Symptoms of Concern  Preoccupied  Irritable with mood swings  Regularly checking computer for information  Bringing a laptop into bed  Ignoring family and others COM546 students working on a paper? Actually, this may describe someone who plays fantasy sports

Fantasy Sports: The New American Pastime COM 546 Project Jody Chatalas Fall, 2007

Fantasy Sports Primer  15 million Americans play fantasy sports yearly  $2 billion annual economic impact  Fantasy sports franchise owners draft virtual teams of professional athletes  Teams win (or lose) based on the statistical performance of the players on the fantasy team  When a hobby such as this seeps into popular culture, it impacts media content and business decisions  Digital media technology helped increased the popularity of fantasy sports, and will also be at the forefront of its future

Evolution and Growth  Statistics a major aspect of sports… and fantasy sports  Simulation sports games: Strat-O-Matic and Statis Pro  Many sports enthusiasts played these table-top games in their youth, including baseball general managers  First fantasy football league: 1963 in Oakland  Grew by word of mouth through the ’70s  First fantasy baseball played: 1960s among Harvard professors and in a class (the Baseball Seminar)  Daniel Okrent writes article about Rotisserie Baseball  The Bill James Baseball Abstract becomes popular in part because fantasy players used his statistical analysis

Early Fantasy Sports Industry  Statistical services charged leagues to track stats Used databases to filter information. Previously stats were done by hand.  Books. Showed people how to play fantasy sports. Statistical books became very common-place.  Print publications. Fantasy Football Magazine in 1987 Conceived and created in this very building by UW students. Many others entered the market. Made money off ad and single copy sales.

The Internet Boom  The Internet helped make fantasy sports a full-blown craze Online technology made tracking statistics and accessing information much easier.  Online sites run leagues and stats for a fee  Websites offer fantasy content Some for free: rotoworld.com Some for a fee: basebalhq.com  Big media companies have online fantasy content & games ESPN Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News

Who Plays Fantasy Sports?  Typical Player 36-year-old white male College-educated homeowner Household income of over $60,000 Not much diversity… women make up around 6%  Miscellaneous information Spend average of $400/year on fantasy leagues and services Three hours per week managing fantasy teams 30 minutes per day thinking about fantasy sports Costs companies $195 million in lost productivity  These demographics very appealing to marketers

Why Do People Play?  Uses and Gratifications Theory has four main motivations. All of them apply to fantasy players Social Interaction… done with friends. Entertainment/Escapism… follow the sport, fun to win. Surveillance... accessing stats and information. Self-Identity… team becomes part of you.  Study of on-line fantasy players showed… Five types of players: casual, skilled, thrill-seekers, trash- talkers and formatives. Main motivations are arousal and surveillance. Social wasn’t shown to be a large factor.  Elements of gambling resonate, too… Similar in risking something of value on an undetermined event.

Present State of Fantasy Sports  Extremely popular, and growing each year.  Big media companies have embraced the hobby, and see opportunities for financial growth.  Mass media has played a major role in diffusion. It makes money off of fantasy sports, and publicizes it even more.  Lots of fantasy sports: Soccer, NASCAR, Golf, etc.

Some Links to Fantasy Sites     

Future State of Fantasy Sports  Continued growth. Also into other markets like politics, entertainment & fashion  More diversity and women (like NCAA pools)  Media will continue to search for ways to market to the segment if increasingly sophisticated ways  Legal issues and cases may play a role Are fantasy sports illegal gambling (online gambling)? Licensing issues (CDM vs. Major League Baseball) Who owns statistics, and gets to distribute them?  Major technological advances. Tivo with fantasy sports options. Home-entertainment networking. More fee for special services.