September 11, 2009 - Just as was the case with mobile applications, companies are lining up to introduce a variety of "TV widget" applications. Only this week Rallypoint, a San Francisco-based company specializing in developing widgets for Internet-connected TVs, launched Rallycast Fantasy Sports, a social network-enabled fantasy sports application for Yahoo's TV widgets platform.
As TDG has discussed since late 2008, widget-based Internet applications are definitely headed for your TV. However, not all such applications are created equal. Some will enjoy rapid uptake by TV viewers, while others will languish and remain niche at best. So where does a fantasy sports app rank on this continuum? This Chart of the Week features data from TDG and Intel's research on widget-based TV applications, research to be featured in a forthcoming TDG report on the same subject.
The appeal of such an application for fantasy sports enthusiasts is itself a no-brainer, but its appeal to the larger market is far from obvious (especially at RallySports initial price point of $59.99 per sport per season!). As illustrated below, less than one-fourth of adult broadband users perceive this type of application to have positive value, while 25% were undecided and 51% waxed negatively.
The fact that nearly one-fourth of adult broadband users responded positively is encouraging, but only 10% ranked the application as "extremely valuable." In fact, of the 26 applications that TDG tested, a fantasy sports application finished last! As well, when forced to choose their Top 5 applications from among those they ranked as valuable, only 5.6% selected a fantasy sports app. In other words, demand for this type of widget-based application will be significantly lower than other TV-centric applications such as a customized content guide or improved on-demand video features. This is not to say that an audience for such a fantasy sports app does not exist, but that uptake of such an application may be slow when compared with other apps...especially if it costs you $60 per sport per season to use - ouch!
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