It’s that time of year again; reigning champs are shining their trophies as bragging rights are rolling off their tongues like sweet southern molasses. Meanwhile, the rest of the league is scouting players and synonymously praying to the fantasy gods for first overall pick in the draft. Trash talk is in the air and the edge of the couch hasn’t seen this much action since last year’s draft.
Finally, it’s fantasy football season! We’ve been waiting for this moment since last season’s late departure from the playoffs, eh hem, for some of us anyway.
While fantasy football is just an extension of the real-world game, it has become an experience all its own. Not only are companies taking notice, they are starting to cater to and create content for fantasy fans everywhere.
Fantasy football has put up consistent numbers on a Peyton Manning level, which is exactly why everyone is willing to invest money on technology that drives America’s favorite new game.
A Major Network Game
It was my rookie fantasy season and as the commissioner, I had to decide which major fantasy football site I wanted to use. Where better to go than straight to the source?
Already in week 3, I named my NFL.com league Late But Great. The fact that I could create a league in the middle of the season seemed impressive to me.
At the time, every feature, process, and scoring option was new to me. A few years later, I had become a seasoned vet, learning to tweak my lineups and hawk the waiver wire.
Like the players themselves, companies have come into their own when it comes to fantasy football. Season after season, the big four – NFL Fantasy, ESPN Fantasy Football, CBS Sports Fantasy Football, and Yahoo Fantasy – have tweaked their tech to keep players coming back.
For instance, NFL, CBS, and Yahoo are all promoting their upgraded “draft anywhere” feature. With the mobile trend exploding faster than Adrian Peterson from a broken tackle, drafting anywhere is easier than ever. And if you take a second to look around the next time you’re on the subway, in a restaurant, or stuck in traffic, maybe that man or woman on their cellphone is drafting their fantasy team. No, I don’t promote live drafting while sitting in traffic.
However, I do promote experimenting with new scoring stat categories. Yahoo Fantasy is promoting its new “first down scoring category”, which has the ability to make or break a close game.
But what every major fantasy site is pushing this year is information. New apps keep players refreshed, but information is the key to success in fantasy football. From match-ups and bye weeks, to injuries and best available free agents, there is no shortage of information.
Yahoo Fantasy has even taken information delivery to the next level. “The Fearless Forecast” will deliver player highlights directly to fantasy players based on their lineups.
As you can see, fantasy football has become so big that “the big four” have decided to invest time and money into their fantasy offerings. More video analysis, faster injury updates, instant scoring; this is all a very real part of the business behind the game.
The more sites like NFL.com/fantasy promote their fantasy experience, the better chances they have of gaining web traffic. And it today’s net-driven world, web traffic can mean ad revenue. And while the internet may be the main driving force behind the fantasy football trend, we’re beginning to see the trend expand to television.
No Longer the Typical Pre-game Football Show
It used to be that you turned on NBC around two hours before kickoff and caught up on all the late football news. These pre-game shows were often used by fans to ensure their favorite team had a chance in Sunday’s game.
However, we are now seeing a change in pre-game content. Of course fans still tune-in for expert analysis, but most of it is less for their favorite team and more for their fantasy team.
Fantasy “segments” have now become full half-hour or hour long shows. This has a direct correlation to the growth of fantasy football.
Take the new NBC and Yahoo partnership for example. What started as a Yahoo Sports Sunday morning Fantasy Football Live program has grown into something more. Not only can fans catch late fantasy news on Sunday mornings, the partnership has expanded to air Fantasy Football Live Tuesday through Thursday as well.
Tuesday shows will include great waiver wire pickups, Wednesday’s show will put emphasis on weekly player rankings and matchups, while Thursday will put emphasis on that night’s game. There is nothing better than going into the fantasy weekend with a strong performance during Thursday Night Football.
And because of this solid partnership, the programming will now be available across a wide range of partner networks. Rick Cordella – Senior Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group – explains:
“We’re thrilled to expand our comprehensive fantasy football coverage through our partnership with Yahoo Sports. With wide-ranging fantasy football content across NBCSN, NBCSports.com, Rotoworld.com, and Yahoo Sports, fans will have more information than ever before to earn coveted bragging rights within their fantasy leagues.”
Is Fantasy Football Going to Take Over the World?
Perhaps. Not only have fantasy segments turned into full fantasy shows, but business is being influenced by its success.
Did you know that you can now buy insurance for fantasy football players? That’s right, fantasy insurance. It’s actually pretty simple too. Only certain players are eligible. But say you paid $200 to be part of a league and you drafted Calvin Johnson. You can pay a percentage of that fee (maybe $10) to insure Johnson for the season. If he gets hurt and misses the season, you then get your $200 back.
It sounds simple because it is. The point is, this is a business created because of fantasy football’s popularity. Other businesses, such as the NFL, are adjusting to better accommodate fantasy footballers.
It’s no secret that NFL ticket sales have been down the past few years. Part of this can be attributed to HD TVs and ticket prices. But it’s probably safe to say that perhaps fantasy football has also had an influence on the game’s ticket decline.
Think about it. Watching football at home allows a fantasy player to switch between games, track stats on the internet, and utilize the second screen experience. You don’t necessarily get that at a live game.
But that may be changing. Like any good business, the NFL and the teams themselves are pushing to take advantage of the situation.
Teams with slightly outdated stadiums are upgrading their venues to include solid WiFi networks. This works out in favor of the league because fans at the game can easily track their fantasy games.
Taking this one step further, teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars are creating “fantasy lounges” within the stadium. This allows fans to track multiple games and connect to high-speed WiFi from the comfort of a recliner. Chances are most other games being tracked are more entertaining to watch than the Jags anyway (uh-oh!).
On the other hand, teams that have new stadiums in the works (I’m looking at you Atlanta) are implementing fantasy football straight into their blueprints. The new Atlanta stadium – set to open in 2017 – is rumored to have a fantasy lounge as well.
Looking back to Yahoo!, the company is looking forward to being the official sports content provider of the San Francisco 49er’s new stadium, which opens next season. And this goes without mention: Levi’s Stadium will include a fantasy lounge of its own.
Whether or not WiFi and fantasy lounges are enough to reverse the decline in ticket sales remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure: It’s a step in the right direction.
The State of the Union
Brian Rolapp, who oversees NFL Network, NFL.com, and the league’s other media holdings – may have said it best:
“Changes in technology scare a lot of incumbents, but consumption is going up, and the pie is getting bigger. I don’t know if there is a normal way to watch the game.”
Fantasy football has dramatically changed the landscape of the sport. Everything from how we watch the game to why we watch the game has been altered. Businesses surrounding the sport have even had to adjust.
The fact is, fantasy may be providing football with an opportunity. It’s a new way to experience the game, whether fans are at home or at the stadium.
Once again, it’s fantasy football season. So let’s embrace the trend and use technology to our advantage. Let’s live draft our teams from the subway, from the office (on lunch break of course), or even from Arrowhead Stadium (this is now a possibility).
Let’s watch pre-game shows not just for our favorite teams, but for information on our fantasy players! Let’s choose which site will host our fantasy league this year (you can’t go wrong with any one of “the big four”).
I say, let’s watch some football.