Web 3.0 & Online Sports (Part 3)

Business Model

Most online sports sites earn money from advertisements, subscriptions, retailing of sports equipments and merchandising. They have also realized the need for convergence with other media and mobile network for better broadcast and more ad dollars.

The popularity of fantasy sports leagues has also drawn advertiser attention, as the fantasy games bring in between 15 and 18 million players each year. In 2006, marketers spent $150 million on branding and advertising deals with these online communities, and analysts are forecasting an exponential growth in the dollar flow to these sites.

Current advertisers on sports sites include Nike, Gatorade, Ford, AT&T, American Express and others with advertisements currently being shown through over 85 publishing partners.

CBS Corp.’s CSTV Networks Inc., has decided to sell access to CSTV XXL, the entire package of college sports across more than 100 schools for $14.95 a month or $99.95 a year.

According to eMarketer, US advertising revenues at sports sites will reach $1.1 billion in 2011, up from $407 million in 2006. As a percentage of overall sports advertising, the Internet’s share will double to 10% by 2011, up from 4.9% in 2006.

Active Athlete Media is a vertical advertising network that exclusively targets sports-related sites. It aids various brands and advertisers in reaching out to people who not only watch the game but also play it and are very passionate about it, thereby enabling precision targeting of the ads to a group of consumers who spend significant amounts of money on their passion.

(To Be Continued)

[Part 1]
[Part 2]

This segment is part 3 in the series : Web 3.0 & Online Sports
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