There will be 19.0 million online sports bettors in the US this year. That's 7.9% of adult US internet users and a 31.0% increase over 2021.

On today's episode, we discuss how the travel industry is recovering and how the typical traveler has changed. We then talk about the state of the NFL's ratings, how much alternate telecasts can help, and the promise of sports betting. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer associate forecasting analyst Zach Goldner and director of forecasting at Insider Intelligence Oscar Orozco.

Retail investors' appetite for day trading will wane next year, partly driven by dropping savings, as well as a rise in sports betting and crypto siphoning dollars. Already, the number of aggregate shares traded fell 14% quarter over quarter in Q3, per DriveWealth, and this trend will accelerate further in 2022.

The legalization of sports gambling in more than 20 US states has opened new business opportunities, and potential pitfalls, for broadcasters and streaming services that seek to tie in betting content, such as fantasy leagues, with live broadcasts—or at least market separately to the sports viewing and gambling audiences.

That experience could help make it a major player in the sports betting world, at a time when many US states are loosening restrictions and the market for sports betting continues to grow. That could help bring in more engagement and revenue for the app. Facebook tests new limits to political content.

Sports betting could also help ratings recover. Sportsbooks have advertised heavily ahead of the event, and the Super Bowl’s wide influence on even non-sports viewers could funnel even more money—and eyeballs—into the game.

The return of live sports produced a flurry of licensing activity from broadcast networks and streaming services—including digital video, social, and ecommerce platforms. It also reignited concerns about the sustainability of pricing models for sports video and TV.

Advertisers are still betting on the Olympics: The much anticipated, highly discussed games brought in 20% more TV ad sales in the US than their Rio predecessor.

Amazon has similarly bet on sports streaming to attract subscribers at home and abroad, streaming Thursday Night Football games in the US and live cricket in India. Several of the few Tplus originals announced thus far also target English- and Spanish-speaking audiences.

Instead, brands must get comfortable betting on things that can’t be easily measured—whether that’s using intuition in the product development cycle, widening the circle of target customer segments to see who responds, or putting more faith in brand advertising that may not generate immediate sales.

Lastly, the sports/fitness segment of the category will benefit from the boom in digital home fitness, including home cycling, treadmill, and resistance-training equipment. Specialty food and alcohol should also have a banner holiday season. Fewer in-person gifting opportunities will spur demand for holiday gift baskets and mail-order wine and spirits.

In a June 2020 survey of US internet users by Whistle Wise, the research arm of sports and entertainment publisher Whistle, it ranked as the favorite social media platform among female respondents ages 13 to 24 by a wide margin over YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram. Among male respondents in the same age bracket, it ranked third, behind YouTube and Snapchat. Time Spent on TikTok Is Soaring.