bigboydan
08-21-2003, 02:26 AM
Fantasy football is booming
By VINCE BLASER
August 20, 2003
A hobby traditionally delegated to small groups of family, friends and co-workers has become a multimillion-dollar business for international online corporations.
As the Internet and sports coverage has risen in popularity and capability over the past decade, so too has fantasy football.
"These are really passionate sports fans, they're our best fans and they're really into this stuff," said John Kosner, general manager for ESPN.com.
A recent national survey by Ipsos-Reid found that 7.2 percent of American adults, or about 15.2 million people, are playing some fantasy sports game, said Greg Ambrosius, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.
FSTA, which contracted the Ipsos-Reid study, found in its own survey of 455 fantasy players that 93 percent were playing fantasy football and 63 percent were playing fantasy baseball. The survey, conducted by the University of Mississippi, found the average player had been playing for six years and is involved in than two fantasy leagues.
"It just shows you how popular football is at this point," Ambrosius said. "It's just the tip of the iceberg ... I think these numbers are going to seem miniscule years from now."
From free games to entry fees of $1,000, there are hundreds if not thousands of different options for individuals or groups to enter a fantasy football league online.
"The Internet has helped fuel the interest considerably," said Larry Wahl, director of investor relations and corporate communications for Sportsline.com, which runs fantasy games for NFL.com. "(Football) lends itself very well to a fantasy game, the same way it lends itself to a great TV sport."
Sportsline formerly offered free fantasy football games, but after advertising revenue slowed on the Net, it switched to pay leagues. Sportsline.com netted $9 million in fantasy football revenue last year, out of $11 million in overall fantasy revenue.
"We looked at this as a real additional solid revenue stream potential and were able to do a pretty did a good job of converting most of those free customers ... into to pay customers," Wahl said.
Yahoo Sports offers a free game and over 1 million fantasy football players, said Dan Berger, general manager. While Yahoo Sports tries to get players of the free game to purchase stat tracker programs or join their pay version of the game, a primary goal is to integrate fantasy football players to other parts of the Yahoo Web site.
"We can really take fantasy sports and make it part of the Yahoo user's experience across the network," Berger said.
He said most fantasy football players join a league so they can have bragging rights over their friends and are not primarily for the prizes involved. Yahoo's free game has no prizes, while their pay version offers a trophy.
Many of the fantasy football leagues, including Yahoo and Sportsline.com, have instant scoring and messenger capabilities.
"You can be competing seeing what you're scoring, what you're opponents scoring, send them an instant message and trash talk all at once as it's happening," Wahl said.
About one in four visitors to the ESPN.com network visit the fantasy page, with over two billion page views last year, Kosner said. ESPN offers a single fantasy football team for $29.95, three teams for $49.95 and five teams for $69.95.
While Kosner said the individual team format has been successful, many people want to have a league with their family and friends and run their own league. ESPN.com has joined Sportsline.com, Yahoo and others in offering a one-time fee for an entire league.
While the Internet corporations market the ease and quickness of the private online leagues, a fantasy football league does not need to be conducted online.
Robert Jones, a 21-year-old student from Memphis, Tenn., started a fantasy league with his father and two brothers five years ago. They since have expanded the league to around 10 people and Jones's dad has created a computer program to keep track of the league.
"We're really competitive," Jones said. "It makes the games more exciting. I never can really get enough."
While Jones said his league entry fee is only $5 and they don't play for the money, CEM Fantasy Sports runs a high-stakes fantasy league with a $1,000 entry fee, said Charlie Wiegert, executive vice president of CEM, and a board member of the FSTA.
Wiegert said the high-stakes game is not nearly as popular as CEM's other games, but there is a market for those who are really serious about fantasy football.
Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, said that his group is primarily concerned with stopping lotteries, casinos and dog and horse tracks in states. However, he said there is a problem with sports betting and is concerned fantasy football could lead to more gambling on sports.
"Fantasy football would be a pied piper perhaps to the type of sports betting the same way lottery is to hard-core casino gambling," Grey said.
In FSTA's survey, the average fantasy player spends $154 a year on football. However, corporations that offer fantasy football say they are offering a cheap or free alternative to those that bet on football games.
"Now people feel that this a legitimate hobby that diehard fans are just getting more involved in their favorite sports," Ambrosius said.
Fantasy football info box info:
ESPN.com
Setup: One for $29.95, three teams for $49.95 and five teams for $69.95 or three season-keeper team for $49.95 for national game. League manager game is $99.95 for an entire league, rules set by the players, extras can be purchased.
Prizes: First, second and third place receive a TV of different sizes with first getting a 32" plasma. League winners get a banner or a t-shirt for national game. League manager game has option of getting a trophy for more money.
Yahoo Sports
Setup: Free game allows for individual and league sign up, with customizable rules. Extras like stat tracker and weekly forecasts can be purchased. Pay game has extras included, costing $24.95 for one team, $37.50 for two and $124.95 for a league.
Prizes: Free game has no prizes, pay game league winners get a plaque.
Sportsline.com and NFL.com
Setup: Sportline.com and NFL.com have joint ventures on both individual sign up ($19.95 for a team, and $7.95 for each additional team) and team sign-up for $159.95. Sportsline also has a gold, platinum and diamond league with the cost per team $39.95, $99.95 and $249.95 respectively.
Prizes: For the joint individual game, the grand prize is a trip to the Superbowl, second is a trip to the Pro Bowl, third is a trip to the NFL Draft. League winners receive a NFL award certificate. League prizes for the gold are $200, platinum $600, and diamond $1,600.
