HLN: bringing World Cup predictions into the news app

HLN reaches a broad audience. Many readers had never played fantasy sports or a prediction game before, so taking part had to be easy from the first screen.

The tournament itself added another challenge. With 48 teams and 104 matches, asking readers to predict every exact score would make participation a considerable commitment.

The experience also had to fit into the way people already used HLN. Readers needed to play inside the app, without another login or a separate browser window interrupting their visit.

Fan Arena built a prediction game around one simple choice per match: home win, draw or away win. Readers could make their picks quickly, with predictions open until 1 second before kick-off.

The game ran inside the HLN app and used the reader's existing DPG Media login. Moving from World Cup coverage to making predictions became part of the same app experience.

Simple choices still left room for strategy and competition:

• Underdog bonuses. HLN's sports editors assigned more points to less likely outcomes. Players could see the points available for each choice, alongside the predictions of other participants.
• Streaks. A separate leaderboard rewarded consecutive correct predictions, giving players another competition to follow alongside the overall standings.
• Private leagues. Readers could create their own private leagues with friends, family or colleagues.

Prizes added another reason to participate. Signed Belgium shirts, match tickets and beer packages connected the game to the tournament, while partner Belviva offered a standout prize: a fries stand at the winner's home during the World Cup final.

The same predictions came back into the coverage. In the news feed for each match, a widget showed how HLN Pronostiek players had called the game: the share for a home win, a draw and an away win. On Belgium against Iran, 94% had picked a Belgian win. A button on the widget invited readers to play for free and add their own pick.