USA TODAY fantasy family gets a major addition

By Steve Gardner, USA TODAY

USA TODAY’s Sports Media Group announced Tuesday the acquisition of Fantasy Sports Ventures and Big Lead Sports in a deal that will bring a significant collection of fantasy resources under one umbrella. USA TODAY’s parent company, Gannett Inc., already owned a 30% stake in Big Lead Sports and this deal just completed the purchase.

Fantasy sports players will recognize many of the sites that are part of Big Lead, including BaseballHQ.com, KFFL.com and Baseball-Reference.com to name just a few.

While we don’t know just yet how our sites will all fit together, we do know that we’ve already established great working relationships with many of those sites. The deal seems to indicate there are bigger and better things on the horizon.

• MORE: Big Lead Sports FAQ

“(T)his gets us into the fantasy business in a meaningful way,” USA TODAY Sports Media Group President Tom Beusse told Sports Business Daily. “Quite frankly, there’s an awful lot we can do with this.”

For those who visit Fantasy Windup and USATODAY.com for their fantasy sports news, the news can’t be anything but positive. As BaseballHQ.com founder Ron Shandler told his subscribers today:

“Since we have already forged strong bonds within the USAT organization — through our regular in-season contributions to the daily newspaper and Sports Weekly — we have set a foundation to give BaseballHQ.com more visibility and growth potential,” Shandler wrote.

“While that might not be good news to those who consider us their ’secret information source,’ much of our work went mainstream a long time ago. This new relationship will give us the opportunity to break more new ground and continue to pioneer new and better ways to play and win at fantasy baseball.”

I’ll echo what Ron says (and why wouldn’t I — he was just inducted into the Fantasy Sports Writers Hall of Fame). This is great news for everyone who plays fantasy sports. We look forward to the opportunity to put even more fantasy resources at your fingertips.

Register Now!

Monday and Tuesday, June 11-12

Marriott Hotel in Union Square, San Francisco, CA

Conference registration is $449 for FSTA members and $599 for non-members.

Room Reservation

The phone number to call and make reservations is: (800) 228-9290. When you call in, make sure you say that they you’re coming in for Fantasy Sports Trade Association in June of 2012 on 06/11 & 06/12. Book your rooms under the group’s block FAN. However we do not guarantee that space is still available. Reservations should be able to pull the group up by name  if needed.

Sponsorship

If you are interested in sponsoring the FSTA Business Conference and Research Symposium in Las Vegas, please review our Sponsorship Opportunities. Email Association Director Megan Van Petten for details.

Event Pages

Special Feature

FSTA counsel Glenn Colton, a partner at SNR Denton US LLP, will be available to meet with conference attendees on a one-on-one basis at specified times during the conference (“Office Hours”).  Both start-ups and experienced, mature businesses are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions privately of our very own legal expert.

June 11, Conference Day 1

3:00 P.M. Conference Registration Opens-

3:30 P.M. Elevator Pitch Enrollment-

4:00 P.M. FSTA Board Meeting-

5:00 FSTA Experts’ League Football Draft (tentatively planned to air live on SIRIUS XM Radio’s fantasy sports channel) & Cocktail and hors d’oeuvres Reception

June 12, Conference Day 2

Agenda Coming Soon!

THE NEXT GENERATION OF FANTASY SPORTS:             THE OPEN FANTASY PLATFORM AT CBSSPORTS.COM

CBSSports.com’s award-winning fantasy sports                                                  service opens to third party developers

Six companies, including MLB.com & Bloomberg Sports, sign on                            to develop apps for launch of the first open platform in fantasy sports

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL. JAN. 17, 2012: CBSSports.com today announced its award-winning fantasy sports service is opening its doors to third party developers and companies to create apps for their products and services. CBSSports.com’s innovative open Fantasy Platform will represent the first of its kind in the fantasy sports industry.

Six companies, including MLB.com and Bloomberg Sports, have signed on as initial Fantasy Platform partners and will have free and/or premium apps available when CBSSports.com’s Fantasy Baseball product, featuring the new “CBSSports.com App Central,” launches on Jan. 31.

The CBSSports.com Fantasy Platform Development Center is now live for developers and companies to visit and see how their products and services can be shared with millions of highly engaged fantasy sports players. The Fantasy Platform offers developers a comprehensive set of APIs providing access to nearly all the data within CBSSports.com Fantasy Games and everything needed in order to build a customized fantasy app. The Fantasy Platform Development Center is located at: developer.cbssports.com

The Fantasy Platform announcement was made by Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CBSSports.com, at the 2012 Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) Winter Business Conference in Las Vegas.

