How Can We Make The NFBC Primetime Better2?

[Happenstance]

My goal is to still have a live 12-team event with a major grand prize because that's how we're going to attract new users to the NFBC. It's tough to jump right into a 15-team Main Event at $1600 per team.

Maybe I'm a unique case, but I "graduated" directly from the 12-team online to the 15-team main event and don't see why others wouldn't as well. The DCs and online is how you attract new users. I also firmly believe that once you get somebody to a live event - any live event - they'll be hooked.

To that extent, a few ideas:

1. More and better marketing. I love listening to the rotowire guys and others on SiriusXM talking about the NFBC. I like seeing the NFBC ADP everywhere in the pre-season. But I want to see more "roto-celebrities" talking specifically about how awesome the live events are.

2. It also seems that people love to compete against the "celebrities." Look how quickly the "Beat <insert Rotowire guy here>" leagues fill every year. (I have family and friends that don't care about fantasy baseball and don't have any interest in discussing it, that suddenly showed interest last year when I mentioned I had two people from Hollywood in my league.) What can you do to get Mathew Berry or Steve Phillips or other well-know industry guys to participate in NYC/Vegas, and how can you advertise their participation?

3. Promote the winners more, too. I realize that there were a lot of other factors that fueled poker's growth 10-12 years ago, but certainly part of it was seeing Chris Moneymaker - a "regular" guy - take down a bunch of pros. The people that read these message boards all know the amazing caliber of past winners, but it's good to reduce any intimidation factor and show that they're regular guys.... who beat the pros.

4. In the interest of getting people to live events that first time, what about waiving events and co-mgr fees, etc. for first-time live drafters?

[Driver Love]

I like the idea of two different higher stakes events where one (15 teamer) leaves players with a shallow free agent pool and a perceived more difficult competition and another (12 teamer) that has more value in the free agent pool and more difficult decisions with faab each week and maybe even managing ones own roster. I also like the idea of a spectrum of contests that allow players to move up in price point, competition and format challenge all the way to the "grand daddy of em all" in the Main. Maybe the answer to growing the Primetime could be improved in part by fresh marketing? This is not to say the current or past marketing has been bad. Just throwing out ideas here. Maybe the NFBC comes up with a new marketing campaign and strategy to aggressively define itself as the premier fantasy baseball competition in the market that is held in the highest regard. Maybe the NFBC comes up with a creative marketing campaign that counters the DFS marketing with how they say "who wants to wait 3 months to win a fantasy contests, blah blah blah" as if season long is some burdensome bore. "In season long, Bryce Harpers 0-4 wont kill you like it did yesterday in your daily game... come to the NFBC and really manage your TEAM and see if you have what it takes!" Maybe the NFBC season long entity hits back a little and touts how great season long is. I know given marketing partnerships this could be a slippery slope.

I read in a previous post that live events continue to get progressively more costly. Maybe make the live events a Las Vegas only type thing and try to negotiate a host facility that gives you a great deal. I bet one of the peripheral properties (as opposed to Bellagio) may give you a sweet deal. Vegas is still Vegas, wings are still wings, blackjack is still blackjack, sports books are still sports books regardless of where the event is as long as you are not too far off beaten path.

Just some random thoughts while on a weather delay at the British Open!

[ToddZ]

Keep it exactly like it is with this change....

Eliminate Friday moves but keep Monday moves.

You can do a move any time you want, for any reason -- for *$5 FAAB. All Monday moves are not charged.

*amount negotiable, vetting the concept is more important than the amount, at least initially

[TParsons]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with KJ. Ido like playing in it as is, but believe the market has spoken on this one. It has been tried a few different ways and hasn't shown that it can be sustainable. My thoughts might be different if the sign ups were from many new customers, but they haven't been. The names on the sign up list are the same volume players that you see in all other leagues. Many of those players added teams this year only because the ROI was too good to pass up. Otherwise, there is no chance that it would have even gotten to 204. Additionally, you have to think about the potential that the cutline championship might cut into those sign ups from the volume players in years to come. You are going to need a lot of NEW customers to sustain the 12 teamer outside of the OC. i think KOQ has presented the most logical and sustainable model.

