How have fantasy sports affected the way/reasons people watch sports, the media coverage of sports, and sports fandom? How is the spread of legalized sports betting impacting sports leagues, teams, and fans? Finally, how will both fantasy sports and sports betting influence sports media and culture in the future? Be sure to offer specific examples to support your points and use the readings from the “Th 3/10” folder on Blackboard for this question. Limit: 13 responses
Matthew Miller
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports have drastically changed the way people watch sports. While fantasy baseball, basketball, and hockey are a thing, they are not nearly as popular as fantasy football. When someone says fantasy, the first thing a person thinks of is fantasy football. I am a big New York Giants fan, so I must always have at least one player from their team on my fantasy team. Because of this, I refuse to have a player from another team in their division —Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders— on my team. I will also never play a player in fantasy if they are going against the Giants. While I want my fantasy team to win and do good, I would much rather the Giants get the win, even if it means my fantasy team loses. There are constant fantasy shows on television before the games analyzing how players will do and writing about fantasy.
The spread of legalized sports betting has impacted sports leagues, teams, and fans significantly. In the past few months, Sports betting has become legal in Connecticut and New York, having a significant effect on the teams from these states. The 2021-22 NFL season was the first season where sports betting was legal for many states, bringing in many people betting. An article from the end of 2019 projected how much people would bet in the coming years and “In 2020, the figure is $31 billion — so more than a 100% increase there. In 2021, it’s $63 billion — doubling yet again.” (Brennan 2019). As sports betting continues to become legal, these numbers will keep on rising. Sports betting has brought more fans to the leagues as people are betting on teams they usually would not watch. When people think of sports betting platforms, they mainly think of DraftKings and FanDuel, which are legal in states that have mobile sports betting. Another platform, Caesars Sportsbook, legal in some states, has taken a new approach to become popular. All three sportsbooks give promotions when you first sign up, but Caesars goes above and beyond. When Caesars launched in New York in January of 2022, “it opted for the latter approach, going so far as to put up billboards reading “$300 free bet when you sign up” around the city.” (King 2022). You can also deposit however much you would like, but you can get additional free bets up to $3000 when you first deposit. While most people will think that it is just a free $3000 that you can withdraw immediately, you cannot. Caesars made it so that in order to be able to withdraw the money that gets matched when you deposit, you must first place wagers equaling the deposit amount. This is smart by Caesars as it will make people bet more and more so that they can have the ability to withdraw the free money.
In the future, sports media and culture will be significantly impacted by fantasy sports and sports betting. The numbers show that “Eighteen percent of U.S. adults ages 21 and older said in a December survey that they bet on sports at least once a month, which includes wagering online, at a brick-and-mortar sportsbook, with an unauthorized bookie, with friends and family or as part of a daily or season long fantasy contest.” Silverman 2022). People will be looking for media coverage on all players to see if they should be betting on individual props for them or if they should be betting on the team. The bottom line is that betting is addicting, and we are only going to see more addictions as sports betting continues to become legal while also changing the landscape of sports media.
DeleteWorks Cited
Brennan, J. (2019, October 30). Legal U.S. sports betting explosion: A fearless forecast. USBets. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.usbets.com/legal-us-sports-betting-explosion-fearless-forecast/
King, B. (2022, January 31). Hail, Caesars: Sportsbook uses previous lessons to charge to the top of a massive N.Y. Online Betting Launch. Sports Business Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2022/01/31/Upfront/Sports-Betting.aspx
Silverman, A. (2022, February 7). 2021 was a banner year for sports betting participation. Morning Consult. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/
Shannon Goria
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports have increased in popularity dramatically over the years, with both dedicated sports fans and just regular sports fans all wanting to participate not only for the social aspect, but also to make a profit. Fantasy sports and sports betting go hand-in-hand as the winners of these leagues tend to make money as most leagues require some kind of down deposit at entry. I know my dad is in multiple fantasy leagues, starting with football and going all the way to golf as that is what some if his friends are interested in. He even tried to get my sister and I involved but I just don’t have enough time or interest to be a part of this league and I know I wouldn’t know what calls to make and how to make my team as I am definitely not as knowledgeable as the majority of the members in the leagues.
Fantasy sports have grown the sports business industry even more than ever before. In fact, “daily fantasy sports has grown into a multibillion-dollar business thanks to the advent of FanDuel and DraftKings” with these DFS platforms permitted in more than 40 states (Insight, 2022). These games have impacted the way individuals watch sports as they no longer just watch their favorite teams, but they watch all of the games that has one of their athletes playing in it. This is where social media has proved to be beneficial as it serves as a shortcut and a way fans can get updates on how the players in their fantasy leagues have done without having to watch the full game. These sports betting apps also helps keep them updated and serves as a platform for them to stay organized and instantly be informed on their fantasy team’s ranking. Daily fantasy sports have grown so popular in America for a variety of reasons as they are not only entertaining, but also easy to play, suits all players, allows players to earn cash prizes and bonuses, and there are a variety of contests to choose from (Insight, 2022).
