July, 2009

FSB Daily 7/30: Vegas, Fantasy Sports Channel

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

A roundup of recent posts from the FSB News page.

- The Las Vegas Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT appears to be building momentum for its debut. The new website touts appearances by former WCW Nitro Girl Stacy Keibler and ESPN’s Matthew Berry (we’ll let you decide which one’s prettier) and performances by rapper Flo Rida and George Clinton’s band. Although he’s not mentioned on the homepage, Maurice Jones-Drew appears to be involved somehow.

- The Fantasy Sports Channel on BlogTalkRadio debuts its “Must-Stream Thursday” lineup tonight from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. It will feature shows from WCOFF, Fantasy Guru, RotoExperts (Scott Engel), The Fantasy Football Guys and Footballguys.com’s The Audible.

- RapidDraft.com has added Fantasy Phenoms to the ranks of affiliate sites for the debut season.

Send all of your news, job postings, stories and profile ideas to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter (FSBcom).

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New Series of NFL.com ‘Fantasy Files’ Out

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Last year’s NFL.com fantasy football commercial campaign with the “why you should pick me” messages and players performing nearly believable feats met with big online popularity. Stars included Chris Cooley, Chris Chambers and Laurence Maroney (oops).

This year’s series is now two episodes deep, with Joe Flacco getting things going and Santonio Holmes the latest. The tricks aren’t quite as flashy so far, but the spots remain entertaining. Will the players featured enjoy better fantasy fortunes in the regular season this time? We’ll see.

 

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FT.com Pay Model Presents Web Content Blueprint

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Pay vs. free figures to be a central decision and likely an ongoing conundrum for just about any online content provider. As online ad sales have declined in the contracting economy, such an issue only gains in importance.

That makes it essential for sites to not only consider free vs. pay access but also different potential subscription models. Fred Wilson, a New York City venture capitalist with the firm Union Square Ventures, points to the model in play at FT.com as an example for content providers who can’t survive (or even thrive) on ad revenues alone.

The site, the online home for the Financial Times, does offer some more typical subscription models, including those that marry the print and online products. Aside from that, though — according to Wilson — the site allows you a certain number of free visits each month. At a certain threshold (he believes it’s the 10th visit), FT.com asks you to pay. Wilson says that many do.

This seems somewhat similar the National Public Radio practice of seeking donations from listeners a few times a year in that it plays to a consumer’s feeling of obligation. If you find the content valuable and come back for it often, chances are you’ll feel more inclined to help cover the costs of producing that content at some point.

Wilson says this method avoids the problems of going to a full subscription model and skips the labeling of some site content as more valuable that arises with “premium” pay walls.

Decisions on how best to offer and fund online content are particularly important to today’s struggling newspaper industry, but they’re no less central to anyone trying to build a fantasy sports content outlet. Display ads aren’t paying the bills quite as easily as once anticipated, so it’s necessary to consider your range of options.

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FSB Daily 7/25: OPEN Sports, Dave and Buster’s

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

- In the wake of its deal to put on fantasy games for FOXSports.com, OPEN Sports announced a $4 million round of funding. Investors were not disclosed.

- Restaurant-entertainment chain Dave & Buster’s has put together a promotional package aimed at drawing fantasy football players to D&B for their drafts. The offer page says that the package includes “Free Draft Kit and Fantasy Magazine,” though it doesn’t specify the source. CBSSports.com is mentioned in the promo, but it no longer puts out a print preview magazine.

Send all of your news, job postings, stories and profile ideas to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter (FSBcom).

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