Fantasy football (association)
Fantasy football (less commonly referred to as fantasy association football worldwide but known as fantasy soccer in the United States) is a game in which participants assemble an imaginary team of real life footballers and score points based on those players' actual statistical performance or their perceived contribution on the field of play. Usually players are selected from one specific division in a particular country, although there are many variations. The original game was created in England by Bernie Donnelly on Saturday 14 August 1971 and is still going strong 45 years later. Fantasy football has evolved in recent years from a simple recreational activity into a significant business due to exposure via the internet.
Fantasy football (American)
One of the largest sources of revenue in fantasy football is ad revenue. Driven mostly by sports sites, revenue generated by ads on fantasy football programming is estimated at $2 to $5 billion annually. Ad rates vary greatly, and many content providers aren’t willing to give specific details on what they charge, but sites can charge an estimated $2–$10 per thousand page views. The advertising revenue can be especially lucrative because fantasy team managers are such heavy internet users. They create, on average, 4 times more page views than those that don’t play fantasy sports. Advertising isn’t limited to just sports sites and television. Demand for fantasy football information has spread to mobile applications, which carry banner ads at the bottom or top of each screen.