As stated earlier, the increase of sports fantasy leagues has the “potential to increase engagement in sporting events and increase engagement for sports news and content that helps fantasy players gain an edge over their opponents” (Sport, 2021). Therefore, they have only made the sports business industry blossom even more as now these competitive players are trying to gain more knowledge and information on the best players in order to make the best calls for their teams. These leagues have led to the spread of legalized sports betting by 11 states and has impacted sports leagues, teams, and fans in so many different ways, all tying to the “investment of more than a billion dollars”(Silverman, 2022). This article also shares how “nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults said they bet on sports at least once a month” and that sports betting has “increased by 80% over the course of the year” (Silverman, 2022). These findings have all made a major impact on the sporting world as the $1.2 billion sports betting industry has called for the start of sports-betting storylines and telecasts as well as editorial content that can reach fans from all over (Silverman, 2022). Both fantasy sports and sports betting will influence sports media and culture in the future as now fans will want even quicker live updates on teams and players of all sports as their own fantasy leagues might have athletes from all different leagues and teams. Therefore social media and sports apps will continue to be a frontrunner for where sports fans get their news as it will be right in the palm of their hand. Not only this, but sports betting will entice even more than just sports fans to get involved as others might do it just as something fun to do with their friends in order to go against them and potentially make a profit. This might lead to the start of more sports-betting apps, telecasts, etc. that can help less-informed sports betters what kind of moves they should make and which players they should keep their eyes on.
Shannon Goria (References)
ReplyDeleteReferences
Insight , A. (2022, February 18). The popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports in America. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Insight. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-popularity-of-daily-fantasy-sports-in-america/
Silverman , A. (2022, February 7). 2021 was a banner year for sports betting participation. Morning Consult. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/
Sport , Y. G. (2021, March 16). Fantasy sports in the US: Who is playing? YouGov Sport. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://sport.yougov.com/fantasy-sports-in-the-us-who-is-playing/
Brandon Krikorian
ReplyDeleteProfessor Burns
7 March 2022
Weekly Blog #6
Fantasy sports are a huge part of many people’s lives, especially during the NFL season as fantasy football is the most popular fantasy sport. Since the NFL is a national sport with every game available on tv to everyone around the country every Sunday, it allows for anyone to watch their games. For people who participate in fantasy football there is a guarantee that you will be able to watch whatever local game is on and a national game before the primetime game at night. For fantasy people though, they have multiple different players on different teams and might not be able to watch those games at 1 o’clock because it is not in their local area. This is where NFL Redzone comes into play. NFL Redzone was created in 2009 with the vision of giving fans non-stop football for 7 hours covering every game that day. An article from nflcheapskate, listed some reasons as to why NFL Redzone is so beneficiary to football fans. Some of their reasons were that there are no commercials, no distractions, exciting plays, and dominates fantasy football viewers. NFL Redzone is perfect for fantasy players because it jumps from game to game and shows highlight plays and scoring plays which affects fantasy teams. The article even talked about how fantasy players thought that Redzone helped their teams do better, “According to a recent survey, 92% of fantasy owners who subscribed to NFL RedZone last year said they thought it helped their fantasy performance” (nflcheapskate). Whether it really effects your team’s outcome can be debated, but the fact that people do believe this means that the style of NFL Redzone works and has an impact on its viewers. Another positive that happened over time was the introductions of sports betting in the NFL. Redzone was the perfect viewing experience for fantasy users but now it also served a purpose for people betting on games or on individual players. Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) has become huge over the past couple of years and it combines regular fantasy sports with betting. The article talks about the rules of DFS and how it works, “A participant is normally given a fixed budget to work with. They are supposed to create their dream line up within the given budget, from a player pool with different prices and entrants… Points may be awarded according to the game, based on parameters like touchdowns, goals scored, number of baskets made, among other parameters in different sports… Cash prizes are awarded after an event is completed, and all rankings have been done” (Analytics Insight). Redzone will even give players to possibly take in DFS based on projections for that particular game so there is a back and forth between the product and the audience. It allows for DFS users to watch games like regular fantasy users but it also allows them to watch the games like someone who is strictly betting on the games.
Talking about betting on games that is also something that the NFL has become more accepting of over the last couple of years. This happened because of the trend that is happening across the country with more states legalizing betting and the amount of profit that is sitting there for a company like the NFL to take. One article highlights the increase in betting in terms of people’s age and their frequency in placing bets. The article states, “Eighteen percent of U.S. adults ages 21 and older said in a December survey that they bet on sports at least once a month. That figure represents an 80 percent increase from a January 2021 survey in which 10 percent of respondents said they bet at least monthly… The share of adults who bet on sports at least weekly more than doubled from 5 percent in January to 12 percent in December. The total share of adults who said they bet on sports at all, regardless of frequency, increased from 20 percent in January to 25 percent in December” (Silverman). Clearly there is a staggering increase in sports betting across sports, but with the NFL being the most popular they are seeing the biggest increase. Again, with so many people now starting to sports bet, NFL Redzone is the perfect option for them to stay on top of everything that can happen on a Sunday since Redzone shows the end of close games that can directly impact a bettor who has money on that game.
DeleteS, James. “7 Reasons You Need NFL Redzone Stream.” NFL Cheapskate, 17 Jan. 2022, nflcheapskate.com/7-reasons-you-need-nfl-redzone-stream/.
“The Popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports in America.” Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Insight, 18 Feb. 2022, www.analyticsinsight.net/the-popularity-of-daily-fantasy-sports-in-america/.
