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Examining the Ins and Outs of Reality TV Fantasy Sports

Richard Janvrin by Richard Janvrin, June 06, 2025

A person getting ready to watch reality TV

While many of you likely play daily fantasy sports or season-long iterations related to baseball, football, hockey, or another prominent sport, what if I told you there was “Reality TV fantasy sports”? That’s right, imagine having a fantasy league for the latest hit reality show like “The Bachelor,” “Survivor,” “Big Brother,” or something else?

Below, I’ll explore the world of this phenomenon, including how it started, how it works, popular platforms it can be played on, what draws people to it, and where it could be headed.

Let’s dive in.

The Origins of Reality TV Fantasy Sports

Fantasy sports have existed for decades, dating back to pen-and-paper in the 1960s and beyond, until it became even more mainstream with the rise of the Internet in the late 1990s.

With so much emphasis on legitimate sports, it was only a matter of time before reality TV fans found a way to mold that concept into their favorite viewing experience.

It started out small, with families doing in-house leagues for shows like “Survivor.” Then, there were custom scoring games for shows like “Big Brother” and “The Bachelor. ” Like the early days of fantasy sports, it was tracked with pen, paper, and spreadsheets.

Reality TV fantasy sports really started to take hold in the 2010s. In fact, Grantland, a pop culture site owned by ESPN, started a “Reality TV Fantasy League” column for shows like “The Bachelor” and even “The Real World.”

Then, in 2017, ABC partnered with ESPN to launch a “Bachelor Fantasy League.” Of course, ABC is the platform that airs The Bachelor.

Thus, a commercialized Reality TV fantasy league was born with the intent to grow viewership.

According to FanDuel, engagement around the content, which included watching, reading, and tweeting about it, grew by about 40%.

So, like fantasy baseball or football decades ago, a fantasy reality TV show league and genre were developed.

How Reality TV Fantasy Sports Work

So, we know that in fantasy sports, players receive points based on their production in a real game, but how does that work in Reality TV fantasy leagues?

First, it starts with drafting contestants for the show to form their team. Then, as episodes air and things happen, you’ll be assigned points based on their actions, including successes and bad moments.

A typical league has three contestants per team, and if any are eliminated from the show, some leagues allow you to pick up a “free agent” contestant, similar to waivers in fantasy sports.

There are other rostering techniques, too, depending on the show.

As for scoring, it all depends on the show.

Using “The Bachelor” as an example, a contestant could receive points for receiving a rose, getting a kiss, crying on camera, and more. There could also be points for dramatic moments or a loss of points for something like being sent home during the rose ceremony or quitting the show.

For a show like “Survivor,” scoring formats could center around winning an immunity or reward challenge, finding a hidden idol, or surviving a vote.

It’s important to remember that these shows are pre-taped months in advance, so fans will often do all they can to avoid spoilers. Also, most leagues will lock rosters in before the show airs and give points afterward.

Believe it or not, several platforms house Reality TV fantasy league options for most shows.

  • Reality Fantasy League: This platform hosts leagues for “The Bachelor” and “Top Chef.” You can form private leagues, contests, and drafts. At one time, there were about 25,000 active players on the site.
  • Bracketology.TV: This is one of the biggest reality TV fantasy league platforms. The Bracketology reality TV fantasy platform launched in 2016. Today, it offers leagues for “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Love Is Blind,” and more. There’s even a dedicated mobile app.
  • The Rose League: Another fantasy reality TV show platform with a dedicated mobile app, catered toward “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” fans.

Why Do People Play Reality TV Fantasy Sports?

So, with the rise of reality TV fantasy, it begs the question: Why do people play?

Well, it’s like regular sports: It’s competitive and raises the stakes of your favorite TV show. It changes the viewing experience, and you’re more “attached” to those you draft.

Just like in fantasy football, if you draft a quarterback and they throw a touchdown, you’re far more excited than someone who’s not on your team.

Also, there’s a great social element. Whether you’re in a league with friends, family, or people you met on online message boards/forums/social media. It sparks a new type of conversation that you may not otherwise have.

Whether it’s for money or not, it all taps into people’s competitive nature and provides bragging rights, or, on a smaller scale, it allows friends and family to enjoy their favorite shows more.

Where Reality TV Fantasy Sports Is Headed

With the rise of new reality TV shows, so will additional reality TV fantasy leagues. Shows like “Love Is Blind,” “Love on the Spectrum,” and more are attracting massive audiences. At the same time, networks notice how these leagues drive engagement. As time goes on, I wouldn’t be surprised if more organized commercial platforms for fantasy sports, similar to ESPN, NFL.com, and others, come to be. These leagues only add to the gamification of watching these shows. That said, there are some intriguing potential challenges.

As mentioned, these shows are pre-taped, and with that, spoilers and leaks can occur. Some safeguards could be implemented in the future to maintain integrity, especially if Reality TV becomes more prominent on sports betting platforms. All that said, I expect this will only grow, alongside the rise of sports betting. Expect to see commercialized sites for leagues sponsored by networks like ABC and to be able to wager in a fantasy reality TV show-like manner, more at platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel.

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