Fantasy or Reality? The Effect of Playing Fantasy Football and Overall Viewership
- Brett Stephens
- Nov 22, 2024
- 9 min read
Introduction
In 2012, ESPN, the leader in worldwide sports coverage, created the “ESPN Fantasy Sports” app to be easily downloaded by consumers, who want to fulfill their gaming desires. Other organizations, like Yahoo, came later in the fantasy football gaming industry, releasing their app seven years ago. Yet, their representation in the minds of sports fans is unlike most fantasy leagues across the globe, providing fans with a unique experience and incentive to keep playing. These two organizations, alongside countless others, give their users a fun, addicting way to keep up with America’s biggest sport by viewership. According to ESPN News Services (2024), in the National Football League (NFL), they saw averages of “...17.9 million viewers in 2023, tied for the second highest since averages were first tracked in 1995.”
Americans are continuously more invested in football than other sports, which brings in the competitive nature of these fantasy sports apps, vying for the consumer's attention. Even beyond watching the Super Bowl, United States citizens are obsessed with football, as “[f]orty-one percent of U.S. adults say football is their favorite sport. Baseball and basketball essentially tie for second at 10% and 9%, respectively. Football has been the top sport in Gallup polling since 1972, when it eclipsed baseball” (Jones, 2024). It’s clear that people in America love spending their weekends (and the occasional weeknight) supporting their favorite NFL team by watching football on their television screens. However, there may be another factor that is influencing weekly viewership for football.
According to Statista (2022), two years ago, they discovered that “...29.2 million players in the United States participated in fantasy football, making it the most-played U.S. fantasy sport by a significant margin.” Fantasy companies have been eager to find new ways to promote their product, especially through advertising. For instance, two newcomers on the fantasy scene, DraftKings and FanDuel, have been fervently promoting their brand over the past decade. In 2015, “[b]oth companies [were] valued at more than $1 billion[,] [and] spent more than $27 million for about 8,000 television spots in the opening week of the N.F.L. season, according to data from iSpot.tv, which measures national TV ads” (Belson & Drape, 2015). These efforts have led to consistent growth in not just these fantasy football apps, but also a general increase in the number of Americans who watch football on television weekly.
Literature Review
Fantasy football has been around for several years, increasing in prominence in recent memory. With the addition of a fantasy football app, the access of being able to play negates numerous hurdles to the traditional setup of meeting in person. Before their adaption to the digital space, fantasy football “…drafts were done over the phone and fantasy experts were rare. Now, fantasy football shows are some of the most popular in sports media. ESPN has a three-hour show that airs every Sunday morning” (Gardner, 2023). Each league is different, but the general rules are that the user selects their team, creating a lineup each week. There is usually a draft, like the NFL draft, that players in a fantasy league choose football players at various positions on offense, including one pick for a team’s whole defense.
In apps, like ESPN Fantasy, “most of the work is already done for [the user]. [ESPN] rank[s] all the players [they] need to fill out [the] team, in the order [ESPN would] take them in, and [the software] also project[s] hundreds of players so [the user] can see how many fantasy points to expect. [The player] can even set [their] team to "Autodraft" if [one is] drafting online, and [ESPN will] pick [them] a competitive team [they] can feel good about” (ESPN Fantasy, 2024). There are also several features that mimic the thrill of being an NFL owner, including the ability to acquire players off the waiver list and propose trades to other teams in the league. To increase the number of times viewers pay attention to the screen, sports networks have slowly been incorporating new methods to drive audience engagement.
One of the pivotal ways they have been able to maintain this concern is by slowly introducing updates to specific fantasy football notifications. For instance, in these fantasy football leagues, people will choose their players that they want on their team. Based on their performance every week, the success of the athlete’s performance on the field determines the amount of points the user will receive; whoever has the most points in the user’s matchup earns the victory for that week. Some of the biggest corporations in sports, like CBS and ESPN, seem to have played into this concept largely, as “…55 percent of those surveyed [by the FSTA] say that they watch more sports on television because of their involvement in fantasy sports leagues, suggesting that fantasy sports and television broadcasts are complements…” (King & Nesbit, 2010).