“2021 Was a Banner Year for Sports Betting Participation.” Morning Consult, 7 Feb. 2022, morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/.
Joey O’Donoghue:
ReplyDeleteSports betting has had a colossal impact on the reasons people watch sports and sports fandom. It is taking the world by storm, as the popularity of betting on sports is continuously growing. According to an article by Analytics Insight, “Daily fantasy sports has grown into a multibillion-dollar business thanks to the advent of FanDuel and DraftKings” (Analytics Insight, 2022). The mass amount of revenue that sports betting has generated for betting sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings is evident. Therefore, this new means of paying attention to sports is greatly affecting a large number of people. Nowadays, people will watch sports or certain players/teams they would have never watched before. The reason for this is they have a vested interest in the game if they bet on them. The outcome of a single play can win or lose a person a large sum of money, and so people will watch sports now solely because they bet on them and need to see if they will win or lose money. Fantasy sports/betting can also affect a person’s fandom. I had a friend who won his fantasy league solely because of Patrick Mahomes’s amazing season a few years ago, and he bought a Mahomes jersey and instantly became one of his biggest fans. If a player or team wins a person a lot of money, it will actually alter their fandom to the point in which they will display support/ worship of said player or team due to the economic success they brought to an individual.
Both the future and the present of sports media and culture is greatly impacted by fantasy sports and sports betting. According to an article by Alex Silverman, “The paid infusion of sports betting odds, angles and storylines into live sports telecasts and editorial content reached fans regardless of where they lived” (Silverman, 2022). Sports betting and fantasy sports has immersed itself into the culture of sports media and will continue to do so. Commentators make references to fantasy sports, and there is so much content that is profiting off of which fantasy players to start or which teams to bet on. Once again, it stems from the vested interest people gain in a concept when they believe they have the opportunity to profit from something. Sports media will most likely continue to utilize the popularity of sports betting and milking content out of it each day during sporting seasons through articles, podcasts, televisions shows, etc.
Joey O'Donoghue continued:
DeleteFinally, sports betting has also greatly impacted sports leagues and teams. Sports leagues, in particular, will capitalize on this growing industry to make profits from betting deals. According to an article by Mike Florio, “NFL executive V.P. and chief strategy and growth officer Christoper Halpin says that, eventually, gambling will become a 10-figure revenue stream. Annually” (Florio, 2021). Based on the data, it is more than likely that the NFL can generate billions of dollars each year from sports betting deals and the growing interest of young adults to bet on sports. The spread of the legalization of sports betting has become more and more profitable for sports leagues, and has served as an additional revenue stream. For teams, the growing interest of sports betting has brought viewership to their respective games. To reiterate, people will pay attention to small market teams that they would normally not care for simply because they have a fantasy player on the team, or they bet on them. Positives have certainly emerged for sports leagues and teams due to sports betting, but the majority of sports bettors are losing money. Regardless, due to its addictive nature, people will continue to bet on sports and it will continue to grow and immerse itself into the culture of sports media.
References
Florio, M. (2021, August 27). Report: NFL expects to generate $270 million from gambling deals. ProFootballTalk. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/08/27/report-nfl-expects-to-generate-270-million-from-gambling-deals/
The popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports in America. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Insight. (2022, February 18). Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-popularity-of-daily-fantasy-sports-in-america/
Silverman, A. (2022, February 7). 2021 was a banner year for sports betting participation. Morning Consult. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/
Emily Sweeney
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports has drastically affected the way and reasons that people watch sports, the media coverage of sports, and sports fandom. Fantasy sports essentially gave people more reasons to watch sports and become part of a sports fandom. This also increased media consumption and promoted media coverage of sports more. Altmon Solon spoke about this by using research to state, “According to the survey’s 14,000 respondents, betting significantly reinforces sports viewing time, fandom, and sports-related media consumption – regardless of the bettors’ team or player preferences. Thus, avid bettors are far more likely than non-bettors to watch sports regularly” (Solon). The fact of the matter is that people are going to watch more sporting events when they have a stake in them and sports betting or fantasy sports provides them that stake. For example, I am a New York Jets fan, but if I have Aaron Rodgers on my fantasy football team, I am not only going to tune into the Jets games every week, but I am also going to tune into the Packers games as well to see how my fantasy quarterback is doing. By providing more incentives to watching sports, fantasy sports has increased viewership. It also increased sports fandoms because the betters are often going to support and root for the teams or players that they are betting money on. They oftentimes will develop a fan mentality and become a member of many different fandoms. Fantasy sports also helped promote media coverage of sports because those betters who are not heavily interested in sports may use the broadcasters concepts along with other media coverage of sports such as analyst shows to develop a sense of which bets make sense and which do not.
The spread of legalized sports betting impacts sports leagues, teams, and fans as well. Sports betting has become a societal norm and Silverman discusses how the legalization of sports betting has normalized and popularized it by stating, “The launch of legal wagering in 11 states and the investment of more than a billion dollars’ worth of marketing by sportsbooks has seriously boosted the number of Americans betting on sports in 2021, according to new Morning Consult research. At year’s end, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults said they bet on sports at least once a month” (Silverman). This means that legalized sports betting impacts fans by allowing them to bet more often and freely which in turn creates a larger sports betting landscape that continues to increase. As for the sports leagues and teams they are also impacted in a positive way. Jon Wertheim discussed how sports leagues and teams feel by stating, “to borrow a phrase from another form of wagering, teams and leagues are all in. Every major league has partnerships with sportsbooks and data companies. To pick one team among dozens, the Chicago Cubs’ deal with DraftKings exceeds $100 million a year” (Wertheim). Sports betting impacts the leagues and teams in a way that they approve of and see as positive. In the end it creates more possible deals for them and brings in more revenue for the teams and for the leagues.
