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If American Idol had a fantasy game built around it

Team Vinfotech built a strong use-case of fantasy games based on American Idol. Find out how America’s most hyped show can re-build its viewership.

At its peak, which was Season 6, American Idol’s premiere episode had witnessed 37.4 million viewers. The Season 15 premier had dropped to 10.9 million viewers. Of course often the seasons were not comparable due to changes in formats, ever-new participants and various factors. Yet it cannot be denied that the premiers have declined over the years as the habits of the viewers keep shifting, many wannabe-American Idols emerge and the general cache starts to wear off.

However, what’s interesting is that despite the decreasing viewership owing to changing TV habits, the social media posts on American Idol have steadily gone up. Obviously, because 10 years ago, social media wasn’t the mammoth that it is today.

That’s what takes us to frame our next question: what do these changing trends signify? There’s a paradigm shift in how people are watching Reality Shows on television and on Youtube, Netflix or Amazon Prime. The answer is obvious: shows like American Idol must go where the audience are.

American Idol Demographic

Similarity between American Idol viewers and fantasy game players
The audience of American Idol is now a millennial generation that spends way more time on the internet than on television or any other activity today. What’s the one thing that American Idol can do in order to catch the audience on the web? We built a strong case for fantasy games since this demographic has a lot in common with American Idol viewers. While American Idol viewers are aged between 18 and 49, those of the fantasy games are aged between 25 and 45. Both these demographics like competition, contests, winning awards and pursue ‘idols’ in either singers or sports players. While the show’s viewers have deep knowledge of music and have a varied taste of various genres, the fantasy games fans possess deep knowledge of the sports, players and important world records. Both these kind of consumers want to keep in touch with their respective interests through merchandise, news and views, statistics and social media.

How would a fantasy game based on American Idol look like?
American Idol has a run-time of around four months. The American Idol fantasy game would begin right after all the auditions are over and the singers have entered stage for their performances. There will be 24 contestants in a fantasy games roster and it can be divided into Group 1 and Group 2. This will be a season-long format with salary caps. In week one, fantasy game players will create a line-up of six players, say, ABCDEF. Say a player felt like D didn’t not perform very well in the first week, he would have the option of replacing him with another contestant from the bench. In the next week, say A was in a certain player’s line-up but he got eliminated in the actual show. So this particular player will have to pick another contestant.
The American Idol fantasy game will end after 12 weeks but one week before the Finale episode. As a result, the show can offer tickets to winning fantasy games player to watch the finale. This reward will keep the players engaged throughout the game and they are likely to invite their friends to watch the show as well as play the fantasy game at the same time. The fantasy game platform can bring in news feeds about various contestants, showcase their individual profiles and update statistics about them.

How would a fantasy game help American Idol’s viewership?
Serious American Idol followers would get an ultimate kick by playing the games and inviting friends to play them too. Remember this is a demographic that would be thrilled with the idea of using their knowledge of music, their experience of watching the show to their advantage as they create their line-ups and play the games online. The biggest advantage of a fantasy game is the popularity of all the 24 selected contestants. Over the years, it’s harder for viewers to remember all the contestants but when they keep in touch and follow these players’ for the fantasy game, the contestants will multiply their popularity individually. Since the games will run simultaneously with the show, these players would love to invite as many other players as possible to test their knowledge and speculations about the show and contestants.
The reward would further add to the viewership since people would compete to win the finale tickets. American Idol can double the time its viewers spend thinking about the show or the contestants thus adding to more peer motivation and viewership. The show would also open another revenue stream by keeping certain levels of the game as paid thereby creating a great brand buzz.

The only way that shows like American Idol can win back lost viewers is by being where the viewers spend most of their time. Social media is not enough for this demographic, they are always hungry for more and a fantasy game app developed just on the show may change the game for reality shows.

IN A NUTSHELL
  • American Idol fantasy game would have a roster of 24 contestants
  • It can be divided into Group 1 and Group 2
  • Players will create a line-up of six players in the first week
  • If a player had chosen a contestant who got eliminated, the player would choose another player next week
  • Winning fantasy game player would get American Idol finale tickets

About Vinfotech

Vinfotech creates world’s best fan engagement solutions for fantasy sports startups, sports leagues & clubs and sports brands. We promise initial set of real engaged users to put turbo in your fan engagement and fantasy sports growth. Our award winning software vFantasy™ allows us to build stellar rewards platform faster and better. Our customers include Zee Digital, Picklive and Arabian Gulf League.

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