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Sports Apps and Mobile Betting Shops

Mobile Betting has become easier thanks to the many sports betting apps available now and therefore it can be accessed ‘with virtual anonymity by anyone, including student-athletes’ (Masteralexis, Barr & Hums 2011, p.180).

The impact sports apps and mobile betting shops is having on the sports industry is gambling companies have integrated themselves and, more broadly, the notion of having a bet, within the sport experience for consumers. Gambling companies have achieved this by putting millions into the sports industry, as then their company reaches sports fans and potential gamblers via sports broadcasters and streamers and with the sports product themselves.

Opportunities:

- If individuals place a bet on a sports match they are more likely to watch the sport, as shown in figure 1. Also, figure 1 describes that 68% male sports watchers 25-34 are much more likely to watch sports events on TV if they have placed a bet. This highlights, in fact, the influence of betting on a sports event does increase the likelihood of people watching sport on TV.  

Figure 1 (Duncan 2018)

In the US, sports gambling became legalised after the Supreme Court lifted its federal ban and this is a win-win for both parties as the NBA as discussed in video 1 will get a percentage of the money coming in and can use as they wish.

Video 1 (How does sports gambling legalization impact the NBA? 2018)

Sports apps and mobile betting shops also engages a wider audience. The sports industry receives millions in sponsorship from corporate bookmakers. Also, gambling companies gain new customers daily based on a rise of fans gambling on sporting contest with the hopes of winning.

Current Issues: 

Gambling problem severity, as individuals who place a sports bet are at a greater risk of experiencing gambling problems. Data from 2015 states ‘41% of all regular sports bettors – 234,000 adults – experienced one or more gambling-related problems’ as shown in table 1 (Armstrong and Carroll 2017). Table 1 shows that ‘around 23% of regular sports bettors – 134,000 adults – had moderate to severe gambling problems’ (Armstrong and Carroll 2017).

Challenges:

-      Gambling addiction especially among young males. Also, as sports gambling can be accessed by anyone than student-athletes can be used ‘as easy targets by organised crime or gambling units’ (Masteralexis, Barr & Hums 2011, p.180).

Furthermore, sports apps and mobile betting shops has impacted the sports industry hugely and will continue to do so in the future, as there are benefits but also more needs to be done to deal with the challenges its causing and current issues as discussed.

References:

Armstrong, A & Carroll, M 2017, Sports betting in Australia, viewed 16 October 2019, https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/sports-betting-australia

Duncan, S 2018, Does TV sports have a future? Bet on it, viewed 15 October 2019, https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/tv-sports-betting.html

How does sports gambling legalization impact the NBA? 2018, online video, post 15 May, created by ESPN, viewed 16 October 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axXyEJpZo2A

Masteralexis, L, Barr, C & Hums, M 2011, Principles and Practice of Sport Management, Jones & Bartlett Learning, viewed 14 October 2019, Google Books Database

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Journalism in the Digital Age: How Digital and Social Media Drives Media Narratives – Online Data Journalism

Online data journalism drives media narratives in the digital age of journalism and refers to telling stories with data. Figure 1 shows most dangerous jobs in America stating taxi drivers are more likely to die from homicide than from a transportation accident.

Figure 1 (Bloomberg via import.io 2015)

As video 1 discusses 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is produced rapidly daily (Tedx talks 2017). In data, many stories lie and that has altered our news cycle and explains why we see more of what is happening worldwide. Sources are enhanced and there is more, and they are more accessible. You no longer need to ask someone for data including death road toll, there is a chance it already exists and as a journalist if you can do this you have the potential to publish captivating stories that are of public interest.

Video 1 (How is data journalism changing the newsroom 2017)

Over the last few years, new job opportunities have been created due to new patterns and elements involved including ‘data journalism, computational journalism, news apps, and data visualization’ (Pedersen, Laucella, Edward & Guerin 2016, p.278).

Current Issues

-      In online data journalism ‘without the involvement of both developers and journalists, stories that involve data could fall short’ (Zanchelli & Crucianelli 2019, p.5). Mc Nelly Torres, co-founder and associate director of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting explains she faced some issues ‘when only developers generated and developed visualizations and databases’ (Zanchelli & Crucianelli 2019, p.5). Torres worked with a young developer at Sun Sentinel and observed this developer did not know what the readers wanted to learn, but how she could find it in the data.

-      Washington Post journalist, Serdar Tumgoren stated another issue ‘it’s important for reporters to collaborate closely with developers to help developers understand the context behind the data’ (Zanchelli & Crucianelli 2019, p.5). News organisations have already recognised ‘the need to cultivate talent that bridges the divide in skills’ (Zanchelli & Crucianelli 2019, p.5). However, its paramount in the future that industry recruit more reporters and developers to bridge the skills gap. Also, journalists need to complete data journalism training so they become ‘comfortable with basic data skills (spreadsheets, data analysis), even if it means hiring a strong reporter who is willing to use new tools over a journalist who is a stronger writer’ (Zanchelli & Crucianelli 2019, p.5).

Challenges

-      Time pressures are a major challenge for data journalists with researchers finding “49 percent of data stories are created in a day or less” (Ricchiari 2017).