DeleteFantasy sports and sports betting will continue to influence sports media and culture in the future. One of the biggest influences in sports media culture for the future may be in the increasing number of women to sports betting and therefore sports culture. Gerry Smith discussed this in an article through an interview by stating, “While women make up almost half of U.S. sports fans, they represent less than one-third of sports bettors. As one of only a few female chief executives of a gambling company, Howe sees a growth opportunity in persuading more women to bet” (Smith). The increasing representation of women in sports betting will create a larger female audience in sports and will influence the sports media culture by creating a more diverse landscape for the culture to thrive in.
Works Cited
Silverman, A. (2022, February 7). 2021 was a banner year for sports betting participation. Morning Consult. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/
Smith, G. (n.d.). FanDuel CEO wants to introduce more women to sports betting. MSN. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/fanduel-ceo-wants-to-introduce-more-women-to-sports-betting/ar-AAS5Ead
Solon, A. (2021, September 28). From "bookies" to the TV booth: How sports betting is gaining global popularity and changing the way sport is viewed. Altman Solon. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.altmansolon.com/insights/trends-in-sports-betting-and-content-consumption/
Wertheim, J. (2021, August 9). Pro sports leagues are all-in on gambling. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.si.com/betting/2021/08/09/gambling-issue-daily-cover
Blake Guerriero
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports have had such a large impact on the way people watch and consume sports content. Fantasy Football is the most popular fantasy sport to participate in amongst sports fans. For me personally fantasy football has had a large impact on the way I consume my football related content. I am a Dallas Cowboys fan but pay so much attention to other team’s players and news due to me having them on my roster or potentially interested in adding them to my roster. I started to play fantasy football four years ago, before that I didn’t pay nearly as much attention to other team’s news as much as I do now. I sometimes find myself cheering for another player on my fantasy team when they are playing against the Cowboys, I want the Cowboys to win the game but when a player on my roster makes a big play against them, I am not that mad about it. Fantasy Sports have impacted media coverage as well as the NFL Network has time slots dedicated to fantasy football talk, among other channels as well. People make a living now covering fantasy football through simple YouTube channels and podcasts, this shows how popular fantasy sports are, especially football. It has changed why we watch sports too as only watch certain games now between teams I don’t care about due to me having some type of fantasy implications on it. Fantasy sports and sports betting have a huge impact on the industry as virtual games like fantasy football hosting more than 45 million people and billions of dollars every year being spent on betting sites (Siddharth 2021).
Legalized sports betting as taken the sports fandom by storm as it seems like everyone nowadays has betted on at least some type of sporting event once as the total share of adults who said they bet on sports at all, regardless of frequency, increased from 20 percent in January to 25 percent in December (Silverman 2022). With sports betting now legal in several states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York there is no surprise that almost everyone is taking advantage of it. I personally know a lot of people and friends who do sports betting religiously, and this impacts leagues and teams by simply growing their business and bringing them in so much money and revenue. Fans are now starting to watch games based off sports betting instead of just sitting down and enjoying it.
Sports betting and fantasy sports will continue to impact/influence sports media and culture in many ways. Fans being drawn into games now simply for the thrill of having the chance of feeling like a game matter to them even if their team isn’t playing, I believe is the biggest draw in for betting and fantasy fans. For betting the opportunity to show your sports knowledge and make money while doing it is always a plus, and for fantasy lovers, being able to be a GM of your own team and feeling like you’re in a fantasy world in a sense is very appealing. For me personally, that is a huge reason as to why I participate in fantasy sports, it gives me a sense of feeling I’m the GM of an actual team and it is fun to do. Fantasy and betting have become huge in sports media as well, as previously mentioned the NFL Network has time slots dedicated to fantasy football talk. People are dedicating their free time to making fantasy and betting content for people looking for tips and advice, whether it is professionals on T.V. or a random kid sitting in his bedroom on YouTube. Even sports business industry culture will be impacted as daily fantasy sports has grown into a multibillion-dollar business thanks to the advent of FanDuel and DraftKings” (Insight, 2022).
