Fantasy Sports

Watercooler Lands $5.5 Million for Fan Sites, Social Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2009 - 6:06am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Watercooler, a developer of fan communities and social games that claims 26 million users, announced on Monday that it has raised $5.5 million in its second round of funding, led by U.K. online gambling firm Betfair.

Yahoo Debuts New Applications for iPhone, BlackBerry

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 9, 2009 - 12:08pm.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) has introduced three new mobile applications, which are variously available for Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone and RIM's (NASD: RIMM) BlackBerry. Flickr for Mobile, available only for iPhone and iPod touch, is a free application that lets users upload and tag photos and videos. The company also released Yahoo Fantasy Football for Mobile, and a Yahoo Finance for Mobile application available for the iPhone and BlackBerry Bold, Tour and 8900 series.

Liberty's Fanball Buys Fantasy Sports Assets of F+W Media

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 19, 2009 - 7:35am.
St. Louis - Fanball, a unit of Liberty Media (NASD: LINTA) that provides online fantasy sports contests and related services, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the fantasy sports assets of F+W Media.

U.S. Mayors to Face-Off in Yahoo Fantasy Football

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 12, 2009 - 12:33pm.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Mayors from 11 U.S. cities, including Gavin Newsom of San Francisco and Ron Dellums of Oakland, will take part in an online fantasy football competition this season through Yahoo (NASD: YHOO). Under the Yahoo Sports Mayoral Face-off, the mayors' teams will be matched head-to-head each week of the NFL's regular season, with the winners awarded $15,000 for a local non-profit sports program. Yahoo also will donate $15,000 to the city with the most votes from fantasy fans.

OPEN Sports Nabs $4 Million for Fantasy Sports Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 22, 2009 - 8:18am.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - OPEN Sports Network, the social network and fantasy sports venture launched by SportsLine.com founder Mike Levy, announced on Wednesday that it has raised an additional $4 million in private investor funding.

FoxSports.com Takes Stake in Fantasy Sports Firm OpenSports

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2009 - 7:14am.
Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) FoxSports.com has partnered with OpenSports, a fantasy sports-focused online social network, in a deal that will see FoxSports.com take an equity stake in the company, Sports Business Journal reported.

Yahoo Drops NFL Players Assn. Suit Over Fantasy Game Rights

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 8, 2009 - 10:32am.
Los Angeles - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) has settled a lawsuit it filed against the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), over the payment of licensing fees for use of players' names and statistics in online fantasy football games.

Yahoo Sues NFL Players Assn. Over Fantasy Football Rights

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 4, 2009 - 9:27am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) has filed suit against the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), seeking a ruling from a judge that would permit the company to use players' names and statistics in its online fantasy football leagues without having to pay licensing fees. Yahoo's suit alleges that the NFLPA threatened to sue the company if it did not pay licensing fees that it has in the past for the players' data.

RotoHog Secures $2 Million for Online Fantasy Sports Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2009 - 11:55am.
Los Angeles - RotoHog, a provider of online fantasy sports games, said on Tuesday that it has secured $2 million new funding, led by Mission Ventures and DFJ Dragon.

Challenge Games Lands $10 Million for Fantasy Sports Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2008 - 7:47am.

Austin, Texas - Challenge Games, a developer of online fantasy sports games including "Duels" and "Baseball Boss," announced that it has raised $10 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Globespan Capital Partners.

NFL Union Countersues CBS Over Fantasy Sports Rights

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 12, 2008 - 11:27am.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. - The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has filed a countersuit against CBS (NYSE: CBS), which last week asked a federal judge to issue a ruling stating that its fantasy football games do not infringe on players' rights.

CBS Sues NFL Players' Union Over Fantasy Football Licensing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 8, 2008 - 11:40am.
Minneapolis - CBS (NYSE: CBS) last week filed a lawsuit against the NFL Players Association, asking a federal judge to clarify usage rights for the statistics used in fantasy football leagues, the Associated Press reported.

Atomic Moguls Lands $1 Million for Fantasy Sports Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 15, 2008 - 6:25am.

Seattle - Atomic Moguls, a provider of fantasy sports leagues and related services, has raised about $1 million in new funding from Second Avenue Partners and other investors, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

"Duels" Developer Challenge Games Raises $4.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 10, 2008 - 9:09am.

Austin, Texas - Challenge Games, a developer of browser-based, free-to-play online games, announced on Thursday that it has closed a $4.5 million first round of funding from Sequoia Capital.

Courts Give Fantasy Sports Leagues Free Access to Player Stats

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 3, 2008 - 10:28am.

Washington - The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from Major League Baseball in a move that will give fantasy sports leagues the rights to use players' names and statistics without paying a license fee. The initial court ruling in favor of fantasy sports league operators came in 2005, and MLB and its players' association appealed to the Supreme Court in February, arguing that players should retain control over the use of their names and likenesses, and that such licenses are worth billions of dollars.

AOL Acquires Fantasy Football Site Fleaflicker

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 25, 2008 - 7:15am.

Dulles, Va. - AOL has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire New Jersey-based fantasy sports site Fleaflicker, which powers The Washington Post's fantasy football leagues, TechCrunch reported.

FantasyFishing.com to Offer Record $1 Million Payout

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 12, 2007 - 12:35pm.

New York - FLW Outdoors on Wednesday announced the largest cash purse for an online fantasy sports competition, with a $1 million payout to the winner of FantasyFishing.com, The Wall Street Journal reported. The announcement was made by FLW chairman Irwin Jacobs, who owns boat maker Genmar Holdings. A test of the online fantasy fishing game last year drew several hundred thousand players. The game will not require a registration fee, but will charge $39.95 for supplemental information on "pro anglers, lake conditions and expert commentary."

Appeals Court Sides With Fantasy Games Over Baseball Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 28, 2007 - 9:53am.

St. Louis - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has refused to rehear an appeal of a ruling that said fantasy baseball game providers can use actual names and statistics on players in their games, the St. Louis Business Journal reports.

Liberty Media to Acquire FUN Technologies for $94 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2007 - 7:37am.

Toronto - John Malone's Liberty Media (NASD: LINTA) said on Friday that it will acquire Toronto-based FUN Technologies, a provider of online casual and fantasy sports games and sports information, in a deal valued at about $94 million.

ProTrade.com Brings Fantasy Sports to a New Level

Authored by Scott Goldberg on September 6, 2007 - 5:33am.
Want to bet on A. Pujols?Mike Kerns, Founder and CEO of ProTrade.com, appeared on CNBC today to discuss his company’s concept, one which combines gambling and fantasy sports in a traditional market model.  For those with the gambler’s itch, a love for fantasy sports, and a basic understanding of economics, it’s a new level of game play sure to slice even more productive hours out of your work day.  “ProTrade is a virtual market,” Kerns said.  “So essentially it’s the next generation of the fantasy sports experience.” Unfortunately ProTrade does not allow, at this time, the use of actual greenbacks.