Users of fantasy football apps see the accompaniment of playing the game while watching their “team” compete as a positive experience. In a study by ESPN’s Department of Integrated Media Research, “[t]heir research claims the standard sport viewer (ages 12-64) consumes more than seven hours of ESPN media per week. The fantasy sport user, on the other hand, consumes three times that amount: 22 hours and 40 minutes (Billings & Ruihley, 2013; ESPN, 2010)” (Pedersen, 2024). The NFL even mandated all teams to keep fans up to date with fantasy scores in stadiums, giving them a more connected experience with their hobbies. It even goes beyond just traditional media outlets, like television, as ESPN has seen a rise in all their social platforms that cater to the fantasy football user. An effective tool that sports broadcasting organizations have implemented to increase engagement for fantasy football users is the ticker. The ticker, which is an informational display at the bottom of the TV screen, can showcase various news, scores from around the sports world, and fantasy football updates. Because of this addition, ESPN and other sports groups have been able to provide “...fantasy-relevant statistics for many years, thanks in large part to industry professional[s] lobbying for the change” (Pedersen, 2024).
A major identity of sports fans that tie themselves to viewership and participating in fantasy football is the idea of loyalty. Just as one person can be loyal to the local team in where they live, fantasy football is a very close representation of that mindset towards a fantasy team; oftentimes, there is even more of a connection to the fantasy team than an actual team, since the user drafted the team, named the team, and sets up a new lineup every week. Some NFL fans believe they could be a better coach than the team they support, and fantasy football gives them the chance to do that. Overall, research has shown that “...concerns with seeing ‘who wins’ and how one’s ‘favorite does’ are among the strongest individual motivations for sports viewing. These tend to combine with the enjoyment that comes with experiencing the ‘drama and tension’ and the excitement of ‘rooting’ for a player or team to win” (Fortunato, 2011).
Besides loyalty, there is an overwhelming emotional response that comes to watching football on television, as many passionate individuals rally behind their favorite team’s success every week. Football is seen as a fun and intense sport to watch, making it an activity most Americans can connect with, regardless of prior knowledge of the game. These emotions, alongside many other feelings, can take a much larger presence in the life of a fantasy football player. Fantasy football is not just one-sided, as it can draw many manners from the average user. Players see this hobby as “...entertaining, engaging, competitive, and most importantly, a relatively simple game for connecting with family, friends, and co-workers. An additional draw of fantasy football is the perceived control over an unpredictable product, professional football” (Dwyer & Weiner, 2017).
On a side note, in many states where sports gambling is illegal, some organizations have significantly profited off “daily fantasy,” a way to bet on player performances throughout the week. Groups, like PrizePicks and Underdog, are catering to these emotions of football viewers and traditional fantasy players, offering an easy way to grab the attention of football fans, even minors. The industry of sports betting and sports gambling has always been extremely profitable; however, “...regulation associated with gambling activities is robust as the outcomes stemming from problem behavior and addiction are debilitating. A recent study of college students found that fantasy sport players were more likely to experience gambling-related problems than non-players (Martin et al. 2016, p. 575)” (Dwyer & Weiner, 2017).
This study will investigate the fantasy football user (ones on non-gambling apps) and give a better understanding as to how this area of gaming promotes an increase in viewership of football, specifically the NFL. The results of this study could potentially show sports broadcasting networks areas they could focus on in the life of a fantasy football user to encourage them to watch even more football on television. When looking at this study, some of the research questions that will be observed throughout are as follows:
What are the biggest characteristics of fantasy football players that organizations, like ESPN, take advantage of to drive audience engagement? What does the average fantasy football player look like, and what could that entail for fantasy football advertising on television? Does having fantasy football increase or decrease the amount of time one views a game on television?
