According to Comscore, Raptive creators collectively pull in the tenth-largest audience on the internet for sports content. Tens of millions of readers consume sports content from Raptive creators every month, giving us unique insights into new trends.
While traffic to sports content predictably spikes around major events like championship games, we’re also seeing emerging themes around international and fantasy sports. Here are some notable sports trends to watch this year.
The creator perspective
We spoke with Raptive sports creators Michael Gursha, Brant Tedeschi, and David Bearman about how these trends tie into what they’re seeing with their businesses. Here’s what they told us.
On international sports
Michael Gursha
CEO, rookieroad.com
Digital media is one of the primary forces at play for driving increased global interest in sports. It is now easier than ever to be a sports fan and connect with your favorite teams and players. You can stream games and matches from anywhere and on any device.
2024 is going to be a big year for international sports growth. The rise of international competitions will create a need for high-quality educational content on the rules, players, and lingo for these sports.
We are seeing demand for our content in real time during live sporting events: in January, our darts rules content spiked during the World Darts Championship. And mark your calendars: the Cricket World Cup is coming to the US in June and the Summer Olympic Games will be in Paris in July.
On the evolution of fantasy sports
Brant Tedeschi
Founder, fantasysp.com
Fantasy Sports went from something ‘nerds’ used to do to a legitimate sport many years ago and has continued to gain in notoriety. It’s now everywhere. Not to mention, playing Fantasy Sports is difficult and is only getting more competitive over time, which means players are consuming more content, tools, and services that relate to fantasy sports.
The world has moved towards a 24/7 news cycle and the same can be said in the fantasy sports space. Fans expect more in-depth information at a faster pace, which is equal parts exciting and difficult.
We can tell when we hit a home run on editorial and the fans are gravitating towards what we wrote. They are more likely to stick with us for an entire season when we provide them with timely expert analysis on a wide range of topics they actually care about.
On fantasy sports’ integration with real-world sports
David Bearman
Chief Content Officer, profootballnetwork.com
The rise of dynasty leagues has helped increase interest in fantasy sports around the NFL Draft. More and more people are doing leagues that continue one year into the next, including new ‘rookie drafts’ that are directly impacted by where each player is drafted in that NFL Draft. As long as new year-long fantasy leagues continue to grow in popularity, fantasy content around the NFL Draft will continue to rise along with it.
When the federal ban on sports betting was lifted in 2018, you saw the rise in daily fantasy leagues in conjunction with player prop betting. You also see an increase in player prop parlay betting at sites like Prize Picks and Underdog, which has a direct impact on fantasy growth at the same sites. As the landscape grows, everything in fantasy will as well.
We’ll be back next month to look at what’s trending in the world of travel!
Brands and advertisers know the most direct path to their audiences is through the Raptive creator network! Contact us today to chat about how we can work together.
