Why fan engagement practices are important in sports
                     WHY FAN ENGAGEMENT 
PRACTICES ARE 
IMPORTANT IN SPORTS?
https://datasportsgroup.com/
Can any sports survive without fans? They are the reason why some sports are 
extremely popular while others are not so much. Whether they are in the 
stadiums, on their sofas at home, or office, fans would be rooting for their team 
while they live stream the match. Fans are the reason why some teams play with 
so much passion and determination that they win against all odds. If you would 
remember during the pandemic, to give players the feel of playing in front of a 
live audience when mass gatherings was prohibited, cardboard cutouts were 
placed in the stadiums to motivate them. 
Well, you must be wondering why we are so enthusiastic about fans, the reason is 
we are going to look at how fan engagement technology has reinvented the 
future of sports. If we look at the history of Fan engagement in sports it can date 
back to ancient Greece, where only a few practices were there now technology 
has revolutionized the way teams engage with their fans. 
Entertainment and experience are given their due importance and more and 
more money is being poured in to come up with more ways to engage with 
the fans and generate revenue. Here are a few reasons why:
TV and its diminishing viewership 
The sports industry gets a sizable amount of revenue from media rights and a 
world where live game broadcasts are extremely important. But fans say this 
is not enough, the number of fans watching the games live has been steadily 
decreasing, and the 2018-19 Champions League football match had just 1.3 
billion viewers as opposed to two billion in the past. During the Champions 
League television audience faced a gradual fall of 35% in a single year. 
It is a fact because of so much advancement, fans have a number of options 
for entertainment, for many viewers television has lost its relevance and 
thus calls for innovations by organizations to ensure their survival. The way 
sports media consumption is done has undergone a significant change and 
companies need to evolve as well, a change is required in broadcast 
experience even the in-stadium experience. Digital transformation holds 
the key to fan engagement. 
Shorter attention span of the audience 
The sports media organization has to 
consider the audience’s behavior as well. 
Their attention span is declining and the 
fans base needs information quickly as 
well as it needs to be informative or they 
would likely switch. Many innovative ideas 
are already being employed by teams as 
they depend on augmented reality and 
artificial intelligence to engage their fans 
digitally. That is because AR and AI cater to 
shorter attention spans and improve the 
fan experience, through personalization, 
and gamification.
Sports Fans want to be entertained not just by sports
Well, the reality is sport is not about just sports anymore, the level of 
engagement needed to keep viewers on the app or website has undergone 
a massive increase. Sports fan engagement ultimately will boil down to 
money. A team if it engages with the fans regularly through a vast mode of 
communication it has at its disposal, would increase fan loyalty ultimately. 
Thus teams would have a better chance of selling out at every match or 
even improving sales of their merchandise. 
Gameplan Insights back in 2018 conducted a Sports Fan Engagement 
Marketing study and released some shocking results in their report. As per 
the research, 60% of sports fans will be willing to pay more from their 
pocket if it offers experiences with their favorite athletes or teams.
While we continuously talk about how sports fan 
engagement is the golden rule of the future in 
sports but what are the strategies that can 
maximize fan engagement?
Leverage technology to make better memories 
for fans 
Explore the benefits of personalized experiences 
with AI, AR, and all the technological 
advancements the world has made to elevate the 
experience of sports fans. A better understanding 
of fans' behaviors and motivators would play a 
crucial role in developing strategies that can 
target fans one-to-one. 
Elevating live experience 
When should you try engagement strategies? All season long would be a good 
answer but an expensive one, but if a specific time needs to be targeted, teams 
need to amp up their engagement strategies a few days before the match itself. 
From promotions, and deals, to exclusive content, inclusive VR experience and 
gaming would all count as good strategies to engage the fans. This would truly 
give the whole live experience to a level above which would motivate fans to 
join in the fun again and again. 
Social media connections and targeting 
The way teams and organizations connected with the fans during the pandemic 
has transformed the way of communication. From real-time video feeds of fans 
running on the big screen to having cut-out representation of fans on the seat 
became a real thing, teams, later on, allowed fans to even purchase the cutouts 
of not just themselves, but even of family members, friends, or their pets. All 
this drove the players as well who were playing in silent stadiums with no one 
to cheer them on. 
The entire sports industry has undergone a massive transformation in its 
approach towards fans, earlier with few competitions and distractions not a lot 
of effort was needed but with the coming of the digital era, to attract fans they 
need to think outside of the box to stay relevant.
To succeed now you would need access to online sports data to customize 
your fan engagement strategies and for that data, Data Sports Group is the 
best sports data provider in the market that can help you through the process. 
Contact the team to learn more about how fan engagement is the way forward!
CONTACT US
Emai [email protected]
Phone - +1 (704) 964-6859
Address - 2600 Kinmere Dr
City – Gastonia
State - North Carolina
PIN – 28056
Country - USA