‘Fantasy Footballers’ Podcast Teams Up With Spotify’s Greenroom

 The Fantasy Footballers, the top fantasy football podcast, plans to launch a new show on Spotify’s social audio app Spotify Greenroom on September 1, the latest sign of the growing investment in the podcast market.

The Fantasy Footballers: LIVE on Spotify Greenroom will air every Wednesday at  6 p.m. New York Time/3 p.m. California Time. It aims to provide players a “immersive access to award-winning expert analysis” ahead of their fantasy draft and during the season. Fans can connect with the show by downloading the Spotify Greenroom app for free on their phones, tablets, and other streaming devices.

“Spotify Greenroom has created an incredible space for friends and fans to come together for fun, spontaneous conversations about all the thrills and spills that happen from week to week during the football season,” said Andy Holloway, co-host and co-founder of The Fantasy Footballers, in a statement. “We are excited to bring new and seasoned fantasy players into the fold with the new show and help everyone win their league this year.”

 The adaption of Greenroom has been slow going. It was launched on June 16, several months after Spotify acquired the sports-focused app Locker Room, the Swedish company’s entry into the live audio business.

 According to data from Sensor Tower cited by TechCrunch, Greenroom was downloaded 141,000 times on Apple’s iOS operating system as of July.  The App also was installed more than 100,000 on Google’s GOOG Android network, according to TechCrunch. Meanwhile, market leader Clubhouse has 30.2 million total installs, 18.7 million on iOs, the website says.

 “Needless to say, the widespread return of crowd-based live entertainment, family gatherings, and other in-person activities may well have played a part in the interest dip that social audio has faced through 2021’s initial seven months,” TechCrunch says.

Both Facebook and Twitter are also eager to gain a foothold in the live audio market. Facebook in June unveiled Live Audio Rooms and podcasts as part of its plans to bring social audio to the largest social network. Twitter currently is testing Twitter Spaces, which will enable users of the microblogging site to have live audio conversations.

Holloway hosts The Fantasy Footballers along with his friends Jason Moore and Mike “The Fantasy Hitman” Wright.

Since debuting seven years ago, The Fantasy Footballers has become one of the few independent podcasts that regularly tanks in the top 15, beating shows from media giants including ESPN, CBS, and Yahoo. 

The secret of their success lies in their unusual approach.

“We kind of joke what we are the Disney DIS of fantasy football in the sense that, we're very intentionally family-friendly,” Holloway said in an interview. “We know that there are a lot of dads and kids in the car. You know, we're all dads ourselves, so I think some of that kind of those relational components come through on the podcast that maybe don't come through other platforms.”

Advertisers are also eager for The Fantasy Footballers to devote more attention to sports betting, advice that Holloway isn’t heeding, at least for now.

“We've grown for seven straight years, so we still feel like there's headroom in both fantasy football and podcasts,” he said. “We're very much a company that is focused on a few things and doing them well and not diverting our attention to (sports betting) until market, super demands it.”