Top sports clubs are becoming more like media houses producing lots of content to fulfil and satisfy the craving of fans for information on players and team news. Developing exclusive content outside of match day is a challenge not to mention the issue of feeding the multiple channels that the average club now operates.
Chatbots, computer programmes designed to simulate intelligent human conversation, promise to play an increasingly influential role in driving content consumption amongst fans. The NBA showed what is possible with the introduction of a Facebook Messenger chatbot around the 2016 NBA Finals that helped fans locate historical NBA content featuring the two teams.
Fantasy sports has taken off in the USA and beyond with a number of technology companies offering fans the ability to play fantasy games from one match to the other.
The Fantasy Sports Trade Association claim that daily fantasy players consume on average 40% more sports content than non-players do.
While Fan Duel and Draft Kings have grabbed the headlines, new players such as Sportego are emerging. This Irish-based company is currently working with the SSE Airtricity League, West Bromwich Albion FC, Bury FC and a host of other clubs in this area.
eSports are likely to continue to be an attractive area for clubs (and sponsors) in terms of fan engagement. A number of professional football clubs such as Man City, Wolfsburg and West Ham have signed agreements with eSports players.
This is hardly surprising given that in 2014 eSports had 205 million global viewers and many analysts estimate the market to be worth between $460- $500 million.