-      Another huge challenge for data journalists is “data visualisation tools are not keeping up with the pace of innovation” and therefore utilize their own solutions such as in-house software (Ricchiari 2017).

Furthermore, data journalism is a new form of journalism and while it does help drive media narratives there are also issues and challenges associated with it.

References:

How is data journalism changing the newsroom 2017, online video, post 14 December, created by Tedx Talks, viewed 16 October 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJKIWxYEAZI

Import.io 2015, 8 fantastic examples of data journalism, viewed 14 October 2019, https://www.import.io/post/8-fantastic-examples-of-data-journalism/

Pedersen, P, Laucella, P, Kian, E & Guerin, A 2016, Strategic Sport Communication, 2E, Human Kinetics, viewed 15 October 2019, Google Books Database

Ricchiari, S 2017, Challenges and opportunities in data journalism, viewed 15 October 2019, https://ijnet.org/en/story/challenges-and-opportunities-data-journalism

Zanchelli, M & Crucianelli, S 2019, Integrating Data Journalism into Newsrooms, viewed 14 October 2019, International Center for Journalists

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Fantasy Sports & Gaming: New ways of engaging fans

Fantasy sports relates to a game where participants build imaginary teams made up of real-life players. The game is competed based on the statistical performance of the players selected. US participation in fantasy sports games has steadily increased every year from 2012 to 2017 according to figure 1. 

Figure 1 (Dodra 2019)

The impact fantasy sports and gaming: new ways of engaging fans is having on the sports industry is it adds interest in traditional sports with sports fan becoming more interested in the outcome of the game or games, as their player or players are involved. Therefore, it has increased number of people playing fantasy sports means a larger audience watching sport as they have a stake in the game similar to sports gambling. Also, sports that people were not interested in before, they become interested in because they play the fantasy sport. Individuals who play fantasy sports become fascinated with the statistics and they learn about the sport through the data. In 2010, Todd Nesbit and Kerry King looked at the impact of fantasy NFL on match attendance and data highlights fantasy NFL positively effects match attendance, “with fantasy players attending between 0.22 and 0.57 more games per season” (Ramanauskas 2019).

Opportunities

- Showing overlays during live sports coverage ‘in realtime how many points your fantasy players score’ as shown in figure 2. (Susnea 2018). Fan interest increases as they can make live substitutions and also can check how their friends fantasy team is going during the live match.

Figure 2 (Susnea 2018)

-       Ability for traditional sports to diversify products such as it increases interest in all games and increases the knowledge of sport

-       Also, fantasy sports has altered how media entities go about their business including ‘pregame shows feature analysts drafting their own teams and fantasy sports experts advising owners who “start or sit” for a given game’ (Billings, Butterworth and Turman 2017, p.280).

Current Issues

- The lack of regulation and legal clarity around daily fantasy sports, no mandatory consumer protection guidelines for operators to adhere to which leaves the industry vulnerable to unethical practices.

Challenges

-      Operators now face lies in the differentiation of daily fantasy sports from online casino games and lottery, that is, by maintaining outcomes happen significantly based on skill rather than by chance.

In closing, fantasy sports impacted the sports industry in a huge way as it engages fans in new ways such as increasing fans interests in all games and knowledge of the sport. However, with these opportunities current issues and challenges its causing also exists including lack of access, gambling law as and also a possible increase with gambling problems occurring.

References:

Billings, A, Butterworth, M and Turman, P 2017, Communication and Sport: Surveying the Field, SAGE, viewed 15 October 2019, Google Books Database

Dodra, L 2019, The Fantasy Sports Games phenomenon, viewed 15 October 2019, https://johancruyffinstitute.com/en/the-expert-corner-en/the-fantasy-games-phenomenon/

Ramanauskas, B 2019, The economics of fantasy football, viewed 14 October 2019, https://capx.co/the-economics-of-fantasy-football/

Susnea, O 2018, 3 ways to increase fan engagement during live sports, viewed 16 October 2019, https://fanarena.com/three-ways-to-increase-fan-engagement-during-live-sports-broadcasts/

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Digital Media and the Amplification of Globalised Sport

Digital media and the amplification of globalised sport and the way its consumed has grown considerably over the last decade. With this growth in digital content, it is clear, the opportunities are currently outweighing any of the current issues and challenges its causing. With the sports industry continuing to reach greater audiences, new job opportunities will be created and therefore media and content that is produced will continue to become more proficient.

Digital Media is impacting the sports industry as it has changed the way we consume sports content via podcasts, blogs and videos. According to data, “about 96% of Australians are active on social media” (Duncan 2019). Also, “60% of Australians use the internet more than five times a day and we own an average of 3.5 internet-enabled devices” (Duncan 2019). Brands are going to digital media to reach their target audiences, as average time spent on social media including Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter around 11 and 13 minutes.

Digital media benefits sporting clubs, fans and players as it provides them with a platform to ‘amplify their messages, discuss and interact with fans and listen to what they are saying in an ongoing way’ (Fenton 2018). With, digital media, sporting organisations can reach not just the locals but a global audience. For example, the image below highlights how Salford City FC a UK soccer club can now connect with fans globally via social media.