“The way people play fantasy sports has dramatically changed over the last ten years with players using a ton more tools and products produced by a growing number of businesses,” said Kint. “Providing outside developers access to our proprietary service will benefit the entire fantasy industry ecosystem, creating additional value for companies, developers and advertisers while consolidating and enhancing the experience for fantasy players.”

With the Fantasy Platform, the millions of dedicated fantasy sports players at CBSSports.com can integrate products and services from across the industry directly into their fantasy game experience. By using these free and premium apps to access the Fantasy Platform, players will not only have all their tools and resources in one central location, they’ll have these products and services built directly into CBSSports.com’s fantasy sports games–leading to more efficient decision making and enhanced enjoyment.

Details about the initial Fantasy Platform launch partners and the apps they plan to offer are as follows:

Advanced Sports Media: Producer of the award-winning Draft Analyzer software, Advanced Sports Media (ASM) is focused on developing innovative software applications that help customers compete more effectively in their Fantasy Sports leagues. For the Fantasy Platform, ASM will be producing two applications: The Draft Analyzer App provides users with personalized and completely customizable draft pick advice while the Auction Analyzer App provides users with personalized bidding advice for auction leagues and is again, completely customizable with all league settings.

Bloomberg Sports: Established in 2010, Bloomberg Sports has quickly become a worldwide leader in the development of state of the art data analytic tools for both professional sports organizations and fantasy sports enthusiasts.  For the Fantasy Platform, Bloomberg Sports will be developing apps around their consumer products, “Front Office” (baseball) and “Decision Maker” (football), designed for fans interested in improving their fantasy play or for following their favorite players more closely throughout the course of the season.

MLB.com: MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, powers MLB.TV, the Internet’s most prolific live video subscription product. For the Fantasy Platform, MLB.com will be building an app that allows MLB.TV subscribers to watch their fantasy baseball teams live through a customizable experience whereby users automatically will see the live game with the most relevant action to their fantasy teams. Launching in time for the 2012 season, the app will also allow a fantasy user that chooses to watch any live MLB game to be presented with statistical data as to how on-the-field play will impact the user’s fantasy baseball team as it happens.

RotoWire: RotoWire.com is a leading content and technology provider to fantasy sports consumers and major media companies. For the Fantasy Platform, RotoWire will develop a content application around its real-time player news and in-depth player profiles to help fantasy players make the most timely and informed roster decisions possible.

StatSheet: A subsidiary of Automated Insights, Inc., StatSheet automatically transforms sports statistics into compelling narrative content, visual displays and interactive applications. For the Fantasy Platform, StatSheet will be developing “StatSmack”, the ultimate fantasy trash talking application which leverages StatSheet’s next-generation technology to arm managers with fully personalized, statistical data and trash talk that will empirically show why their team is better and why they are the better manager.

Ziguana: Ziguana brings powerful algorithms to the average fantasy manager through a simple user-friendly interface. For the Fantasy Platform, Ziguana will be releasing the “Forecaster” app which calculates a team’s probability of winning weekly matchups and makes day-to-day recommendations customized to specific league settings. For those tired of the tedium of setting their lineup, Ziguana’s “Lineup Auto-Pilot” app automatically optimizes and sets a team’s lineup each day. Ziguana will also be offering a 2012 MLB Projections app.

“CBSSports.com’s Fantasy Platform will allow us to build customizable, live experiences as we continue to develop fun ways for our fans to play fantasy baseball and follow the on-the-field action,” said Kenny Gersh, SVP, Business Development, MLB.com. “These new integrations into MLB.TV will deliver an original and exciting approach for our subscribers to watch their fantasy baseball teams live throughout 2012.”

“We are very pleased to be able to partner with CBSSports.com on this new platform, and bring what we know is the best tool for the casual or die-hard fantasy sports player, ‘Bloomberg Front Office,’ to a much wider audience,” said Bill Squadron, head of Bloomberg Sports.

SportsLine.com, now CBSSports.com, was one of the earliest companies in the fantasy industry, offering innovative fantasy products and services beginning in 1996. Using the Commissioner.com fantasy platform (acquired in 1999), CBSSports.com’s fantasy sports products and games have been some of the most popular in the industry and have won eight of the past ten FSTA awards for best Fantasy Commissioner Product. In 2011, CBSSports.com offered fantasy sports products for pro football, baseball, basketball, college football, hockey, and golf.

