With just under two weeks to go until the aggressively-promoted official start of the 2010 National Football League (NFL) season, and with exactly one week until my own fantasy football league's draft in Las Vegas, these two converging forces prompted me to be contemplate exactly HOW ubiquitous fantasy sports has become over the past two decades, and more specifically, HOW extensively the fantasy football genre has grown in recent years. Simply stated, fantasy football is BOTH an integrated marketing and content development success story whose sports, societal, and cultural significance cannot be ignored or underrated. Having said that, let's look at this sports phenomenon more closely.
Frankly, ever-expanding interest in fantasy football, and the subsequent explosion in print, online, broadcast, and social media content over the past 10 years, can be attributed to the tremendous investments by media companies, and a host of smaller providers, to produce and distribue intelligent information, products, and online vehicles which cater to insightful, discerning participants clamoring for higher-quality information that can be consumerd across multiple technology platforms. If that sounds like a mouthful, you're right...it is...but it is absolutely true. And there would be no supply for any of these products without sufficient demand, of which there is plenty. Without question, fantasy football is not just big business; it's GINORMOUS business.
According to the latest estimates and consumer research from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), a professional organization formed in 1997 to serve as the authorized voice for and official advocate of the industry, there are approximately 30 million fantasy sports participants currently in the United States and Canada. More impressively, those individuals spend almost $4 billion annually on league registration and transaction fees, print and online magazine subscriptions, software applications, "insider" scounting reports, and other related products and services. Of those nearly 30 million individuals, approximately 85%, or about 23 million, play fantasy football, with total spending alone in the fantasy football arena estimated to be between $800 million and $1 billion each year. The numbers, which are staggering, represent a doubling of the market since 2005 which saw only 12 million fantasy football players enter leagues around the country.
According to the latest estimates and consumer research from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), a professional organization formed in 1997 to serve as the authorized voice for and official advocate of the industry, there are approximately 30 million fantasy sports participants currently in the United States and Canada. More impressively, those individuals spend almost $4 billion annually on league registration and transaction fees, print and online magazine subscriptions, software applications, "insider" scounting reports, and other related products and services. Of those nearly 30 million individuals, approximately 85%, or about 23 million, play fantasy football, with total spending alone in the fantasy football arena estimated to be between $800 million and $1 billion each year. The numbers, which are staggering, represent a doubling of the market since 2005 which saw only 12 million fantasy football players enter leagues around the country.
Beyond the sheer size of this audience and its impressive annual purchasing power, the real catalyst behind fantasy football's growth, and the vast amount of marketing dollars invested in the category, is its highly-desirable consumer demographics. As outlined by both the FTSA and The Fantasy Football Times, a popular Web site offering player news and analysis, consider the following consumer behavior statistics:
~ The typical participant spends a minimum of $200 per year on fantasy football.
~ On average, fantasy football players devote at least 30 minutes per day, and 3-4 hours per week, managing their teams. Somes estimated claim the weekly total is much as nine hours.
~ The core age group is 12-48, with 25-34 containing the greatest number of players.
~ Average fantasy football players' household income from $60-100,000 per year.
~ Gender breakdown: 93% male, although the number of females is growing.
~ Ethnicity: 91% white.
~ Age: 13% are teenagers.
~ Education: 70% have a bachelor's degree or higher.
~ Football Fanatics: 50% claim to be diehard football fans.
What does all this mean? The profile of fantasy football players represents a group that has been historically, and notoriously, been a very difficult one to reach. As a result, high-profile consumer brands such as General Motors, SprintNextel, Verizon, Goodyear, and Papa John's are dumping millions of dollars into advertising, promotional, and social media support for fantasy football products such as TV shows, scouting magazines, Web sites, and online games. The attraction is best summed by Chris Russo, senior vice president of new media and publishing for the NFL, in this great piece from 2005 in USA Today: "It's the most attentive audience that you're going to get. These people aren't just spending five minutes on the Web site. They're going on the Web site and spending an hour and a half."
And the marketing implications for fantasy football now go much further, especially with the explosion of social media platforms and their usage by consumers. In a MediaPost op-ed which generated a ton of attention just prior to the start of last year's NFL season, Catalyst President and Managing Director Cory Treffiletti wrote:
~ The typical participant spends a minimum of $200 per year on fantasy football.
~ On average, fantasy football players devote at least 30 minutes per day, and 3-4 hours per week, managing their teams. Somes estimated claim the weekly total is much as nine hours.
~ The core age group is 12-48, with 25-34 containing the greatest number of players.
~ Average fantasy football players' household income from $60-100,000 per year.
~ Gender breakdown: 93% male, although the number of females is growing.
~ Ethnicity: 91% white.
~ Age: 13% are teenagers.
~ Education: 70% have a bachelor's degree or higher.
~ Football Fanatics: 50% claim to be diehard football fans.
What does all this mean? The profile of fantasy football players represents a group that has been historically, and notoriously, been a very difficult one to reach. As a result, high-profile consumer brands such as General Motors, SprintNextel, Verizon, Goodyear, and Papa John's are dumping millions of dollars into advertising, promotional, and social media support for fantasy football products such as TV shows, scouting magazines, Web sites, and online games. The attraction is best summed by Chris Russo, senior vice president of new media and publishing for the NFL, in this great piece from 2005 in USA Today: "It's the most attentive audience that you're going to get. These people aren't just spending five minutes on the Web site. They're going on the Web site and spending an hour and a half."
And the marketing implications for fantasy football now go much further, especially with the explosion of social media platforms and their usage by consumers. In a MediaPost op-ed which generated a ton of attention just prior to the start of last year's NFL season, Catalyst President and Managing Director Cory Treffiletti wrote:
Without a doubt, fantasy football is the most perfect example of integrated marketing in existence today. It marries the best of online marketing and social media with real-world events and that most basic of human traits: pure, unbridled competitiveness.
While marketers and sports sites are thrilled with fantasy football players' dedication to the category, other businesses — where the fantasy players work — may be less happy. Almost two-thirds of fantasy football players say they check their fantasy teams online during work, FSTA says. According to new estimates from outplacement company Challenger Gray & Christmas, it costs companies nationwide over $250 million for every 10 minutes of the workday that employees spend on fantasy football.
Finally, if you ever wondered how the magical world of fantasy sports got its start, I highly recommend viewing ESPN's documentary on the genre, entitled "Silly Little Game, which innovative filmmakers Adam Kurland and Lucas Jansen developed for the network's critically-acclaimed "30 For 30" series. You can also view this well-reviewed installment of the series below:
Finally, if you ever wondered how the magical world of fantasy sports got its start, I highly recommend viewing ESPN's documentary on the genre, entitled "Silly Little Game, which innovative filmmakers Adam Kurland and Lucas Jansen developed for the network's critically-acclaimed "30 For 30" series. You can also view this well-reviewed installment of the series below:
Oh, and more thing: please wish me luck next week at my draft in Vegas. I am drafting eighth out of 14 teams, which is not a very strong draft position. I'll need all the help I can get!
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