In an attempt to make a serious dent in the company's share of the fantasy sports market, CBS Sports is opening it's doors to outside influence. The company now plans to allow outside developers the opportunity to create fan-friendly apps directed toward fantasy team owners. CBSSports.com registered 17.6 million unique visitors in 2011, making it sixth among online sports websites. To improve upon this number, CBS Sports is looking to develop a variety of apps that will feed the fan's hunger for improved knowledge and statistics on their favorite players and teams.
Incredibly, almost one billion dollars are spent annually on fantasy games and related products. CBS realizes that the company is not likely to challenge larger, more established sports websites in developing a league itself. They already have fantasy leagues where fantasy players must pay-to-play. Instead, they are looking to develop multiple apps that go into depth on player's health, statistics, etc. Basically, they are interested in developing apps that will help these fantasy owners gain the most knowledge, and subsequently win their fantasy leagues. CBSSports.com plans to keep a 30% share of sales for paid apps.
I found this article particularly interesting in that it shows the continued evolution in the relationship between media, sports, and fans. Fantasy sports, and football in particular, have grown tremendously in recent years. In fact, there are now a variety of shows on television that are specifically geared toward fantasy owners, and the content helps the owners to win fantasy matches. This article was a perfect example of how companies are continuing to figure out ways to manage this growing market. With my interest in sports and media, this article was great in learning more about yet another market in the sports world.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203721704577159270507577072.html
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