With a majority of its fantasy users playing paid fantasy sports, CBSSports.com has one of the most engaged and loyal fantasy sports audiences in the business. Fantasy Football players on CBSSports.com register the highest level of engagement of any major site, with players spending an average of 1 hour, 41 minutes per session and returning 4 times each week to research and optimize their rosters. (Nielsen NetRatings, September 2010)

Additionally, CBSSports.com reaches the most affluent and educated Fantasy Football audience among all major competitors: six in 10 have a household income of $75K+ and two-thirds are college-educated. (Nielsen NetRatings, September 2010)

Statistics from the millions of loyal CBSSports.com fantasy sports players:

• Pay to play on CBSSports.com: 60%
• Play fantasy football: 87%
• Average age: 34
• Average income: $82,600
• Played six or more seasons with CBSSports.com: 83%

According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), there are currently 29.6 million fantasy sports players in the United States. Here’s the FSTA breakdown by sport:

• Football (72%) = 21,213,333
• Baseball (37%) = 11,050,666
• Auto Racing (24%) = 7,202,666
• Basketball (20%) = 5,821,333
• Golf (13%) = 3,749,333
• College football (13%) = 3,848,000
• Hockey (12%) = 3,552,000
• Soccer (7%) = 2,072,000

To view a promotional video for the CBSSports.com Fantasy Platform, click here:                               Fantasy Evolved: The CBSSports.com Open Fantasy Platform

****************************

About CBSSports.com Fantasy Sports

CBSSports.com is a division of CBS Interactive, the premier online content network for information and entertainment.  At the forefront of the fantasy sports business, CBSSports.com offers services and expert advice in fantasy sports ranging from professional and collegiate football to baseball, basketball, hockey, and golf. With a Fantasy product for virtually every sports fan, the CBSSports.com Commissioner Fantasy Sports League Management product has won eight of the past ten Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) awards for best Fantasy Commissioner Product. CBSSports.com has a tradition of innovation in the fantasy sports industry as evidenced by its robust patent portfolio. For more information about the CBSSports.com Fantasy Sports, visit cbsports.com/fantasy.

Follow CBS Sports on Twitter: twitter.com/cbssports and on Facebook: facebook.com/cbssports

More information about CBS and its businesses is available at cbscorporation.com.

Press Contacts:

Alex Riethmiller – CBSSports.com 954.599.4154     ariethmiller@cbs.com

ReedPOP to Add “Fantasy Football Fest” to its Roster

New Event Serves a Devoted Fan Base in a Thriving Industry

(NORWALK, Conn Jan. 13) – - ReedPOP, the boutique pop culture focused division of Reed Exhibitions, is launching Fantasy Football Fest, August 18-19, 2012 at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, NJ. Taking the virtual Fantasy Football fan experience to the gridiron, the Fantasy Football Fest will provide a unique in-person experience by catering to the passion and devotion of millions of fantasy football and general football fans. In 2010 alone, fantasy players spent in excess of $1B pursuing their passion for the game through millions of leagues all over the world.

“Every event that ReedPOP produces offers a world-class celebration of pop culture by providing unique access, up close and personal experiences and interactive events that focus on exactly what the fans want most,” said Greg Topalian, Sr. Vice President, ReedPOP. “The Fantasy Football Fest is an exciting addition to our portfolio in that it harnesses the passion of the virtual Fantasy Football world to an in-person, live event. Fantasy Football is a shining example of Pop Culture fandom taken from the very real world of football. Both men and women love it and we are eager to make this event the Super Bowl of Fantasy Football.”

Strong industry support has been secured early for the Fantasy Football Fest with additional big brands, representing video gaming, memorabilia and home electronics, to be announced in the near future. The following founding sponsors have committed prior to the launch of the event and include: Fantasy Sports Trade Association, RotoExperts, Fathead, Sirius/XM and Tailgater Monthly.

“We are very pleased and excited to be joining forces with ReedPop for this groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind event that will certainly set new standards in the Fantasy industry. The Fantasy Football Fest is definitely a major happening for every Fantasy player and their families to mark on their calendars. The time has come for the large masses of Fantasy Football participants to have their own unique event where they can not only enjoy the ultimate draft bash and Fantasy festivities, but also to revel in some incredible related experiences that will make the Fantasy Football Fest the can’t-miss weekend of the year. RotoExperts.com is thrilled to deliver this new and instantly memorable event to the Fantasy participants we are so dedicated to. This is going to be the closest match a Fantasy Football player has to a true holiday”, said Louis M Maione, CEO of RotoExperts.com.