DeleteWorks cited
Insight , A. (2022, February 18). The popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports in America. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Insight. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-popularity-of-daily-fantasy-sports-in-america/
Silverman , A. (2022, February 7). 2021 was a banner year for sports betting participation. Morning Consult. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/
Siddharth Singh of Walt Whitman High School; Provided by The MoCo Student, & Photo courtesy of Metropoli Grupo Editorial. (2021, July 18). Analysis: The impact of fantasy on sports. thesentinel.com. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.thesentinel.com/communities/analysis-the-impact-of-fantasy-on-sports/article_d35200d0-e784-11eb-89d8-43d7be949476.html
Charlie Windels
ReplyDeletePart 1
Fantasy Sports and Betting are on the rise and it has become very clear. Being a sports fan my whole life I have been surrounded by Fantasy Sports, and as I got older I could see that many of my friends were putting their hard-earned money towards sports bets to see if they could double or even triple their earnings. While I always thought sports betting was interesting and could add to the way I watch sports games, I never got into it. However, all I could hear about from my older friends was how much they were up or down that week based on games they had put money towards. I think sports betting and fantasy sports allow for a more intense experience when watching live sports knowing that money is on the line. After reading an article titled Fantasy sports in the US: Who is playing? I was drawn to an interesting statistic that read “15% of US adults over the age of 21 say they have played fantasy sports at least once in the past 12 months, including 21% of men and 8% of women” (YouGov Sport). I found this to be fascinating as well as insightful towards the future of sports betting. First off, 15% of the US is a huge number and we see that fantasy sports are attracting older age groups. I think this shows the potential of sports betting and how it is open to such a large audience and difference in age.
Charlie Windels Part 2
ReplyDeleteThe next key concept I chose to look at within the future of sports betting is how the industry is looking to attract more female bettors. Currently and in the past sports betting has mostly been geared towards the adult male. However, an article I was reading titled FanDuel CEO Wants to Introduce More Women to Sports Betting by Gerry Smith talks about how techniques used in sports betting advertisements and marketing are mostly geared towards males. It then goes on to say that Fanduel and other sports betting outlets are looking for different and appropriate strategies in their advertising and marketing to help attract more female bettors. The article explains “While women make up almost half of U.S. sports fans, they represent less than one-third of sports bettors” (Smith). This is partly because sports betting ads in the past have done very little to allow a relatable feeling to a female audience. Despite this, there seem to be great opportunities for sports betting in the future, while they are already thriving they can do more to reach a wider audience.
The last article I read titled Sports betting: Pretty fun, probably terrible by Emily Stewart talked about sports betting and its growth, but also talked about some of the dangers for fans that get hooked on it. The article quotes, “sports betting is everywhere. It and crypto were basically the themes of this year’s Super Bowl commercials. In New York, where online sports betting became legal on January 8, it feels inescapable” (Stewart). Stewart uses the word “inescapable” which is extremely accurate and is part of the reason why sports betting can be scary for many fans. However, as scary as it seems many fans continue to bet which ultimately brings in more money and growth for the industry as a whole. With Fantasy sports and betting they always have a way for people new to sports betting to get hooked. One of the most common ways I’ve seen is giving the bettor 20-30 dollars of currency by signing up. Overall this industry is growing within the sports world and will most likely boom in the near future. It could also bring more attention to live sports for younger generations as they get older and realize they could bet on games.
Works Cited
FanDuel CEO Wants to Introduce More Women to Sports Betting
Gerry Smith Bloomberg December 23, 2021, 8:00 AM EST https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-23/flutter-fltr-fanduel-growth-plan-marketing-sports-betting-to- women?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=220102&utm_campaign=screentime
Sport , Y. G. (2021, March 16). Fantasy sports in the US: Who is playing? YouGov Sport. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://sport.yougov.com/fantasy-sports-in-the-us-who-is-playing/
Stewart, Emily. “Sports Betting: Pretty Fun, Probably Terrible.” Vox, Vox, 24 Feb. 2022, https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22945877/sports-betting-promos-odds-draftkings-caesars.
Rita Sherban
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports and the legalization of sports betting are changing the way fans are watching games at home. The most prominent change being, that people are watching games that do not include their favorite teams. In 2020, the National Football League (NFL) saw, “a 17% increase in TV viewership…” (Gerstner 2021). While the pandemic is an obvious contribution to the increase, so it’s sports betting. Since the legalization of sports betting in 2018, 30 states have allowed for companies like FanDuel, to open sportsbooks (Smith 2021). While the sports betting market has exploded, so has the way in which people watch a game.
As stated before, people are watching games that they would not typically watch. This is because many people, especially NFL fans have some money on their fantasy football team and, “…fans now think they have the expertise because they can manage a fantasy football league” (Gerstner 2021). This “all-knowing” behavior can also contribute the short stints football coaches experience. Head coach positions are hard to keep because what fans want, fans get. Only 11 head coaches have continued with a team for more than five season and there’s 32 head coach positions in the league (Gerstner 2021). The spread of sports betting is being seen throughout all leagues, but the most proliferate being the NFL. Sports betting is now keeping fans on games that they would otherwise not engage in. To maintain viewership, leagues need to keep fans engaged and sports betting does just that, as well as help strengthening fan identities. People consider themselves fans when they feel like they have the most extensive knowledge of any given player, team and, “fans identities…are also forged through how much fans know and care” (Gernster 2021). If people don’t know players or don’t know about teams, the likelihood of engagement is low. Now, with the support from fantasy leagues, fans are formulating teams with players from the Steelers, Browns, Chargers, etc. This expands a fans knowledge as they are trying to get the best stats and analytics for their line-ups. The expansion of sport-betting is not just a potential for sport franchises, but for the gambling companies as they are vastly overlooking an important demographic: women.
Sherban (cont.)
