When it comes to untapped markets, sports bars may find a gold mine with Formula 1 (F1) fans. F1's US fanbase is growing at record speeds. Here’s a little more about F1, its (perhaps surprising) key fan demographic, and how sports bars and restaurants can market to the F1 fanbase.
The NFL. NBA. MLB. NCAA. The NHL and even the MLS. We’re pretty sure your sports bar has these leagues in heavy rotation on your TVs. And so does every other sports bar around the country. So, what makes your bar stand out from the rest? One way is to show sports and games your competitors either are incapable of showing or not willing to show. There’s a myriad of other professional leagues out there, and the increased ability of streaming games online has made it even easier for sports bars to give their guests something unique to watch. Here are three leagues and sports we think sports bars should start showing on their TVs on the regular. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully it’ll start as a springboard for elevating your business to something more than [...]
With the end of the NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals comes a dearth of mainstream sports to show. Sports bar operators are basically down to just baseball for nightly and weekend events, plus golf and tennis on the weekends. As a result, the summer can be a little slow for sports bars. But it doesn’t have to be. It just takes a little thinking outside the box and a little research. In this post, we’ll look at three ways to minimize sports bars' slow nights, plus how to market these ideas to make sure guests come visit. Show Non-Mainstream Sports Since the summer tends to be low on traffic-driving gimmes like the NFL and NBA, sports bar operators need to look outside the norm to bring in new sports fans and get regulars back during the off season. [...]
The search for content has always been a thorny task for sports bars and restaurant operators. By content we mean any activity, programming or engagement you deliver to your guests while they visit your restaurant. Most operators have the programming part on lock down, but how does our industry do when it comes to alternative forms of content? Most of the operators served by The Daily Rail and SportsTV Guide pretty much leave it at traditional content. However, we believe not having a plan for alternative content is a fatal error in any restaurant or bar and grill. Whether you want to deliver custom messages to your guests through digital signage platforms like Atmosphere or provide obscure games that only streaming sports can deliver, understanding alternate content can be a real difference maker for your business. To address the aforementioned dearth of knowledge, we compiled a few options to expand [...]
The recent AFC and NFC Championship Games saw an unequal pair of teams emerge victorious, as tens of millions of Americans watched the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs book their ticket for Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 2. While the 49ers are Super Bowl regulars with six appearances and five wins, the Chiefs have only made it to the Super Bowl two times, with their last appearance (and only win) dating back to 1970. While baseball is often referred to as “America’s pastime,” the NFL has long surpassed the MLB as the nation’s favorite professional sports league. For several reasons, including first and foremost its better suitability for television, football flew by baseball as Americans’ favorite sport to watch in the 1960s and hasn’t looked back since. If anything, [...]
What do you think when you hear the word “drone”? For some, it takes them immediately to the military use of drones to engage enemy combatants while risking fewer American lives in a forward base of operations. For others, however, the notion of drones being utilized to kill couldn’t be further from their minds. They see an incredible recreational diversion that has now morphed into its own version of a sport – one that is already being show on major TV networks like ESPN and NBC Sports Network. What is Drone Racing and the DRL? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bITjRQCGEug Let’s start by describing what drone racing is and how it works. The premier league right now is the Drone Racing League (DRL). They have credible contests around the country and deliver significant prizes to their champion pilots. The racers themselves fly single design [...]
Part 4: Airing eSports Events on Your Sports Bar's TVs Ok, so you’re onboard and ready to show streaming eSports at your sports bar, but how do you do that? We’re glad you asked. There are two basic elements to providing streaming eSports at your location -- the device and the content source. We’ll review both and give you the tools you need to get rolling. It’s also important to note that the amount of streaming eSports available via traditional inline broadcasting has increased dramatically in the past few years. When you are done, you’ll know how to access it all and from there it’s up to you how to proceed. What are My Device Options? Let’s start with the devices for streaming eSports. This is way less complicated that you may think, but it does require some consideration of [...]
Part One: Introduction By Nick Vener and Andrew Jaffee Our mission at the SportsTV Guide is to help you stay in front of trends in our industry and facilitate you leveraging those trends for your business. That is why we are embarking on a comprehensive review of where the future of sports is heading with a series focused on eSports. This series is focused on the why, how, what and when of eSports for restaurants and bars. This post will focus specifically on why you need to take eSports seriously and the implications for your operation, especially for sports-themed operators. Why are eSports Essential to Have in Your Restaurant? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf3gfuGIn1w Great question! Let’s start with who makes up the eSports gaming community (i.e., players and fans) who you want to attract by embracing eSports in your sports marketing efforts. The [...]
Every February we all cry poor as the NBA and NHL drag on, the interminable college basketball schedule continues, and pitchers and catchers finally report. Well, your poverty ends on February 9th as the Alliance of American Football (AAF) kicks off its inaugural season. To be direct, your guess might be as good as mine, but I am going to attempt to look at history and current trends and divine what will happen and how you can profit from it. Let’s start with a brief history lesson and see what we can glean from that. Will History Repeat Itself? In the ‘60s an upstart league called the American Football League took on the NFL. By 1969, the New York Jets had beaten the unbeatable Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. From there, it was just a formality for the leagues [...]
The Tour de France is one of my favorite events of the year. Full disclosure, I ride 100+ miles a week during the summer and think this sport is amazing. However, that shouldn’t distract from the fact that it’s a cool event that fills in content in July, which could otherwise be a pretty barren month. The trick is how to market for it…or if you even should. So, let’s explore the event and see if we can benefit from it. Tour de France 101 To start, the Tour de France (TDF) is a 23-day event with some of the most interesting visual content you’ll ever see on TV. The race ranges all over France from the countryside to the sea and everything in between. They visit both the Pyrenees in the West, and the Alps in the East for [...]
By now you’ve likely heard. There are two new professional football leagues vying for the opening left by the NFL’s most recent woes. Just a few years ago an alternate league would have been unthinkable, but the NFL has seen ratings drops while the player protests, and the head injury issues erode their stranglehold on all things football in the US. Enter Chuck Ebersol and Vince McMahon. Ebersol is the son of former NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol, who was a partner of Vince McMahon in the failed XFL experiment from 1999. Fast forward almost 20 years and it appears the landscape has changed -- even if the central players have not. While all these machinations are fascinating, what does The Alliance of American Football (AAF) mean to sports bar’s operations and marketing efforts? Below are three potential advantages from [...]
Football. Basketball. Baseball. Hockey. Soccer. Every sports bar worth its salt shows these games. Your loyal patrons and irregular guests expect you to be showing these sports on the regular every day and night of the week. So how do you stand out? You could give your guests a superior guest experience through technology or your atmosphere. That’s something we’ve harped on a ton in the past couple of years. Another way is to show alternative or “off-beat” sports programming on some of your TVs. This does a few things: It positions you as the sports expert in your neighborhood. Opens up your venue to a whole new group of fans & potentially regular clients. Opens your traditional guests into new sports they might love (and then come back to watch). Shows that you really care about sports entertainment and [...]