Method
The most effective method for answering the research questions in this study would be to do an online survey. By using social media, we can send out surveys across platforms, like Instagram and X, to get a wide variety of responses from individuals who participate in fantasy football. These surveys would be no more than 10-15 minutes long, as it would hopefully drive engagement in those looking to participate in this study. Since this part of the study would be conducted on the Internet using social media, there would be no need to set up a physical location or doing in-person interactions. Alongside this, we believe this would be a relatively cheap study. Since finances are not a major issue with this research, we could potentially provide an incentive for people to participate in our study.
For instance, those who partake in the survey (and show proof of completion) could be entered into a giveaway to win one of five $20 gift cards. This would keep the budget low and entice individuals to consider helping this research. When thinking about specific questions to ask, it would be a good idea to get some basic information to see if there is a correlation on the physical attributes of fantasy players and how much they watch the NFL on TV. Some of these questions can include ethnicity, race, gender, age, and other inquiries into the user’s physical attributes. Other questions in this survey will include how often the user plays fantasy football, how many leagues is the player currently in, does the league have a buy-in, and more, in hopes to get a more well-rounded approach to this topic.
This survey can come with some major concerns in the polling stage, however. One of the big concerns is the sampling bias of the locations of the applicants. Some of the applicants may not have large ties to watching football consistently, particularly if they live in a state that does not have a home football team. Out of the 50 states in America, 28 states do not have an NFL team, since the league comprises 32 professional organizations. To ensure this bias is not prevalent, we will make sure that there is a balanced number of responses from all over the country.
Another concern with polling is making sure individuals know exactly what we are asking. For example, viewing habits may change based on the overall view of the fantasy football league. If there is a financial incentive, players might watch the NFL to see if their picks earn them money in their league, not from a genuine enjoyment of the sport. It may be hard to identify these people, but by being neutral in our questions, along with clarifying terms, we can eliminate most issues regarding confusion with the responses of the test takers.
The goal of this study is to determine any correlation between fantasy football users and their allegiance to watching the NFL. Fantasy football players are usually watching the NFL anyways, but there may be more than meets the eye when looking at their traits and habits.
The survey will create non bias responses that can help football fans see how their hobbies impact them more than just playing a game. Their actions while playing fantasy football may have a direct impact on their reasoning for supporting the NFL or watching several games weekly.
Calendar
Based on our polling methods, we believe this study will take no more than 2 weeks to fill out to curate enough responses in the data. The goal would be to have a polished case study and analysis before the end of March 2025.
Cost & Financial Support
As stated earlier, this method will be very cost effective and can be done without too much of a budget. Even included a proposed incentive of $100 for test takers, we believe that the overall study will cost no more than $200 total.
References
Billings, A. C., & Ruihley, B. J. (2013). Why We Watch, Why We Play: The Relationship
Between Fantasy Sport and Fanship Motivations. Mass Communication and Society,
16(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2011.635260
Drape, J., & Belson, K. (2015). An Ad Blitz for Fantasy Sports Games, but Some See Plain Old Gambling. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/sports/football/draftkings-fanduel-fantasy-sports-games.html
Dwyer, B., & Weiner, J. (2017). Daily Grind: A Comparison of Causality Orientations, Emotions, and Fantasy Sport Participation. Journal of Gambling Studies, 34(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-017-9684-4
ESPN Fantasy. (2024). How to play fantasy football in 2023: Beginners guide. ESPN.com.
ESPN News Services. (2024). NFL Regular Season Gets Top Viewership since ’15. ESPN.com. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39277615/nfl-averages-179m-viewers-2023-7-previous-year
Fortunato, J. A. (2011). The relationship of fantasy football participation with NFL television
ratings. Journal of Applied Sport Management Journal of Applied Sport Management, 3(1).
Gardner, S. (2023). Money. Power. Women. The driving forces behind fantasy football’s
skyrocketing popularity. USA Today.
Jones, J. M. (2024). Football Retains Dominant Position as Favorite U.S. Sport. Gallup.com.
Nesbit, T. M., & King, K. A. (2010). The Impact of Fantasy Sports on Television Viewership.
Journal of Media Economics, 23(1), 24–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/08997761003590721
Pedersen, P. M. (2024). Communication in Sport Management. Google Books.
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