsen). These advertising dollars will undoubtedly extend into fantasy sports, if they have not already.
(part two)
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, as fantasy sports become more popular, the line will eventually begin to blur between being fans of a real team and supporting an opposing team on your fantasy roster. This will lead to conflicts between fans, friends and other viewers, especially if money and bets are involved. However, the companies don’t necessarily care who the viewer is rooting for; they care that their brand is getting attention and most importantly, earning a profit. As you predicted, fantasy sports games may even eventually draw a bigger audience than actual sports games. The element that differs between fantasy and reality games is that the users can control the draft picks of the fantasy games. If they select (or don’t select) a certain player, it is their responsibility and their doing if a team does not succeed. That factor is becoming increasingly appealing to our generation, perhaps because we often do not like to wait for anything, including leaving the outcome of sports games to chance. We want our news and updates instantly, and have grown accustomed to having the media conform to what we want. Fantasy sports games are appealing because the users can feel like they have complete control, which falls in line with their idea of reality.
I believe that in the near future, we will begin to see the NFL and other sports and media conglomerates begin to create their own versions of fantasy teams and apps relating to fantasy sports. The industries will attempt to capitalize on this trend and incorporate it as much as possible into their practices, including in live games or airings. I think that fantasy sports games will only become more popular in the coming years and draw more and more users and players of all ages and from all different demographics. I would not be surprised if a social networking app is created that is directly for users of fantasy sports games to connect and create games with each other, if it has not been already.
"Fantasy Big Leagues: How Fantasy Sports Are Scoring with Users." Nielsen.com. 26 Nov. 2013. Web.
“Year in Sports Advertising.” Nielsen.com. Accessed 8 Apr. 2014. Web.
Fantasy sports have taken over the past couple years, believe me I am a part of it. People associate with fantasy sports because of the emotional attachment they have with sports. Whether your team wins or lose you feel the rewards or the pain of the loss. “People view mediated sports because they expect positive emotional impacts from their viewing. These emotional reactions to sports programming are assumed to be dependent upon and governed by affiliations – or affective dispositions – that viewers hold toward one of the competing teams” (Raney). As a huge sports fan myself, fantasy sports give the opportunity to learn more about other teams and players rather than only your favorite team while competing with your buddies and even making some extra cash. That is a huge statement that the NFL and MLB (most popular fantasy sports) but as well as the NBA and NHL have taken notice in. The fact that people are paying attention to other teams than just their local or favorite team is going to give way for more revenue to the given league and add to its popularity. The fear is that as many players get involved in fantasy sports they could have the opportunity to sway the outcome of an actual game to benefit their fantasy team.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that Brian did not touch on is the recent advent of ONE DAY FANTASY LEAGUES that have become incredibly popular in the past two years. Websites such as Fanduel.com and Draftstreet.com offer huge cash payouts to fantasy teams each day. The perk is that you do not have to sit with the same team the entire season and can essentially have a new team every day. Now you would think that it is easy you just get the Peyton Mannings and Miguel Cabreras of the world and you should be good but each player has a price and your total roster has a salary cap that limits the players you can have on your team. This leads people to get creative with their teams and possibly save for a better ranked player when they get a lower tier guy that has a good matchup. People have won a great deal of money of these sites but it is not easy; people have won a lot of money at casinos too so you have to know what you are doing to win. With “1.3 million people accessing Yahoo! for their fantasy purposes” these sites have a great chance to profit off of the popularity of this legal gambling (Nielson).
The more people that get into fantasy sports the more people tend to watch the real thing. This benefits the leagues because they are now more likely to have new viewers get involved and to get those viewers to purchase sports packages like the Sunday Ticket for the NFL which allows you to view every single game regardless of geographic location. Direct TV even allows its subscribers to insert their fantasy team so they can track how they are faring each week while the subscriber is watching the game. Fantasy sports are here to stay so get used to the influx of people watching football in front of their phones and laptops.
WORKS CITED
"Fantasy Big Leagues: How Fantasy Sports Are Scoring with Users." Nielsen.com. 26 Nov. 2013. Web.
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.