* Each league has a comprehensive set of rules and this is by no means a complete list of them.
By VINCE BLASER
August 20, 2003
A hobby traditionally delegated to small groups of family, friends and co-workers has become a multimillion-dollar business for international online corporations.
As the Internet and sports coverage has risen in popularity and capability over the past decade, so too has fantasy football.
"These are really passionate sports fans, they're our best fans and they're really into this stuff," said John Kosner, general manager for ESPN.com.
A recent national survey by Ipsos-Reid found that 7.2 percent of American adults, or about 15.2 million people, are playing some fantasy sports game, said Greg Ambrosius, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.
FSTA, which contracted the Ipsos-Reid study, found in its own survey of 455 fantasy players that 93 percent were playing fantasy football and 63 percent were playing fantasy baseball. The survey, conducted by the University of Mississippi, found the average player had been playing for six years and is involved in than two fantasy leagues.
"It just shows you how popular football is at this point," Ambrosius said. "It's just the tip of the iceberg ... I think these numbers are going to seem miniscule years from now."
From free games to entry fees of $1,000, there are hundreds if not thousands of different options for individuals or groups to enter a fantasy football league online.
"The Internet has helped fuel the interest considerably," said Larry Wahl, director of investor relations and corporate communications for Sportsline.com, which runs fantasy games for NFL.com. "(Football) lends itself very well to a fantasy game, the same way it lends itself to a great TV sport."
Sportsline formerly offered free fantasy football games, but after advertising revenue slowed on the Net, it switched to pay leagues. Sportsline.com netted $9 million in fantasy football revenue last year, out of $11 million in overall fantasy revenue.
"We looked at this as a real additional solid revenue stream potential and were able to do a pretty did a good job of converting most of those free customers ... into to pay customers," Wahl said.
Yahoo Sports offers a free game and over 1 million fantasy football players, said Dan Berger, general manager. While Yahoo Sports tries to get players of the free game to purchase stat tracker programs or join their pay version of the game, a primary goal is to integrate fantasy football players to other parts of the Yahoo Web site.
"We can really take fantasy sports and make it part of the Yahoo user's experience across the network," Berger said.
He said most fantasy football players join a league so they can have bragging rights over their friends and are not primarily for the prizes involved. Yahoo's free game has no prizes, while their pay version offers a trophy.
Many of the fantasy football leagues, including Yahoo and Sportsline.com, have instant scoring and messenger capabilities.
"You can be competing seeing what you're scoring, what you're opponents scoring, send them an instant message and trash talk all at once as it's happening," Wahl said.
About one in four visitors to the ESPN.com network visit the fantasy page, with over two billion page views last year, Kosner said. ESPN offers a single fantasy football team for $29.95, three teams for $49.95 and five teams for $69.95.
While Kosner said the individual team format has been successful, many people want to have a league with their family and friends and run their own league. ESPN.com has joined Sportsline.com, Yahoo and others in offering a one-time fee for an entire league.
While the Internet corporations market the ease and quickness of the private online leagues, a fantasy football league does not need to be conducted online.
Robert Jones, a 21-year-old student from Memphis, Tenn., started a fantasy league with his father and two brothers five years ago. They since have expanded the league to around 10 people and Jones's dad has created a computer program to keep track of the league.
"We're really competitive," Jones said. "It makes the games more exciting. I never can really get enough."
While Jones said his league entry fee is only $5 and they don't play for the money, CEM Fantasy Sports runs a high-stakes fantasy league with a $1,000 entry fee, said Charlie Wiegert, executive vice president of CEM, and a board member of the FSTA.
Wiegert said the high-stakes game is not nearly as popular as CEM's other games, but there is a market for those who are really serious about fantasy football.
Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, said that his group is primarily concerned with stopping lotteries, casinos and dog and horse tracks in states. However, he said there is a problem with sports betting and is concerned fantasy football could lead to more gambling on sports.
"Fantasy football would be a pied piper perhaps to the type of sports betting the same way lottery is to hard-core casino gambling," Grey said.
In FSTA's survey, the average fantasy player spends $154 a year on football. However, corporations that offer fantasy football say they are offering a cheap or free alternative to those that bet on football games.
"Now people feel that this a legitimate hobby that diehard fans are just getting more involved in their favorite sports," Ambrosius said.
Fantasy football info box info:
ESPN.com
Setup: One for $29.95, three teams for $49.95 and five teams for $69.95 or three season-keeper team for $49.95 for national game. League manager game is $99.95 for an entire league, rules set by the players, extras can be purchased.
Prizes: First, second and third place receive a TV of different sizes with first getting a 32" plasma. League winners get a banner or a t-shirt for national game. League manager game has option of getting a trophy for more money.
Yahoo Sports
Setup: Free game allows for individual and league sign up, with customizable rules. Extras like stat tracker and weekly forecasts can be purchased. Pay game has extras included, costing $24.95 for one team, $37.50 for two and $124.95 for a league.
Prizes: Free game has no prizes, pay game league winners get a plaque.
Sportsline.com and NFL.com
Setup: Sportline.com and NFL.com have joint ventures on both individual sign up ($19.95 for a team, and $7.95 for each additional team) and team sign-up for $159.95. Sportsline also has a gold, platinum and diamond league with the cost per team $39.95, $99.95 and $249.95 respectively.
Prizes: For the joint individual game, the grand prize is a trip to the Superbowl, second is a trip to the Pro Bowl, third is a trip to the NFL Draft. League winners receive a NFL award certificate. League prizes for the gold are $200, platinum $600, and diamond $1,600.
* Each league has a comprehensive set of rules and this is by no means a complete list of them.