A Whole New Ball Game: How To Get Your Sports Fix During The Pandemic

All over the world, sports events have been canceled and stadiums shuttered. The sports industry is, like many industries, experiencing a generational challenge and they seem ill-equipped to address it.

With leading athletes like Ronaldo taking a pay cut and Premier League champions-elect Liverpool putting non-paying staff on furlough, it is clear that even a sport that brags the top three highest-paid athletes, isn’t impervious when live games stop for just a couple of months. Even the mighty Barcelona, who generated record revenue of almost a billion dollars in 2019, implemented pay cuts of 70%.

Deloitte Logo

In a 2018 whitepaper, “A Whole New Ball Game: Navigating Digital Transformation in the Sports Industry”, Deloitte foresaw the need for change in an industry struggling to adapt to the pace of technical change:

“Sports organizations need to strategically leverage digital media to build direct connections with fans. “Doing digital” is not enough: they will have to embed digital in every aspect of the business, transforming people, processes, and technology.”

They added: “Sports organizations need to strategically leverage digital media to build direct connections with fans.”

As reported by Variety:

“The shutdown leaves inevitable gaps in programming — and sports fans looking to scratch that competitive itch has lost their favorite pastimes as they spend weeks self-isolating.”

Follr provides some relief. With content from almost a hundred online properties, fans have access to hours of varied and current video and podcasts, from leading sports sources and popular fan-based channels. There is also some great content on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.

To download the entire Deloitte report, click here. And make sure to also log into follr.com, find your official supporter club and get comfortable. There’s lots to see.

Follr Achieves Record First Quarter New User Growth

– This is the ninth consecutive quarter of record growth for the company

– The growth is attributed, in part, to COVID-19 and sports fans continued migration online to consume and create sports content.

Wappingers Falls, NY (Thursday, April 9th, 2020) Follr, Inc., a sports and fan-based SaaS (Software as a Service) company, today announced record new user growth for the ninth consecutive quarter.

1
Numbers, when compared to 2019, showed:

  • January total new users increased by more than 82%
  • February total new users increased by more than 85%
  • Quarterly total new users increased by more than 56%
  • February saw the highest single month number of new user registrations in the companies history.

Part of the growth is attributed to the Coronavirus pandemic. With sports events canceled globally, fans are increasingly going online to watch and read sports content which has driven increased usage of the Follr platform.

Follr founder, Stephen Fells states: “In providing a single solution that connects fans and sports properties by aggregating an enormous amount of content, we open up new revenue opportunities for the industry,” adding “This is clearly needed, evidenced by leading clubs like Barcelona, Juventus and Liverpool cutting player and staff wages to bridge this unexpected financial gap.”

The Follr platform provides highly customizable Websites enabling sports fans and official supporters clubs to create a community centered on a team, sport, person or shared interest and passion. Follr additionally provides franchises, brands, media companies and organizations in the sports and entertainment industries with a broad suite of services that improve fan engagement, protect brand and increase revenues.

As identified by Deloitte in their white paper, ‘A Whole New Ball Game. Navigating Digital Change in the Sports Industry‘;

“Technology is playing a larger role than ever in the lives of fans, opening the way for sports organizations to create new, innovative customer experiences.”

They add:

“Doing digital” is not enough: [sports organizations] will have to embed digital in every aspect of the business, transforming people, processes, and technology. Sports organizations need to strategically leverage digital media to build direct connections with fans”

New Sports Content

Follr community Websites now have access to over 100,000 sport related videos with content from the most heavily trafficked channels on YouTube and fan Podcasts. To see a list of all content partners click here. In the first quarter, Follr added new content sources including videos from:

And podcasts from:

Follr continues to add teams and leagues with sport-specific content added daily.

Focusing on sports, primarily soccer, and providing highly customized Websites for official supporters clubs detailing meeting points and serving as the richest single source of information about one team online, each community Website aggregates real-time social media content and includes:

  • Marketing and communication tools
  • Ecommerce services
  • The ability to automate content sharing
  • An extensive event management feature set
  • Aggregated real-time content from multiple online sources
  • Discussion groups

Follr Global, a white label version of the platform, is also available to brands and sports franchises providing a multi-layered account management tool that:

  • Protects their brand
  • Ensures ownership of fan data
  • Enables supporters clubs to reach a broader market and fan-base
  • Increases exposure and reach of marketing content and media
  • Makes administration and communication easier
  • Collects detailed fan demographics
  • Accesses currently latent revenue through paid subscriptions/membership options

About Follr, Inc.:

Follr, Inc. (www.follr.com) is a software company founded in 2011 located in California and New York. Follr is a SaaS platform centered on products that “Reinvent the Fan Experience”.

Follr Communities provide vibrant, social groups to engage fans around a franchise, brand, individual, team or organization.

Follr Profile Websites allow individuals, companies and brands to tell a story using a combination of personal or corporate information and real-time social media content. They are personally branded Websites used as an initial point of contact and represent an aggregation of all online and offline information. Accessed by an enduring, easy to remember URL they represent a more complete picture and story in an increasingly digital world.

The Follr network provides users with the ability to create, find and join Follr Communities, connect with like-minded fans and see content from other members.

Follr is funded through Blossom Ventures. For more information see the company Website, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Contact:

Follr, Inc.
(888) 201-5160
info@follr.com