While many once view online game shows as little more than a passing fad, the reality is that they’re no novelty anymore.
With hard numbers on the demographic compositions of participating audiences and advertisers beginning to take notice of the format, online game shows are increasingly seen as a potential tool for entertainment companies to reap in more money and keep viewers hooked.
A format built for the attention economy
The show-based framework of the online game provides a platform that can sustain engagement for an extended period of play. Operators running a UK live casino format have demonstrated that blending game-show mechanics with real-time interaction drives measurably higher session lengths and repeat visits than conventional digital content, making the model increasingly attractive to entertainment investors. The interactive future initially seemed to be pitched as a TV killer, but with viewers scarce, the medium has adopted viewer control, and now interactive future is being touted in the broadcast, streaming, and indie studio world through real-time content.
Audiences are spending more time on live interactive video news according to new research for the Reuters 2012 digital news report across Europe.
Revenue models and market growth
Research published by PwC, one of the ‘Big Four’ auditing firms, suggests that video game manufacturers will continue to generate faster growth than the more traditional broadcasting mediums; forecasting interactive entertainment to equal or possibly even exceed 20% real-term growth rate by 2027. New elements such as subscription charges, in-game purchases and indeed sponsored content have been successfully incorporated into the existing structure of a single show format, yielding a diversity of streams of potential ad revenue not otherwise available on a traditional gaming competition.
It’s not just that platforms operating in the UK must comply with general gambling regulations. As a gambling operator, platforms must also comply with the separate remote gambling regulations put in place by the Gambling Commission, and this is having an impact on product design and is helping to foster customer trust within regulated environments.
Competition, consumer rights and platform accountability
The CMA’s digital economy review has once again focussed the spotlight on digital market competition rules, this time scrutinising the ways in which platforms acquire users and subsequently retain them. Online game shows – that promise lucrative prizes to viewers competing live on air – raise serious consumer protection issues in the digital space.
As the format continues to grow in size, the community may expect greater scrutiny around key elements such as transparency of mechanics, odds, and the use of data. In order to continue fostering healthy growth, it is critical that these aspects receive close attention in order to maintain audience trust.
What the trend signals for digital entertainment
Unlike more traditional digital game shows that have managed to solidify their ground through hype and positive word of mouth, online contests are in many cases garnering confidence from industry stakeholders based off two primary metrics: audience behavior data and advertiser returns. It appears that balanced growth in these areas may point to a sustainable platform for interactive programming.
Images courtesy of unsplash.com, Freepix.com and pexels.com
