There’s Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Crackle, Vudu, Hulu and several more lined up to take the attention of television audiences away. In addition, there’s the problem of too many TV shows and channels. There were 454 scripted television shows in the year 2016 – a reason why many of them failed to stand out.

Then there’s reality TV that competes with both the scripted television market as well as video streaming channels such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. And why are people still watching reality TV? According to a Statistica report, 26% Americans aged between 25 and 34 – the millennials – stated that they watched reality TV because they liked drama. This means there still a sort of drama the audience wants from the reality TV that other television fails to provide.

People still want reality TV

Statistica reported that TV viewers who typically watch reality talent shows in the U.S. are 36.6 million. The last season of American Idol (Season 15) had witnessed 10.96 million viewers while Big Brother UK’s 2016 edition had 6.02 million viewers. In Asia, the figures are way more whopping. The Voice India 2016 Finale was watched in over 180 countries reaching 500 million viewers.

But what’s reality TV missing?

A report published in MarketWatch stated that two out of three reality TV producers felt that the profit margins have fallen from 10% to 8% in 2016. Several factors have led to this situation but the one that stands out is this – declining viewership due to lack of interest.
Reality TV producers still haven’t switched to digital media or thought about engaging audience through digital platforms. Several reality TV shows are a decade old - American Idol, The Voice, The Bachelor, Keeping up with Kardeshians. The new ones are still making the same mistake. Reality TV has been failing to keep up with the changing audiences.
The existence of video streaming channels hint that if reality TV went digital, it can save itself from a premature doom. The fact remains that people are still looking for real-life drama as long as it relates to their own life and is easily available at all times.
Here’s where fantasy sports comes into the picture. Gamifying the existing reality shows and putting them up on a competitive gaming zone can resurrect the reality TV like never before. That’s because today’s audience are digitally savvy, love online games and are ready to pay for engaging fantasy sports based on their favourite teams. In case of reality TV, the teams would comprise stars and participants of the shows.

Fantasy sports players v/s Reality TV viewers

Reality TV should go where the audience are most spending their time - the internet. Most of the reality TV viewers are aged between 18 and 49 while those of the fantasy games are aged between 25 and 45. What’s common between these demographics? Both like competition, contests, winning awards and pursue ‘idols’ in either singers, housewives or sports players. The fantasy games fans possess deep knowledge of the sports, players and important world records while the reality TV viewers strive to have deeper knowledge of, say music, food, adventure etc and have a varied taste of various genres. Both these kinds of consumers want to keep in touch with their respective interests through merchandise, news and views, statistics and social media.

Benefits of fantasy sports to reality TV

If reality shows are converted into fantasy sports games, it can easily bring back the interest in the shows while keeping the audience engaged throughout the year. For instance, if the show The Bachelor has a three-month long season in a year, the audience engagement can be stretched through the entire year with the help of fantasy games built around it. Here are the advantages of creating fantasy games around reality TV shows.

# 1. Increase in viewership and popularity

Fantasy games platforms naturally imbibe the sports more deeply into the minds of viewers. Reality TV can create competition inspiring viewers to play against friends and acquaintances. They can rewards the viewers to motivate them to keep playing and sharing their achievements on social media. This most naturally adds to the popularity and viewership of reality shows.

#2. Brand/star recall value

A fantasy game built around a certain season of a reality show helps the stars to remain in the memory of viewers for a longer time. Reality stars get their gamified avatars that help them become individual brands in the minds of the viewers.

#3. Add-on revenues

Fantasy games on reality shows offer a variety of options for revenue generation. You can choose to offer certain paid levels of fantasy games. Moreover, you can earn from display ads, digital sponsorships on your fantasy games website. This platform may also be used for promoting and selling show-related merchandise and memorabilia.
Reality TV does have a great market as long as it is willing to evolve with the audience. We have suggested one tried and tested way to increase your viewership. We have a team that’s built fantasy games around mathematics, political parties and entertainment shows. We can help you create engaging fantasy games around your reality show quickly and successfully. Give us a call.