Published on June 14th, 2018 | by Guest

The Impact Of Social Media On Sports [Infographic]

Social media came many decades after sports. But, today, these two have formed a strong bond that is so difficult to ignore the impact the former has on the latter.

For starters, social media provide sports fans with an environment to talk about the sport they love. What’s more, the platforms are such that different fans from different parts of the world can bond without meeting each other.

They can share wins, losses, disappointments, and bits of their favorite players’ lives in and out of sports.

For instance, every day a soccer match is being played somewhere. Sites like Facebook and Twitter see a lot of sporting solidarity. The ones who attend the games live can also take videos and pictures to be shared on through the social media. When we get into Fantasy Sports, a phenomenon that, according to Bettingsites.me.uk, is also all the rage nowadays, we get an even larger total number of people who discuss sports through social networks on a daily basis.

However, the impact social media has on sports goes beyond championing fandom. It also plays a commercial role.

Here’s how. When games and matches are being played, fans who can’t watch the game live have an alternative. They don’t have to be in their homes and in front of TVs. With live streaming, they get to enjoy every second of the sporting action through smartphones and tablets.

Startups are increasingly taking advantage of the fans’ needs, and are now using social media to generate revenue. The starting point is their ability to provide new viewing opportunities for the fans.

Facebook, for example, partners with NFL to show about 10 games live on its platform. This initiative is priced at $10 million.

However, not all sports allow social media activity. Where the NFL and NBA utilize the media, Formula One doesn’t. In fact, it has strict laws that prevent live streaming or picture uploads of its races.

The betting sites are not left out. People can predict match scores and bet their money on it. They either lose or win. But social media promotes these sites and makes it easy to get involved.

Looking back on how far the partnership between these two activities have come, it is easy to see a stronger bond in the future. Of course, this will bloom as technology continues to advance.

In essence, social media will continue to change how sports fans, clubs, and stars interact as a community.