ReplyDeleteWomen make up a third of bettors, but companies like FanDuel are looking to expand that. FanDuel CEO, Amy Howe, wants to attract more women to the market, the problem is that sports gambling is seen as exclusive and often intimidating (Smith 2021). For some women who want to try their hand at sports betting found that it, “was difficult to learn, which made…the space intimidating. More importantly, sports betting didn’t feel inclusive…” (Messler 2021). FanDuel has done a women’s fantasy league in conjunction with The Gist, a sports newsletter designed specifically for women. The buy-in was, “…relatively modest: the league’s entry fee was $2, with the winner getting $2,000” (Smith 2021). The idea for the league was to help get women comfortable with fantasy leagues and sports betting, but it can still feel like a boys club, especially when sports betting advertisements rarely feature women and are largely targeted to men. Within the next years, if FanDuel is truly committed to include women in sport wagers, they will need to create a space that is less intimidating and close the gap between bets being made on women’s sports as there are currently few and far between women’s sports that can be bet on.
Gerstner, J. C. (2021, November 22). When sports fans assume they are in charge...anger rules. Open Court. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://opencourt.bulletin.com/500707027682616/
Messler, J. (2021, August 4). It's time to bet on women - literally. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/en/SB-Blogs/COVID19-OpEds/2021/08/04-Messler
Smith, G. (2021, December 23). FanDuel CEO Wants to Introduce More Women to Sports Betting. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-23/flutter-fltr-fanduel-growth-plan-marketing-sports-betting-to-women?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=220102&utm_campaign=screentime
Gage Kilborne 1
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports have changed the landscape for how sports fans view their beloved sports teams. Not only this, but fans have opened up their knowledge about more players and teams as a result of fantasy sports because they have to pay attention to more games that they normally wouldn't care about it if they did not have fantasy sports. Fantasy sports also impacted what fans do in their everyday lives. According to Bleacher Report, "We fans of fantasy football spend more time during football season preparing our lineups, performing drops/adds, ..."(Witten) This proves that many sports fans will plan their days around their fantasy teams on Sundays as they sit on the couch and watch football for hours.
Not only has fantasy sports been on the rise, also sports betting has increased in popularity as more and more states have been legalizing it in the country. Caesar’s sports book is one of the biggest sports betting companies in the country based in Las Vegas Nevada, they have impacted the sports leagues, teams, and more importantly fans as it grew. The biggest example has to be fans rely on sports betting books to determine who will win the matchups. A perfect example of this is I have some friends back home who ask me about Quinnipiac sports for betting purposes and I give them my feedback on how the teams have been performing this season. According to the same Bleacher Report article, many fans lost over $150 million when Tom Brady got injured during the 2012 season (Witten). This proves that many fans would spend their life savings on players who they normally wouldn't care about unless it is a way to for them to make more money.
Gage Kilborne 2
DeleteThe final answer for the third question is sports media will be geared more towards sports betting and gambling. It is starting to show signs of that already in ESPN with the ESPN Fantasy Football Show where they discuss who you should draft in your league to put together a winning team. They also do the same thing for podcasts to keep fans engaged in sports betting as well. This idea of sports betting has really been infused in our culture and in the future it will apply more stress to the athletes and teams who are used to playing the sport for just fun but have to play it for real reasons in place.
Overall, the sports betting industry has changed from where it was 20 years ago. It used to be a fun event to watch the game but now it gives the fans a real reason to watch a niche game that doesn't matter to a game that means everything.
Jason Vent
ReplyDeleteBlog 6
Fantasy sports have quicky become a booming industry especially in the United States as more and more fans are trying to get involved with the games in any way that they can. “Fantasy is big business on its own, but it also has the potential to increase engagement in sporting events and increase engagement for sports news and content that helps fantasy players gain an edge over their opponents” (YouGov). Sports betting has taken a massive stranglehold on our generation and has become the talk of the college campus at points where people all over are winning and losing money simply by supporting the teams and the sports they love to watch. Sports betting and the rise of sports books popping up across the country are allowing the industry to grow at exponential rates alongside that of fantasy sports which both allow fans to feel closer to the game and the sports that they love than ever before by acting on their opinions and making their own decisions just like the players and teams that they are watching. With the younger generation shifting from watching full games to highlights and the attention on sports shifting to different mediums, it is important for league and teams alike to revolutionize the fan experience to maintain interest in sports in general. The sports betting industry brought in $1.2billion in 2021 and is converting a significant number of young sports fans into placing wagers on games and events (Silverman). Fans are shifting more towards fantasy and sports books to stay interactive without having to watch full games that only air once live like in past years while the development of sports viewing was still in its relatively early years. Highlight shows and short films are taking over the viewership, but fans are still tuning into live games to check their bets and manage their fantasy teams which both let them stay up to date and opinionated amongst their own communities. Both the fantasy and sports betting worlds have high growth potential as the revenues they bring in yearly are staggering and only have higher future projections with the growing engagement they are seeing in younger sports fans. “Though it is still an emerging industry, according to the American Gaming Association legal sports betting has already seen more than $17 billion in wagers and $1.2 billion in revenue — in just 14 states where sports betting is legal and data is available” (Nover). I personally believe that sports betting and fantasy sports are only just starting to gain traction and users and that both industries will continue to gain new users and thrive in the coming future. With the younger generations falling more and more out of viewing whole live sports games, these forms of entertainment create a fun atmosphere for fans to play alongside the games that they already love to watch while bringing in astonishing amounts of revenue. The interactive aspects that these industries provide are sure to gain the attention of coming generations.
