OP-ED: Is NFL Fantasy Football the next big commercial phenomenon?

The Showpiece event of the NFL, The Super Bowl, is often advertised as one of the great sports and entertainment events of the year, partly by the Super Bowl half -time show. This interface of passion points is often pointed out to promote international growth in the NFL, which certainly does, but could fantasy football also attach it?

The NFL Fantasy Football backed its roots into the 1960s when a group of people who were connected to the Oakland Raiders competed against each other by draft real NFL players. This fundamental underpinning of the game today remains a multi-billion dollar industry and a large income driver for the NFL, with millions of fans gather in pubs, sports bars and practically in fantasy football designs at the beginning of every NFL season.

But what has fantasy football done to the place where it is today, where it is inherent in the fan experience of those who follow the NFL?

The technology has undoubtedly played a crucial role that enables fans to play all over the world and to stay in every NFL game week throughout the season with a community of fans and friends. The mobile experience naturally means that fantasy is something that fans come back to week after week.

Broadcast programming was at least partially developed to satisfy Fantasy football players' prices in the form of NFL Redzone, also led to an increase in commitment. NFL Redzone contains important moments of all games throughout the league. Instead of following your favorite team, NFL Fantasy players have a committed program with which you can track important moments throughout the league that affect your fantasy team.

The increase in participation in the NFL fantasy undoubtedly had a positive effect on the television audience and the resulting right of law for round -funnies around the world. The current TV package, which was carried out by 2033, recorded an increase of 80% compared to the previous cycle, which reflected the general popularity of the NFL.

The format of the NFL Fantasy football itself, in which the players come together against other opponents of the league, holds the players back in contrast to other fantasy games, in which the players tend to set their team and leave it for the entire season. This has led to a larger part of the NFL fans who deal with fantasy soccer leagues than other American sports (12.7% NFL fans, 8.5% basketball fans and 8% baseball fans via GWI Sport).

The impact on the international audience

The NFL has recently announced additional regular seasonal games in Ireland and Australia, which signal the continued commitment to further growth in the league outside the USA. Next season, the NFL will play seven games internationally, including games in London, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Madrid and Dublin.

Fantasy Football undoubtedly contributes to the growth of the NFL internation by increasing interest in teams and players, in which there is no natural local interest that deepens commitment and soccer becomes more accessible to more fans.

Compared to 10 years, online discussions about the NFL Fantasy football have increased by 43% because the globalization of sport has taken up speed (source: Brandwatch).

The commercial effects of fantasy football

With this growth of popularity in fantasy football, a wider commercial ecosystem grew around it. For some fans, the data and analysis elements of the game have a parallel interest in betting brands that seduce an existing audience onto the platform. Now buy advertisers inventory within the game itself, including several betting companies such as Draft Kings and 888sport. Data providers, analysis platforms as well as commercial and design generators also benefit from the broader commercial opportunities. In some cases, fans require a subscription price to increase their probability of success in their leagues.

The advertising revenues for radio organizers were positively influenced by the increase in the audience, which is powered by fantasy football. So much that some brands create TV ads that are specifically related to the game.

The future of fantasy football

If we look into the future of fantasy football, there is a lot of scope for the technology to continue to supply the growth of the game for the fans with electricity. The demand for personalized and tailor -made content will only grow for NFL Fantasy football players and the brands that want to get in touch with them. The NFL Fantasy audience is 41% more common than the general population that is committed to brands if they have access to exclusive services.

AI in particular has the ability to propose the fan experience through the provision of tailor -made real -time statistics, predictions of the player performance, the automatic adjustment of lists and the proactive suggestions of trades and leisure collection in a way that is much deeper than suggests existing platforms

Since tailor -made broadcast feeds become a reality, fans can have the opportunity in the near future that fans may be able to tailor -made programs to measure or highlight packages that reflect their fantasy teams.

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