\n\tToday\u2019s guest columnist is Leo MacLehose, CEO of Fanzo.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen I reflect on a glorious summer of sport in America, the enduring images should both excite and serve as a reminder to our industry.<\/p>\n
\n\tMore so than I can remember, the stories that cut through during the NBA Finals and FIFA World Cup<\/a> were about collective fan euphoria.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd the motifs that dominated front pages and became ubiquitous on social media<\/a> weren\u2019t so much what happened on the court or pitch but how fans<\/a> came together away from the stadium.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s Knicks-mania erupting out of packed dives and onto the New York streets. It\u2019s the Tartan Army charming Boston whilst drinking it dry. It\u2019s fans in bars all around the world gleefully performing their own Viking rows after wins. It\u2019s 10,000 Argentinians turning Times Square into a weekend-long festival before the final.<\/p>\n \n\tThe last two months have been a reminder that so much fandom exists outside the stadium and the living room. America\u2019s iconic third spaces\u2014bars, restaurants, official and de facto fan zones\u2014have been a circus of joy, noise and genuine human connection.<\/p>\n \n\tFans watching socially in third spaces isn\u2019t a fringe part of the sports ecosystem; it is a core part of the fan experience, and it\u2019s our shop window. It\u2019s where sports grow organically, where genuine community lives and breathes and where infectious images that get beamed around the world are captured. And right now there\u2019s a value gap not being fully recognized.<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019ve spent 15 years building tech platforms to facilitate social viewing in the U.K., Europe and Australia, and seen this pattern play out multiple times. I\u2019ve also seen how UEFA, World Rugby, the Premier League and FIFA have closed this gap via their official sponsors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe sharpest operators recognize that in these social spaces, community, shared experience and memories that will long outlast the tournament\u2014not the broadcast\u2014become the product they\u2019re selling. All things that the convenience of your sofa and widescreen TV at home will never offer.<\/p>\n \n\tThe data from the U.S backs this hunch\u2014compared to the weeks before kick-off, Fanzo saw online searches for bars showing live sport grow 302% in host cities during the World Cup, and 125% in U.S. cities with no official activity at all\u2014even with almost every match free on Fox and Telemundo. Chicago, with no games, no teams hosted, basically fewer reasons to expect an outsized swell in interest,still saw bar searches nearly quadruple over that period.<\/p>\n \n\tThat penny drop in America excites me massively. But out-of-home viewing has to become a core pillar of any rights holder or sponsor\u2019s plans, not an afterthought. And quickly.<\/p>\n \n\tAmerica\u2019s major leagues are in real danger of missing out on the value generated by fans coming together to support their team socially whenever they can\u2019t make it to the stadium.<\/p>\n \n\tBecause life has never been harder for fans who simply want to watch their favorite team on TV.<\/p>\n