Business Profile: Sporting News
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
Company: Sporting News Fantasy Games
Launch date: 2000
Became full-time operation: 2000
Whether you’re strictly a baseball fan, a sports fan in general, a fantasy player or just an old lover of numbers, it’s tough to think of a news source more ingrained in the fabric of American sports than Sporting News. Here at FSB.com, though, we’re only concerned with the fantasy portion, so we asked Fantasy Source senior editor George Winkler to answer a few questions.
1) Anyone, like me, who remembers receiving The Sporting News in its newsprint form likely remembers the fantasy entry forms that appeared in them. How long have you guys been doing fantasy in any form, and what have been the significant landmarks as far as the contest/game hosting goes?
We’ve been covering fantasy since 1991 when we published our first fantasy baseball yearbook. In 1994, we added a fantasy football yearbook.
In 2000, Sporting News launched the Fantasy Source website. Shortly after that, Sporting News, which was owned by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Ventures at the time, bought Small World Fantasy Games. And that’s when things really started to take off.
On a personal note, I came to the Fantasy Source website in 2003 after seven years as an editor for SportingNews.com.
2) SportingNews.com launched in 1997, but it wasn’t until 2001 that Sporting News Fantasy Games became its own property following the purchase of Small World Fantasy Games. How did fantasy work during those first four years or so online before the acquisition?
I talked to my former boss before answering this one. And he said that before Fantasy Source came into existence in 2000 there were years when we published supplements to the yearbooks and mailed or faxed them to readers before draft day. Can you imagine that?
But that was back when the Internet was in its infancy, so fantasy owners appreciated our mailings and faxes, and it helped to build a loyal following.
3) What did the purchase of Small World mean for the whole SN fantasy operation — both in terms of real offerings and broader company philosophy? Why did SN decide to take over its fantasy contests?
I’d imagine the strategy was to have an integrated fantasy website where in one place you could play a game and get the advice needed to win it. Plus, when our fantasy writers see something they’d like to improve with the game, they can have conversations with the game programmers and make the necessary changes since we control the game.
4) When did Sporting News start providing fantasy analysis, and what was the impetus for its beginning?
If you’re talking about daily analysis, that started with the Fantasy Source website in 2000. And at the basic level, it meant posting as many player updates as we could that had a fantasy spin. That was the important point we wanted to make; we didn’t just want to give readers news. We wanted to analyze the fantasy implications of that news so the reader could make an informed decision with his or her fantasy team.
5) Can you describe the evolution of SN’s fantasy content up to the Fantasy Source of today? Why is fantasy missing from the current incarnation of the magazine and the new e-mail daily Sporting News Today?
We started with player nuggets and rankings, which we thought were the basis of any fantasy advice. We added expert columns, stat projections, and tools like the Player Analyzer, which compares the 5×5 values for hitters and pitchers. There has been a lot of trial and error, but that’s to be expected. This is a very competitive field and everyone is looking for an edge.
As far as the magazine and SN Today, we are and will continue to be in those sections as we strive to reach the fantasy reader in all areas. We’ll have a six-page spread in the March 16 issue of the magazine that will be devoted to fantasy. We provided fantasy content for SN Today on a weekly basis during football season and on a daily basis during baseball season. We will continue to do so. We’re also launching a new daily fantasy newsletter for baseball.
6) SportingNews.com’s fantasy game offerings include basketball, hockey, college football, golf and NASCAR. How come the analytical content only extends to baseball and football? Any plans for that to change?
Adding that type of coverage is always on the table for us. Hopefully, it will be part of our next step. As fantasy continues to grow, I hope we will grow with it. I’m particularly intrigued by the area of college football. I think that could be big, especially down here in the South where Sporting News is now located (in Charlotte).
7) The Fantasy Sports Trade Association mentions The Sporting News as one of the initial players in its creation, and SN is also part of the Fantasy Sports Association. What sort of role(s) has the company tried to play in the fantasy industry to this point? What part should it play going forward?
In the beginning, I’m guessing we joined to get in on the ground level of something special and because we believed it was important. Also, by having Sporting News’ name involved with fantasy it probably added some legitimacy to the industry. But now I think we’ve moved beyond that and into an era when fantasy is generally accepted into everyday sports conversations.
Now, I think it’s important for these organizations to continue to provide a place where good ideas and good talent can come forward. I have met a lot of good people through these organizations and some of those relationships have led to business deals that are making Sporting News a better place for the fantasy reader.
8 ) Much of SN’s Fantasy Source content resides behind a subscription wall, but some remains free either permanently or initially. Can you describe how that works — what’s public and what subscribers get?
Our fantasy blogs and player updates are free, which is a good portion of information when you think about it. We’re posting 8-10 times per day (an average of 300 words per post) in the blogs on various topics relating to fantasy, along with the 80-100 player updates per day.
Our expert columns, rankings, stat projections, dollar values, draft kit and other special tools are behind the wall. But we offer all that at the low price of $4.99 per month or $19.99 per season (which includes a subscription to the magazine).
9) What effect did the introduction of that pay wall have on Web readership, and how important is the fantasy segment of your subscriber base to the success of SportingNews.com (which is largely made up of free content)?
At first readers were vocal about their displeasure for pay content. But then a curious thing happened - some people started buying it. And eventually we developed a community of loyal Fantasy Source readers. In fact, we have a significant percentage of readers who come to SportingNews.com primarily for our fantasy content. Those readers are always forefront in our minds. Even after all these years, it feels great when a reader is happy with our site.
10) How integrated is the fantasy staff with the rest of the SN staff? How closely tied are fantasy and non-fantasy content?
We sit in the same room as the editors who run SportingNews.com. So when news breaks, we can quickly communicate that the fantasy analysis is ready to include in their story packages. Also, now that the majority of Sporting News is under one roof in Charlotte and owned by American City Business Journals, it’s much easier to get things done. For example, now I can walk down the hall and discuss site strategy, site design, marketing, game improvements, etc., whereas before I was talking to people on a conference call and didn’t have a relationship with them. Now, we all feel like we’re all working together toward a common goal.
Aside from RotoWire’s six victories, just two other companies grabbed more than one plaque during the Fantasy Sports Writers Association ceremony on Tuesday.
Sporting News fantasy editor George Winkler emerged victorious in the football series category, while Matt Lutovsky beat out SN colleague Bill Bender for the title of best major-media baseball article.