“Fathead is exited to partner with ReedPOP on the inaugural Fantasy Football Fest. F3 is poised to become the ultimate Fantasy Football event for all ages and we’re thrilled to share our passion for Football with these enthusiastic fans,” said Joanna Cline, CMO of Fathead. “Our Real. Big. NFL wall graphics and Fantasy draft boards will add larger-than-life energy to this groundbreaking event.”

The Fantasy Football Fest expects to bring over 25,000 rabid fans in approximately 300,000 square feet of total experience space. Activities and special events include a Draft Day Party, Athlete and Celebrity appearances, Sports Video Game tournaments and free-play, interactive athletic competitions, Sports Memorabilia, a Tailgate Party and Beer Tasting.  While the Fantasy Football Fest focuses on fantasy football including space for leagues to conduct drafts and fantasy experts providing tips and insights to help players’ teams perform at their best, the festival is much more than just fantasy.  F3 promises to be about every aspect of professional football except strapping on the pads in getting hit.  The show features will offer something for every member of the family in addition to an amazing weekend for the hardcore fantasy player.

For more information: http://www.fantasyfootballfest.com.

AboutReedPOP:

ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans.

The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East & West, Star Wars Celebration and UFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

2012 Winter FSTA Conference and Research Symposium Sponsored By CBSSports.com Monday and Tuesday, January 16-17 Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, NV Register Now!

Room Reservation

The phone number to call and make reservations is: 800-499-6311 or 702-791-7444. When you call in, make sure you say that they you’re coming in for Fantasy Sports Trade Association in January of 2012 on 01/16 & 01/17. Book your rooms under the group’s block. However do not guarantee that space is still available. Reservations should be able to pull the group up by name but if needed, the is the block code: FSTMB.

Sponsorship

If you are interested in sponsoring the FSTA Business Conference and Research Symposium in Las Vegas, please review our Sponsorship Opportunities. Email Association Director Megan Van Petten for details.

Event Pages

Follow the conference on Facebook

Follow the conference on Twitter

Follow the conference on Lanyrd

Special Feature

FSTA counsel Glenn Colton, a partner at SNR Denton US LLP, will be available to meet with conference attendees on a one-on-one basis at specified times during the conference (“Office Hours”).  Both start-ups and mature businesses are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions privately of one of the industry’s most recognized legal experts.

January 16th – Conference Day 1

3:00 P.M. Conference Registration Opens- Bermuda Room

3:30 P.M. Elevator Pitch Enrollment
Elevator Pitch Guidelines

4:00 P.M. FSTA Board Meeting- St. Kitts

5:00 P.M. Cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception. Sponsored By: Advanced Sports Logic

5:00 P.M FSTA Experts’ League Baseball Draft hosted live on SIRIUS XM radio’s fantasy sports channel.  Attendees will enjoy a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception.

January 17th – Conference Day 2

8:00 A.M.Complimentary Breakfast- Onda Restaurant Sponsored By:

8:30 A.M. Fantasy 101-St. Kitts

Are you new to the industry?  Here’s a chance to meet with several industry veterans who will offer advice to emerging companies.  You can help direct the discussion, and expect topics that include intellectual property protection, finding technical help, best practices, and more.

Note: Your company must be an FSTA member to attend.

Moderator: Peter Schoenke, RotoWire.com

Panelists:

Rick Wolf,  Full Moon Sports Solutions

Glenn Colton,  SNR Denton

9:00 A.M. Welcome and Opening Remarks- Paul Charchian, President, Fantasy Sports Trade Association- Bermuda Room

9:10 A.M. Welcome from Conference Title Sponsor

9:25 A.M. Professor Research

Drs. Billings and Ruihley will highlight some of the key motivation and consumption areas between sets of fantasy sports consumers. The first set will focus on the differences and similarities between male and female users while a second set will examine age groups. The findings present some interesting discoveries on these groups and is important because further identifying unique customer characteristics assists in marketing, advertising and recruitment/acquisition efforts. The professors will also address their new book project entitled, “The Fantasy Sport Industry: Games Within Games.” This book will offer the first comprehensive glimpse into the entire fantasy sports industry by utilizing comprehensive surveys, ‘insider’ insights from FSTA members and more.

Moderator: Howard Kamen, USAToday.com

Panelists:

Dr. Andrew Billings, Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting, University of Alabama

Dr. Andrew C. Billings is a Professor and Ronald Reagan Endowed Chair of Broadcasting at the University of Alabama. He holds all three of his degrees in communication-oriented fields from Indiana University. He is the author of over 50 journal articles and six books including, Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television. His research deals with sports media content, motivation and effects, particularly relating to megasporting events.

