We overlooked in mid-February the announcement of Greg Ambrosius’ deals taking control of the National Fantasy Championships from Liberty and partnering up with STATS. It seemed mostly formality for a deal that Ambrosius had already announced at the end of January.

Thanks to a post by Scott Atkins on the Fantasy Players Association website and a Sports Business Journal story from Feb. 21, though, there are some more interesting tidbits worth passing along. Chief among the info is STATS’ apparent plan to make this a mere first step in getting back to consumer fantasy gaming.

STATS executive vice president Steve Byrd told SBJ: “This is a very fertile market and obviously one where we have history, are comfortable with and know well. We don’t have any intention to get into the free, ad-supported space. That’s obviously very well staked out by ESPN, Yahoo! and others, many of which are our clients. But the pay side continues to show strong growth, and we think there’s a way for us to achieve scale there.”

As the report pointed out, STATS played a significant role in consumer fantasy games in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It also provided the back-end support for the NFFC and NFBC before Fanball acquired the events in 2009.

With its majority stake in the NFC, STATS has added Ambrosius to its staff as general manager of consumer fantasy games. Tom Kessenich also joins the company’s ranks as manager of high-stakes fantasy games. The NFC sites have also been switched over.

No specifics have yet been announced about further fantasy plans, but Byrd did tell SBJ that “there’s potentially interest in other assets” remaining at Liberty from the pending Fanball closure.

Last month’s acquisition of PA SportsTicker by STATS altered the landscape of sports information delivery, and not nearly enough time has passed to tell us what it will mean for our industry.

Obvious questions concern the effects on cost, innovation, customer service and employment, but the race to expand international coverage is also becoming central more important all the time.

To get the discussion started, FSB.com asked a few questions of STATS executive vice president Steve Byrd.

First of all, what does this deal change for customers who already subscribed to feeds from either STATS or SportsTicker? Will those existing customers notice anything different?

STATS clients will not notice any difference in their service. PA SportsTicker clients will receive both more accurate and timely information than they have received before.

Why did STATS decide to acquire SportsTicker?

STATS has evolved into a global company in recent years. The acquisition of SportsTicker was just a part of several overseas initiatives STATS is doing with UK based PA Sport.

What would you say to someone who worries that less competition in the field of stat and information delivery will negatively impact cost and service for the customer?

They should not worry. STATS will be honoring the existing contracts of all SportsTicker clients. They are, however, receiving better and more accurate services from STATS. They will also have the option to receive deeper and richer data offerings that PA SportsTicker did not provide - including award winning Associated Press editorial and photos.

Beyond the existing STATS/SportsTicker customer base, what would you say to the average leader of a small or mid-sized business in the sports industry who is worried that decreased competition in the delivery of sports information will negatively affect cost and service?

We don’t understand that worry. Numerous sports information options remain. At STATS, we offer the most in-depth information and the highest performance standards at a consistent value.

What does the deal mean for the fantasy arm of STATS? Are there any changes or new offerings planned that relate to this?

STATS’ fantasy sports division will see little change. PA SportsTicker was not in the business of building and hosting fantasy games. They did have a small number of clients in the fantasy space who received data feeds — those clients will now receive their feeds from STATS and will enjoy more accurate and timely delivery of those feeds.

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

- STATS executive vice president Steve Byrd says that companies are beginning to learn how to “leverage their brand and interact with their customers using unique sports content and games.”

- John Hermansen of Global IP Solutions thinks that the fantasy league experience would benefit from the addition of voice over IP capabilities.

- Not only is there an outlet for you to play fantasy supercross, but you can win an actual race-used bike.