According to a recent report by eMarketer, total revenues for US sports sites will reach $2.96 billion in 2012, up from $1.49 billion in 2007. eMarketer also predicts that ad revenues for these sites will go from $819 million in 2007 to $1.95 billion in 2012, an increase of 24%.
Bottom line: sports websites will continue to grow and there is an opportunity for teams, leagues, sponsors and brands to take advantage of this and make money. There is an opportunity to connect fans via sites that have social networking features, provided that this is done in the right way. In my opinion this means:
- targeting a specific or niche group of fans (unless you can somehow come up with a great way to attract general fans and make it interesting for them)
- providing something (besides social networking features) that is valuable and will attract fans to the site
- exclusive content, merchandise, stats, athlete blogs, etc.
Revenue and sponsorship opportunities are definitely there for sports sites and social networks that can build a good audience. Fans love buying team and player merchandise, so that is one way to generate revenue, besides the ad-supported model. Fans are also accustomed to seeing sponsors and brands in sports. Sponsors can even enhance the game experience for fans offline (e.g. Lexus providing free parking and VIP lounges for car owners at certain arena/stadiums) so why can't they do the same online.
Pat Coyle from the Indianapolis Colts has been talking about the rise of sponsorship online for a while now. Basically it boils down to the fact that while you may be able to reach X people at a stadium, a sponsor can reach 10x or 100x people online. For more of his thoughts about this topic, I suggest you read his post, "Look beyond the stadium to find MOST fans."
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any ideas relating to sports and social media feel free to contact me and let me know.
Have a great weekend!