Dr. Brody Ruihley, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati

Dr. Brody James Ruihley is an Assistant Professor of Sport Administration in the School of Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. He holds a Ph.D. in Sport Studies with a concentration in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee, a M.S. in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville, and a B.A. in Communication from the University of Kentucky. His primary research is in the area of fantasy sport and public relations in sport.

10:00 A.M. Fantasy Sports Consumer Behavior, Ipsos research

A Fantasy Consumer Engagement Study will be presented.

Moderator: Stacie Stern, Head2Head.com

Presenter: Aaron Amic, Ipsos

10:35 A.M. Networking Break

Sponsored By:

Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

11:00 A.M. Changing Business Models

What strategies are product and content companies considering to grow their businesses? Where are there opportunities to increase reach and gain exposure to new audiences? How are fantasy businesses adapting to growing consumer acceptance of emerging models such as “freemium,” micro-transactions, applications and mobile platforms? A panel of fantasy business veterans with diverse backgrounds discuss these critical topics.

Moderator: Geoff Reiss, Professional Bowlers Association
Geoff Reiss is the CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association and President of Hardscrabble Advisors, a digital strategy and consulting firm. Reiss joined the PBA as Vice Chairman in March 2011 after previously holding several positions at ESPN, was CEO at Associated Content, and was Senior Vice President/General Manager of Newsweek’s digital division. While at ESPN, Reiss managed the launch of ESPN.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, and NASCAR Online.  Reiss launched ESPN.com’s first fantasy game in 1995 and oversaw the development of over 20 free and premium fantasy products.
He also was Senior Vice President/General Manager of ESPN the Magazine, and managed ESPN’s relationships with Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and The Tribeca Film Festival. He developed and acquired the Peabody Award-winning Dan Klores documentary Black Magic. He started his media career at Spy magazine.

Panelists:

Danielle MacLean, CBSSports.com
Danielle MacLean has served as the Director of Fantasy Sports for CBSSports.com since 2007.  She and her product team are responsible for CBSSports.com Fantasy News, the very popular March Madness Bracket games, and the industry-leading suite of fantasy games and leagues, including the award-winning CBSSports.com Commissioner.
MacLean joined CBSSports.com as a Product Manager in 2005 after working as a Database and Research Marketing Manager for the Indiana Pacers. She has earned both her MBA and Master of Science in Sport Management from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts (UMass).

J.B. Lee, Bloomberg Sports
Jay B. Lee is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Bloomberg Sports, which was selected by Fast Company Magazine as one of the “Ten Most Innovative Brands In Sports” in 2011. Lee was one of the original team members that conceptualized, developed, and launched the first-ever sports analytics division within global business leader Bloomberg LP, and has been responsible for helping craft the Bloomberg Sports business for fantasy baseball and football consumers  as well as for Major League Baseball Players and clubs, since the founding of the division in 2007.The New Jersey resident has been overseen all operational, infrastructural, and technological needs to develop, sell, and support the professional MLB team and sports fan products Bloomberg Sports now offers.
In addition to his work with Bloomberg, the Rutgers University graduate has over 18 years of extensive business and Information Technology experience and is an expert in providing business solutions in an enterprise and global environment. He holds an M.B.A. in General Management/Finance from Columbia University as well.

Cassidy Morris, Ziguana
Cassidy Morris co-founded Ziguana in an effort to bring powerful algorithms to the average fantasy manager, with a strong emphasis on presenting digestible data. Running a growing operation requires Cassidy to be part product manager, part engineer, and part marketer. Outside of Ziguana, Cassidy manages online advertising for a multi-million dollar corporation, with an emphasis on Search Engine Marketing. He’s been playing fantasy sports with the same group of guys for 10+ years. Cassidy has a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ryan Bonini , KFFL
Founding KFFL in 1996, Bonini serves as KFFL’s General Manager and VP of technology for KFFL’s parent company, Big Lead Sports/Fantasy Sports Ventures. Bonini was named the 2009 Fantasy Football Writer of the Year by the FSWA and received honors with the Best Fantasy Football Series in `10, making him the first two-time FSWA football-award winner.
His work has been found in USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, NFL.com, and many others. Bonini hosts Big Lead Sports on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio each Tuesday and Wednesday evening from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. ET and has appeared on countless radio shows, as well as the NFL Network’s signature television show, Total Access. He is a member of the PFWA, FSWA and FSTA.

