2021 SHORTLIST

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FCF SEASON V1.0

Entrant Company: Fan Controlled Football

FINALIST

Best Virtual Fan Experience

FCF Season v1.0

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

Proven in 2017 with the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles, FCF combines the passion of live sports, the competitiveness of fantasy sports, the interactivity of video games, and the global reach of esports all into a live-streamed, real-life experience.

How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

The People's Championship capped off an unprecedented fan engagement that saw the FCF become the fastest growing live sports channel on Twitch and the No. 2 most-watched live sports channel. Overall, the FCF received more than 9.35 million total live views on Twitch (www.twitch.tv/fcf) during the season.

Season V1.0 success include:

  • The FCF App consistently ranking as one of the top sports apps in the Apple App Store and the most downloaded sports app during Week 1 of FCF regular season between Feb. 13-15, ranking ahead of ESPN, Draft Kings, NBA, FanDuel, and all other major sports apps with a total of 3.7 million FCF APP & Website Sessions
  • FCF fans combining for more than 1.1 million real-time play calls, draft picks, and fan experience voting 1.1 million fan votes on league rules, team strategies and league branding over the course of the season.
  • Launching the first-ever sports campaign with leading startup investment platform Republic platform, giving fans the opportunity to own an equity stake in each of the first 4 FCF teams. More than 2,300 fans collectively invested over $1 million to become FCF owners, with all four campaigns selling out and hundreds of fans joining the waiting list.

 

Objective: Unlike other recent pro football offseason flops, Fan Controlled Football is a cross between professional football and gaming. The target audience covers sports fans and gamers who can transfer the feeling of complete control over a simulation to real-life athletes. FCF is the first professional sports league to place fans in the general manager role in partnership with influential celebrity team owners. FCF is a fast-paced, high-scoring 7-vs-7 style of football played on a 35-yard x 50-yard field with 10-yard end zones. The six-week season began on February 13, 2021 and includes four regular-season weeks, one playoff week and a Championship week during global pandemic. All FCF games are played at the Infinite Energy Center in and has been designed for the digital audience with state of the art technology, lighting, and special effects with games no longer than 60 minutes in length to keep audience attention and engagement and is live-streamed on the number one streaming platform in the world, Twitch. 

 

Strategy & Execution: Fan Controlled Football (FCF) is the next generation of professional sports and has revolutionized fan engagement. Fans call the plays in real-time, pick the players, and interact in ways previously only possible in video games and are rewarded for it. The players are selected as much for their personalities as they are for their on-field prowess this is Madden x e-sports x professional football, with the added flair and showmanship of professional wrestling. The business model is revolutionary when compared to traditional sports, utilizing a singular arena to live-stream all games on Twitch and streaming network partners.

FCF’s is well positioned to thrive in the “digital age” of the world we now live in.

  • Video games and esports have dramatically changed consumer expectations for entertainment.
  • Younger fans now require short form content, digital distribution, and interactivity: they want to lean forward.
  • This expectation has paved the way for the skyrocketing use of platforms like Twitch fans of all ages have been ushered into a new entertainment reality due to covid-19.
  • With limited or no fans in the stands for the near future, leagues and properties are searching for ways to connect and engage with them.

 

Results:

Key Metrics for FCF Season v1.0:

Social Reach & Engagement

  • 100million + organic views & 2million + engagements across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok
  • 350k+ new followers of FCF team and league accounts

Live Viewership via Twitch

  • 9.35 million live views of FCF on Twitch
  • Averaged over 1million live views per gameday

Site + App Traffic (FCF.io)

  • 3.7 million FCF App & Website sessions
  • Fans installing the app averaged 20 sessions during the season

Live Engagement

  • 1.1+million real-time play-calls, draft picks & challenges
  • Fans who called plays averaged 21.9 playcalls each during the season

Fan Experience Voting

  • 1.1+million fan votes on league rules and team strategy and provided submissions on team names and logo.
  • 81.6% of registered fans voted at least once

Earned Media Coverage (12/1/20 - 3/23/21)

  • 2,312 Pieces of Digital Coverage = 1.1 billion+ Aggregate Impressions (digital readership/audience)
  • 604 Broadcast and Radio Hits (combined) = 67 million+ Aggregate Impressions (viewers/listeners)

PRODUCTION

Fan Controlled Football (FCF)

 

CREDITS 

Communications Director, Fan Controlled Football
 
CEO, Fan Controlled Football
 
Chief Gaming Officer, Fan Controlled Football
 
Co-Founder, Fan Controlled Football
 
Chief Marketing Officer, Fan Controlled Football
 
Fan Controlled Football Commissioner, Fan Controlled Football
 
Chief Commercial Officer, Fan Controlled Football

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