F. (2022). Fantasy sports in the US: who is playing? – YouGov Sport. YouGov Sport. https://sport.yougov.com/fantasy-sports-in-the-us-who-is-playing/
Nover, S. (2020, January 29). Daily fantasy sports and sports betting have created an economy of their own. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/1/29/21112491/daily-fantasy-sports-betting-dfs-merch-analysis-weatherman
Silverman, A. (2022, February 7). 2021 Was a Banner Year for Sports Betting Participation. Morning Consult. https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/
Insight, Analytics. “The Popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports in America.” Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Insight, 18 Feb. 2022, https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-popularity-of-daily-fantasy-sports-in-america/.
ReplyDeleteSport, YouGov. “Fantasy Sports in the US: Who Is Playing?” YouGov Sport, 16 Mar. 2021, https://sport.yougov.com/fantasy-sports-in-the-us-who-is-playing/.
Witten, Romo to. “How Has Fantasy Football Affected the NFL Fan?” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 29 Sept. 2017, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/119950-how-has-fantasy-football-affected-the-nfl-fan.
Alex Donald
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports has changed sports drastically by betting money on games which can be both exciting and stressful depending if a person’s favorite team is either winning or losing. “Fantasy sports have become big business in recent years with many people across the United States playing for money. The sector has enjoyed a huge amount of growth with no signs of slowing as providers move into sportsbook betting while laws are relaxed across many states.” (YouGov Sport 2021). Fantasy sports and sports betting have been increasing since it was first invented and it affected people to watch more sports by betting on their favorite teams to win to create more suspense or intensity on the sports bettor, especially during a close game. In other words “Fantasy is big business on its own, but it also has the potential to increase engagement in sporting events and increase engagement for sports news and content that helps fantasy players gain an edge over their opponents.” (YouGov Sport 2021), and “Daily fantasy sports (DFS) is not just a game, but a genuine form of gambling from which you can earn money. Daily fantasy sports has grown into a multibillion-dollar business thanks to the advent of FanDuel and DraftKings. In the US, the two brands are the clear leaders in the DFS sector.” (Analytics Insight 2022). In my opinion, unlike watching sports, fantasy sports and sports betting didn’t really have that much effect in the media coverage part mainly because they only show how much money one person either betted, won, or lost.
The spread of legalizing fantasy sports and sports betting has helped impact sports leagues, teams, and fans drastically by making almost all of the states in the US eligible for sports betting in order to make more views, more money, and so on. It also helped other sports businesses to do well as well, for example, “In the latest headline-grabbing move spurred by the law changes, Irish-based Flutter plc increase its stake in the leading fantasy sports provider FanDuel to 95% through a US$4-billion acquisition of a further 37.2% of the business in December 2020.” (YouGov Sport 2021). When I think about legalized sports betting, I think of sites like Fanduel, Draftkings, and Caesars Sportsbook which have recently been legalized in states like Connecticut, New York, California, and Florida which made these sports betting platforms create more revenue. “FanDuel Group Inc. has emerged as the top business in this new market, nabbing a 42% share of U.S. sports wagers in June, up from 35% only two months earlier, according to estimates from research company Eilers & Krejcik Gaming LLC. It’s a meteoric rise for FanDuel, whose nearest competitor, DraftKings Inc., has a 23% share of the market. The two were neck and neck in the business of daily fantasy sports contests before FanDuel was acquired only a week after the court ruling by an Irish bookmaker in Dublin, now known as Flutter Entertainment Plc.” (Palmeri 2021).
Fantasy sports and sports betting will influence both sports media and culture significantly in the near future. But there are rules to fantasy sports and sports betting depending on which sport. For example, basketball “involves choosing an initial team of eight players. The points will be based on assists, rebounds, and scores for attacking players. For defense, blocks and steals earn the players points.” (Analytics Insight 2022), and football “if your players get multiple touch-downs they increase your points which increases your chances of winning.” (Analytics Insight 2022). However, sports are also addictive so people who have money issues shouldn’t be betting.
DeleteWork Cited
Analytics Insight. “THE POPULARITY OF DAILY FANTASY SPORTS IN AMERICA”. Feb 18, 2022. Visited Mar 8, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-popularity-of-daily-fantasy-sports-in-america/
YouGov Sport. “Fantasy sports in the US: who is playing?” Mar 16, 2021. Visited Mar 8, 2022. Retrieved from https://sport.yougov.com/fantasy-sports-in-the-us-who-is-playing/
Palmeri, Christopher. “FanDuel Parlays Fantasy Sports Into a $1.9 Billion Betting Boom”. Bloomberg Businessweek. Sept 21, 2021. Visited Mar 8, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-21/how-fanduel-gained-more-fantasy-sports-gamblers-than-draftkings-dkng
Dylan Sommer Part 1
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports and sports betting have forever changed the way/reasons people watch sports because there is money on the line. Since there is a financial aspect to fantasy sports, people will pay more attention to players from different teams. For instance, last year I had Russell Wilson in fantasy, so I would tune into Seahawks games to see if he was performing well. According to a Los Angeles Times article, it says “fantasy has changed the meaning of the game far beyond the traditional rooting interest shared by hometown fans, it rewards viewers for paying close attention from kick-off to the game’s final seconds” (Collins). As a result, lesser-known teams around the NFL still receive viewers across the country because of the fantasy implications. The sports media companies have caught onto the trend of sports and used it to their own advantage. NFL Network created programs such as NFL Fantasy Live and NFL Redzone, so they could gain more viewers who participated in fantasy. NFL Fantasy Live helps fantasy players with setting their starting lineup for the week while NFL Redzone flips back and forth to games where the team is about to score a touchdown. Moreover, during games, CBS, FOX, and NBC add a bar at the bottom of the screen that refers to the highest fantasy scorers for the day. Thus, fantasy sports are not only changing the viewing experience of sports, but it also is influencing sports channels to cater their content towards fantasy sports.