11:50 A.M.  Sponsorship Pitches

Moderator: Paul Charchian

12:00 P.M. Complimentary Lunch & Networking- Onda Restaurant

Sponsored By:

1:15 P.M. Elevator Pitch

Do you have a new business or idea that will revolutionize the fantasy sports industry? This is your chance to get your idea out to a room full of decision makers! Get noticed by pitching your product at the FSTA conference.

Elevator Pitch Guidelines

Sponsored by:

Do you have a new business or idea that will revolutionize the fantasy sports industry? This is your chance to get your idea out to a room full of decision makers! Get noticed by pitching your product at the FSTA conference. Prize for best pitch!

2:30 P.M. Non Traditional Revenue Streams
Most companies in the fantasy industry are deriving revenue from a sign-up/subscription model.  Our panel discusses a variety of revenue alternatives, and answers key questions for any company looking for new monetization methodologies. What new revenue streams are being developed now? Are there emerging platforms that your company can develop now to be ahead of the curve?  Is the subscription model evolving or devolving?

Moderator: Paul Charchian, League Safe

Panelists:

Clay Walker, Big Lead Sports

Clay Walker is the Executive Vice President & Chief Affiliate Officer of Big Lead Sports, the largest independent digital sports media and marketing company in the U.S.  Big Lead Sports develops custom social media and marketing program for clients such as Coke, McDonalds, Sprint, P&G, Coors and Ford. He is responsible for managing the strategic direction of BLS’s affiliate network.  With more than 250+ affiliates and 20 million monthly unique visitors, Big Lead Sports is now the 5^th largest online sports property in the U.S., according to comScore. He also founded the Fantasy Sports Association, a trade organization that was dedicated to growing the fantasy sports industry.  Prior to joining Big Lead Sports in 2006, he served as the senior vice president of the NFL Players Association’s licensing and marketing arm (PLAYERS INC) for 13 years.  Clay earned a B.A. in English from East Carolina University, an M.B.A. from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Labor Relations from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Chuck Yu, TrialPay

Chuck Yu is a Senior Director of Business Development at TrialPay, where he oversees general business operations and is responsible for both advertising and merchant account management teams.  Chuck is an attorney and a member of the California State Bar.  Chuck has a BA in History from UC Berkeley and JD from UC Hastings College of the Law.

Robert Weber, W3i

Rob Weber is Co-founder & SVP of New Products for W3i (http://www.W3i.com), a leading provider of user acquisition and monetization solutions for consumer desktop and mobile apps. Through Rob’s leadership, W3i has connected users to an app over 650 million times since inception. W3i is currently partnered with 16 of the top 25 grossing apps on iOS.  This year, he has spoken at the Game Developers Conference, Game Developers Conference Online, and APPNATION. Rob has been an avid fantasy sports player, and is interested in meeting fantasy sports professionals interested in alternative distribution and monetization strategies for their mobile app.

3:15 P.M

New Product Demo Panel

Take a spin through some of the hottest new fantasy games, products and tools.  The creators of these new applications will take us through a 2-5 minute high quality video demo and then discuss the market opportunity for these new applications.

Moderator: Ted Kasten, Advanced Sports Media

Panelists :

Jon Goldstein,  SIdeBets

Jon Goldstein has owned and operated an entertainment properties company called Highline Investments for six years. The company has been profitable since its inception. Mr. Goldstein has over 10 years experience in corporate finance, small business development, and implementing technology solutions for his real estate and movie theater investments. SideBets is part of a diversification strategy for Highline. Mr. Goldstein received a Masters of Business Administration Degree in Finance from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from the University of Michigan.

Tom Griffiths,  FanDuel.com

Tom is a co-founder of Hubdub, the company that operates FanDuel.com. Since launching in 2009, FanDuel has become the leading daily fantasy sports site paying out $10m in daily fantasy prizes this NFL season. Tom heads up the product and development teams from FanDuel’s New York offices. Prior to co-founding Hubdub, Tom founded two previous startups, a web design agency and a mobile social network.