Figure 1 (Fenton 2018)

Traditional newspapers have adapted with their readership declining but website and app usage has risen. With the rise of digital media, new spaces are being created ‘for consumers to access news’ (Anderson, Williams & Ogola 2014, p.242).

Opportunities

-       Ability to create content faster and more efficiently

-       Media can now gain feedback from consumers thanks to the two-way communication stream that has opened up to media organisations

-       Creation of new jobs

-       An increase in salaries for those working in digital content

Current issues 

-       Decline in revenue as consumers switch to digital content

-       Advertising online becomes heavily saturated with supply

-       Traditional forms of media have declined steadily for over two decades due to the rapid rise in online and digital content consumption

Challenges

-       With consumers making a switch to digital content this has threatened the media, as they are viewed to people as untrustworthy. Therefore, trolls attack news sites based on fake news and the public start to not believe the media.

Furthermore, the new nature of digital content becoming popular globally for fans will continue to evolve and change. Opportunities, challenges and current issues has definitely influenced global markets and will continue in the future.

References:

Anderson, Williams & Ogola 2014, The Future of Quality News Journalism: A Cross-Continental Analysis, Routledge, viewed 14 October 2019, Google Books Database

Duncan, S 2019, ‘Digital Media’, Introduction: Digital Media and the Amplification of Globalised Sport, lecture, 31 July, BSM310 Digital Sports Media, Bachelor of Sports Media, Holmesglen

Fenton, A 2018, Social Media, Sports clubs & fan engagement (Part 1 of 5), viewed 16 October 2019, http://alexfenton.co.uk/sports-clubs-and-social-media/

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The Rise and Rise of Esports

Esports is a form of competition using video games. Most commonly, esports take the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. The rise of esports has shifted the entertainment and culture that captures a huge growing amount of people’s time and attention.

Esports has impacted the way we watch sports “through its use of social media” (Steele 2019). Most esports are broadcasted on platforms including Twitch or YouTube. Broadcasting esports via these sites, means more people can watch it live and free. As Twitch and YouTube are social media platforms this allows viewers to interact through chatrooms during live games.

Opportunities

-       New career opportunities ‘from eSports tournament organizers to eSport casters’ (Hiltscher, J & Scholz, T 2019, p.72).

-       Traditional sports stars saw esports value including Shaquille O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez and Jimmy Rollins are co-investors in NRG esports

-   Olympic sport in the future, because of the rise of digital athletes and real sporting teams merging with esports teams including Philadelphia 76ers partnering with Dignitas. Dignitas are now treated like an NBA team having access to same support staff as discussed in video 1.

- Also, 76ers ‘now sell ads in the virtual e-sports universe by offering sponsorship in the virtual arena’ including on court logos and a patch on their jerseys (Skinner, Smith & Swanson 2018, p.63).

Video 1 (Esports and the Rise of the Digital Athlete 2017)

Current Issues

- With the rise of esports and coverage, “it’s only a matter of time until mainstream media starts noticing how particularly violent” the games are (Mitchell 2015). For example, esports games such as Counter-Strike are rising in popularity and are made realistic on purpose. However there needs to be a fine line between violent video games and real-life violence as watch dogs are noticing the huge audiences in esports are mainly underage males.

-       Many pro players lack basic representation. Players will need agents and lawyer’s representation similar to traditional sports. If esports does not go down this path than we may see “contract turmoil farther down the line, when the player realizes what they actually agreed to” (Mitchell 2015). Therefore, this could cause a huge legal warfare, so its best players get legal representation early to prevent this.

Challenges

- The esports market size has also seen a growing number of online gaming platforms emerge.

- Figure 1 below shows esports viewership is challenging traditional sports, as ‘76% of Esports Enthusiasts’ state their esports viewing takes away hours they would spend watching traditional sports (Heuvel 2016).

Figure 1 (Heuvel 2016)

Furthermore, esports has become hugely popular in a short time and expect it to continue in many years despite the challenges and current issues it’s facing.

References:

Esports and the Rise of the Digital Athlete 2017, online video, created by Wall Street Journal, viewed 15 October 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10hmokye60

Heuvel, P 2016, US Male Millennials View as Much Esports as They Do Baseball or Hockey (Report), viewed 16 October 2019, https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/why-brands-and-esports-are-entering-esports/

Hiltscher, J & Scholz, T 2019, eSports Yearbook 2017/18, Books On Demand, viewed 14 October 2019, Google Books Database

Mitchell, F 2015, The Biggest Issues Facing Esports in 2016, viewed 12 October 2019, https://esportsobserver.com/the-biggest-issues-facing-esports-in-2016/

Skinner, J, Smith, A & Swanson, S 2018, Fostering Innovative Cultures in Sport: Leadership, Innovation and Change, Springer, viewed 14 October 2019, Google Books Database. 

Steele, B 2019, Esports Is Changing the Way We View the Sports Industry, for Better or Worse, viewed 14 October 2019, https://www.sportscasting.com/esports-is-changing-the-way-we-view-the-sports-industry-for-better-or-worse/