How Fantasy Sports Is Changing NBA & NFL Fans In 2017

When it comes to professional sports in North America, the NBA (National Basketball Association) and the NFL (National Football League) are two of the biggest and highest grossing sports leagues on the continent. Both leagues are watched and followed by Americans and Canadians religiously and their players are multi-million dollar superstar brands. Most of the overall populations in these countries spend money, time and energy following their favorite teams and athletes and both sports have become integral parts of our culture. Fantasy Sports is a growing trend in both countries and today is played by over 21% of Americans and 19% of Canadians. Betting sites statistics on this growing sports phenomenon shows over 59.3 million total FS players in both countries that account for a huge industry, generating billions of dollars and responsible for a spike in sports viewing, sports information and the bulk of merchandise and ticket sales. Here is how FS is changing both NFL and NBA fans in the modern marketplace.

Driving TV Viewership

 

It is no secret that due to increased on-demand streaming services, like Netflix or Apple TV, conventional TV viewership is down across the board. FS, however, is creating a need and driving increased live and out-of-market sports viewership in a sector that needed the breath of fresh air. For example, in 2014, to keep up with FS demands, the NFL signed a $1.5 billion contract with DirecTV to show out-of-market games due to fan demand. Additionally, 64% of FS players are watching more live sports because of their FS playing habits and 24% say they would cancel their premium TV subscriptions if they weren’t playing. Fantasy sports are single-handedly saving viewership and rating numbers, and its adopters and players are even increasing their personal viewing time. Sports leagues are winning big from selling FS players more premium-viewing products and so are the major sports networks, including ESPN and CBS, who have both added FS sports-centered programming to keep up with demand. 

 

 

Considering that 61% of FS players say they read more about sports because of FS and 50% of FS players are spending over 10 hours a week researching players and stats, the informational demand from FS in phenomenal on the industry. ESPN’s website traffic is estimated to be driven 17% by FS participants alone, accounting for over 15.3 million unique visitors to their site. FS players are one of the most sports information-hungry segments of the marketplace and many magazine, newspapers, and sports news shows have begun catering directly to this huge, growing sector of super-fans. 

 

With the NFL and NBA seasons underway, the trends are growing as more FS players try their hand at managing fantasy teams, and the TV and informational demands alone are turning huge revenues for the industry. With fans more engaged than ever and feeling like they have a true stake in the outcome and performance of their favorite players, FS sports is changing the modern day sports fan from a casual follower to a detail & statistic hungry FS manager, and this what is driving the entire industry in 2017.