Michael Falato, TxtStation

Michael joined Txtstation in early 2006.  Michael has sales experience in Television, Internet and Radio for over 23 years.  His career history includes Premiere Radio Networks, Warner Bros. Online, Monster.com, Factiva (A Dow Jones & Reuters Company) and KECY-TV.  Michael also served his country by serving 12 years in the Air Force National Guard Communications Division as a Combat Cameraman.  Michael is originally from Chicago and moved to Los Angeles in 1997.  He now resides in Austin, Texas as of Sept 2006.  Michael has been on the cutting edge in the Internet space and has a strong passion for new innovations and solutions to help organizations increase their revenues.  He is a graduate of the University of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Sean Weinstock, numberFire.com

Sean is a co-founder of numberFire. Since officially launching in 2011, numberFire has become the leading algorithmic projection tool in fantasy football, outperforming all major competitors and signing up 20,000 registered users along the way. Its analytics extend to handicapping where it went 57% Against the Spread and 53.5% on Over/Unders this NFL season. Sean has been dubbed “Business/Law guy” and oversees the development of user acquisition and revenue channels. Prior to his involvement with numberFire, Sean co-founded a ticketing service for college events while at Carnegie Mellon and advised entrepreneurs on their venture pitches and early business models as a Fellow at InSITE while attending NYU Law.

4:00 P.M. Elevator Pitch Announcement Winner!

Prize Presented by:

One year FSTA membership and $100.00 Mirage Chip!

4:05 P.M. Networking Break

Sponsored By:

Glenn Colton’s “Office Hours”

4:30 P.M. Accuracy Challenge Winner Award Announcement

4:30 P.M. Facebook Fantasy Follow-up

As a follow up from the Facebook presentation we will be discussing the engagement of the simplistic social nature on Facebook.

Moderator: Stacie Stern, Head2Head.com

Panelists:

Jason Manasse, ACCUSCORE

As CEO of AccuScore, Jason Manasse leads the company’s vision and appearance in the market place.  In his role, Manasse is responsible for the overall company, establishing and negotiating the major relationships and is accountable for all financial aspects of the business.  He lead the company through two rounds of funding, taken the company to profitability, and secured deals with the major industry players, and plays an integral role in the development of the company’s products. Prior to founding the Company, Manasse spent 8 years in Business Development, Sales, and Marketing in software sales and licensing including distribution deals of over $2 million in under a year-and-a-half.  He also managed the renegotiation and evaluation of technology agreements that led to company saving more than $1 million dollars. Manasse spent over 6 years at Quisic.com structuring licensing deals, raising capital, maintaining low overhead, and selling to new markets.  Manasse holds a BA in Communications from Vanderbilt University.

Kevin Gralen, ShopTab

Kevin has 25 years of experience in Sales, Marketing, Business Development and General Management. He began his career at IBM and Siemens and moved into executive leadership roles with smaller public, privately-held and venture funded technology companies.  He shifted his focus in 2003 from B2B to B2C Internet-based businesses when he bought, grew and sold the 2^nd largest subscription fantasy sport site, Head2Head Sports, to a Wicks Private Equity in 2007. His online media experience lead him to the Chief Operating Officer position at EmpowHER where in 18 months he helped to grow the company into the 4^th largest Women’s Health and Wellness site with over 1.6 million monthly visitors  and rank in the top 2,000 of all websites. He recently formed Watershed Software with the purchase of software assets, including ShopTab (www.shoptab.net) and HomeKey (www.homekeyapp.com), to lead the market in the deployment of e-commerce and vertical marketing applications inside of social networks.

5:15 P.M. Power Tweeters

Twitter has significantly altered the way fantasy players receive and exchange information. This panel will feature “power users” who have mastered the platform, and they’ll discuss: How has their non-tweeting fantasy analysis (and their own drafting decisions) been altered by their tweeting? What causes their follower-numbers to grow? What negative “twitterverse” experiences have they had, and what did they learn from them? Has a too-hasty posting ever gotten them burned? How much time does it take up, and how does it contribute to The Bottom Line?

Moderator: Matthew Berry, ESPN

Panelists: Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars

Maurice Jones-Drew is a 3-time Pro Bowl running back for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones-Drew has amassed over 70 touchdowns and nearly 10,000 yards from scrimmage since his selection by the Jaguars out of UCLA in 2006. He is the host of “Runnin’ with MJD” on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio and works with Bloomberg Sports and Football Diehards to promote their fantasy football tools. Jones-Drew, who has over 220,000 followers on Twitter, also provided a fantasy football column for SI online last year.

John Shahidi, Rock Live

7:00  P.M Complimentary Awards Banquet and Dinner- Montego BCDE

Sponsored By:

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association and The Fantasy Sports Writers Association are the exclusive providers of the most prestigious awards offered in the fantasy sports industry. The FSTA’s annual awards are designed to recognize member companies pursuing excellence with their products and services. The FSWA’s annual writing awards recognize outstanding editorial contributions to the industry, and the FSWA Hall of Fame honors those whose work has had a lasting impact on fantasy readers and/or others working within the industry.

