Online Sports Spending To Hit $1 Billion By 2011

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MARKETERS WILL SPEND SOME $727 million on paid search and rich media ads on sports Web sites in the U.S. next year--up almost 33% from this year, reports eMarketer. And while advertiser spending on the Beijing 2008 Olympics will fuel much of that bump, the upward trend is slated to continue, pushing sports site ad revenues to top $1 billion by 2011.

The popularity of fantasy sports leagues has also drawn advertiser attention, as the fantasy games bring in between 15 and 18 million players each year. In 2006, marketers spent $150 million on branding and advertising deals with these online communities, and analysts are forecasting the dollars to continue to flow.

Streaming video is the only questionable component in the online ad spending forecast, as user adoption of online video for sports has been slow. The eMarketer report found that only 11% of consumers "were likely" to stream sports clips, compared to almost 50% that "were likely" to stream news clips and music videos.

Source: Online Media Daily