The spread of legalized sports betting is also making an impact on leagues, teams, and fans. Now that betting is more available across the country, more people are getting involved with it. In the Morning Consult article, it says “eighteen percent of U.S. adults ages 21 and older bet on sports at least once a month, which includes wagering online, at a brick-and-mortar sportsbook, with friends and family or as part of a daily or season-long fantasy contest” (Silverman). The 11 States that legalized sports betting has seen a huge jump in bettors. The sports betting industry has been targeting these respective states with advertisements and commercials constantly to encourage them to get involved in betting. With sports betting, fans can bet on almost anything. As shown in the Super Bowl, there are bets for the scores in each quarter, coin toss, winner, and even the Gatorade color. Recently, players have gotten involved in sports betting. Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley bet $1500 on certain NFL games. Ridley took the season off to focus on his mental health and bet on the Falcons while doing so. Since betting is not allowed from the athletes, he faced a year’s worth of suspension. Nonetheless, the leagues and teams are making a profit because more bettors lead to more viewers and more viewers lead to more money.
Dylan Sommer Part 2
ReplyDeleteOverall, the future of fantasy sports and sports betting is looking bright. Sports media outlets will continue to implement fantasy and sports betting into their weekly shows, social media, and even live sporting events. According to Analytics Insight, it says “most strategy games require players to interact and research, this means that players have to be social” (Analytics Insight). Since fantasy and sports betting are both strategic interactive experiences, it causes people to do more research on players and teams before the games begin. Plus, with an interactive live sporting experience coming soon, fantasy and betting will fit right into that experience. Therefore, sports media and culture are nearing an age where fantasy sports and sports betting are becoming more important than ever before.
Works Cited
Collins, Scott. “Fantasy Boosts Reality: NFL TV Ratings Hit a Record This Year Thanks in Part to Fantasy Football Leagues.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2010, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-19-la-et-1219-nfl-fantasy-20101219-story.html.
Silverman, Alex. “2021 Was a Banner Year for Sports Betting Participation.” Morning Consult, 7 Feb. 2022, https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/.
Insight, Analytics. “The Popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports in America.” Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Insight, 18 Feb. 2022, https://www.analyticsinsight.net/the-popularity-of-daily-fantasy-sports-in-america/.
Dalton Rice
ReplyDeleteFantasy sports have totally evolved the way people watch sports. I have always considered myself a diehard fan for the teams that I cheer for, but when it comes to the fantasy football season it is hard not to root for the teams that feature my fantasy roster. I know that I am not alone in this habit, the numbers speak for themselves. While it is a rough estimate, it is said that 17% of football fans play fantasy football (YouGov). I would expect that those estimates are very low considering the growth that fantasy football applications have seen over the past two seasons.
While commentators shy away from talking about fantasy sports or betting during their calls, media coverage has also significantly grown. One of the more popular sports podcasts over the last year was Fantasy Footballers, a twice a week podcast where you guessed it, hosts give out advice to their audience. After around 1,100 episodes being published, the fantasy football landscape has followed the growth of their audience vertically.
Legalized sports betting has also helped in growing fantasy sports as the two have plenty of similarities. Fantasy sports rely on a points system that rewards or penalizes players based on in-game events. Like this point system, sportsbooks also offer ways for users to bet on specific players statistics. In another survey, 25% of adults in the United States placed a bet at least once in the 2021 calendar year (Silverman).
I do not expect the mainstream coverage of sports to ever include betting as a part of their presentations given the stigma that sports betting and really any forms of gambling are dirty. The recent suspension of Calvin Ridley is very telling of the NFL’s zero tolerance policy of tarnishing the reputation of the game, which is somewhat ironic given the NFL’s partnerships with notable sportsbooks such as BetMGM (NFL). Sites like FanDuel and DraftKings which offer daily fantasy sports along with betting lines profit heavily off of football and the fantasy aspects of the game. Plenty of money will be made by the league and their partners, but players and users will always be at risk.
NFL.com. “NFL Announces Agreements with Four Approved Sportsbook Operators.” NFL.com, NFL, 30 Aug. 2021, https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-announces-agreements-with-four-approved-sportsbook-operators.
Silverman, Alex. “2021 Was a Banner Year for Sports Betting Participation.” Morning Consult, 7 Feb. 2022, https://morningconsult.com/2022/01/18/sports-betting-trends/.
YouGov. “Fantasy Sports in the US: Who Is Playing?” YouGov Sport, 16 Mar. 2021, https://sport.yougov.com/fantasy-sports-in-the-us-who-is-playing/.