Wednesday, January 18^th

Networking Breakfast 8:30-10:30 –Onda Restaurant Sponsored By:

THE MOST PROLIFIC FANTASY FOOTBALL EXPERT LEAGUE ENDS WITH A BANG.

Fantasyfootballfreaks.com wins the 1st annual 32 team All-Pro Expert League in 2011. Fantasyalarm, a current FSTA member, appeared in the most challenging league title game in existence…losing by a mere 36.15 pts, not a large margin in this league. The results may be viewed here . Not only did Fantasyalarm represent well on behalf of FSTA members, but as a whole there were 12 of the 32 teams that are members as well.

FSTA members’ team highlights:

4 Division winners(8 divisions total)-Fantasyalarm, FFToday, USA Today, Pickemfirst

5 Playoff teams(12 total)-Fantasyalarm, FFToday, USA Today, Pickemfirst, Allproleagues.com

1 Conference champion-Fantasyalarm

After 13 weeks of regular season, the points leaderboard was filled with FSTA members including the top 4 spots-Fantasyalarm, FFToday, Pickemfirst, and Allproleagues.com. Playoffblitz and USA Today posted top 10 spots in points as well, bringing the total to 6 of the top 10.

The National Conference was completely occupied by FSTA members. Out of 16 teams, Allproleagues.com, Fantasyalarm, and FFToday made the final 4 in the conference.Sherpa Fantasy Sports and Playoffblitz missed the playoffs by 1 game. Congrats to all the teams for making the season as successful as it was anticipated, and invitations will be going out for next season in mid-summer.In addition, we thank you for making us the home of the #1 Fantasy Football expert league.

For great advertising opportunities contact allproleagues@gmail.com

PowerHouse Sports Launches highly realistic iGM Game

Biggest innovation in fantasy football in a generation allows serious NFL fans to see how they would do as the General Manager of a real NFL team

White Plains, NY.  December 1^st, 2011 – Fantasy football, played by 24 million people in North America in 2010, is a billion dollar business.  It’s a game where participants manage virtual teams made up of real-world players, and compete with their friends’ teams based on the statistical performance of the players in real life.

But, fantasy football is in no way a simulation of running a real pro football team, long the dream of many of the most passionate NFL fans.  PowerHouse is changing that, by evolving fantasy football into a highly realistic simulation of being the General Manager of a real NFL team, 52 weeks a year.

People running virtual teams in iGM sign free agents in March, participate with the real-world NFL Draft in April, make roster cuts in September, and try to fill in for injured players during the season.  iGM players compete with real NFL teams using PowerHouse’s unique scoring system that measures the entire 53-player roster, not just a handful of stats-producing stars, as in traditional fantasy football.

The key differences between traditional fantasy football and iGM:

• iGM players manage a complete virtual team, following the same rules that real NFL General Managers follow.  Traditional fantasy football has a fictitious set of rules that have nothing to do with running a real team.
• iGM plays out in real time, keeping fans engaged 52 weeks a year.  Traditional fantasy football is a seasonal game that starts over every year and has no activity during the NFL off-season.
• iGM includes all football positions, even offensive linemen.  Traditional fantasy football only involves “skill position” players who produce statistics.
• iGM ties in to real world events to govern player movement and results in the game.  Traditional fantasy football only ties in to the real world for statistical results.
• iGM offers the most enthusiastic and opinionated NFL fans the opportunity to demonstrate how they would do if they could be the General Manager of a real team.  Traditional fantasy football is a fictional game that is heavily dependent on luck.

PowerHouse President and CEO Chris Barry originally invented the rules for iGM in 1995.  He has been running a virtual team on an Excel spreadsheet, for no other reason than his own enjoyment, for 15 years, and says, “I finally felt that, after all this time enjoying this game myself, that the time was right to share it.  The evolution of web technology, the explosive growth in interest in the NFL’s off-season, and the ability that small companies now have to stand up and get noticed from a marketing standpoint is a perfect storm for us.”

Contact information:

Website:  www.PowerHouseGM.com

Anyone can sign up to run a team for free at:

http://content.powerhousegm.com/PowerHouse-iGM-game-1-of-4/

PowerHouse’s Press Room:  http://content.powerhousegm.com/powerhouse-press-room/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/PowerHouseSports

Chris Barry’s LinkedIn profile:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/barrycm

Chris Barry’s email:  barrycm@PowerHouseGM.com Chris is available for interviews almost any time.  Seriously, he’s obsessed.