[TOXIC ASSETS]

Keep it exactly like it is with this change....

Eliminate Friday moves but keep Monday moves.

You can do a move any time you want, for any reason -- for *$5 FAAB. All Monday moves are not charged.

*amount negotiable, vetting the concept is more important than the amount, at least initially

A tremendous idea. That makes running a team here more like running a 'real' team. It also makes it competitive with DFS where you can obviously make moves every day.

Think about it -- you are Ruben Amaro. Check that...you are a real baseball GM. You have a hot pitcher in AAA and a need a starter for Saturday night. You call up the pitcher on Friday and make him the Saturday night starter. No waiting around. And I also like the idea of the $5 per move although I might even push that amount up higher. But this is a good start.

I'd also think hard about scrapping the Primetime and put all of your resources into your winning products.

[Driver Love]

Keep it exactly like it is with this change....

Eliminate Friday moves but keep Monday moves.

You can do a move any time you want, for any reason -- for *$5 FAAB. All Monday moves are not charged.

*amount negotiable, vetting the concept is more important than the amount, at least initially

If I am reading this correctly this would allow owners to have more control over their team day to day. I would love to have one higher stakes format like this.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Thanks for the continued feedback. Here's another response sent to me via email from a former St. Louis drafter:

I think the format is fine. I think it is all about the price. I know some people that dropped out from St. Louis didn't want to spend that much on a league. I actually think a lot of people prefer the 12 team format but the price is too high. But to attract more people you are going to have to cut the price at least in half to attract more people. I don't know how the math would work out but you may have to drop the grand prize but maybe you would make up for it with the additional teams. You will still have the 15 team $1600 league for the high rollers.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here's another response from a veteran NFBC owner:

I think the problem is the nfbc is loaded with great players who want to be challenged. We have big egos, we dont like to draft a third OF and we can find players just as good in the FAAB. The draft is not as important, we want to be challenged, make the game a 18 or 20 team league and promote it as more of a challenge then the main event. I know that wont bring in new guys but the ones who are playing want to be challenged. make the price point lower and guys will buy multiple teams

[Greg Ambrosius]

One more from an NFBC Charter Member:

As I mentioned to you in Vegas, I would have taken more teams this year if there were more draft times available that didn't conflict with Main Events (and passover/Easter). I did 3 drafts and it was tough to find other time slots that didn't conflict with other drafts.

Start hosting drafts the week before the first weekend online and then every night between weekends, fill those up, and you're suddenly at 300 not 200 teams. I love the format and don't think anything needs to change.

[Captain Hook]

I like this last post about more draft times

I also think the entry price is out of whack - it has to be at a maximum half the price of the main event so one would choose to do two Primetime leagues versus one more main event team.

Another idea IF you have to maintain the higher price (and I don't think that is the case your hotel costs at least in Las Vegas and NY are mostly determined by how much space you need for main event leagues) - give a $100 discount for every main event league or high stakes league a player has already purchased.

I do think the idea of a different format is reasonable - Todd's suggestion is a starting point - BUT I don't think larger as suggested above is the way to go.

[Greg Ambrosius]

(and I don't think that is the case your hotel costs at least in Las Vegas and NY are mostly determined by how much space you need for main event leagues)

[Cocktails and Dreams]

I personally love the format. Granted, Joe and I entered in bulk because we thought it would be more of an overlay situation than it ended up being. So now we have to run them all. It is not all that fun sometimes. But I can speak for myself in saying that if it were not for this primetime event I would not have played at all. Typically, I would play my online championship teams at the start of the draft season and then figure out my way from there. I was a little bit in doubt this event would even run this year, so I opted to not even do online championships until the end when we snuck in a 3 pack. And if the primetime would have cancelled, so would have my main events.

Since I will no longer play the high dollar contained leagues , this will probably be my swan song if there is no primetime main event next year. I tried to do my part to help save it, but it needs to become sustainable without someone owning 16 out of 204 teams.

I think you need a Lindy or Jupinka type to win the contest and help endorse the contest. There are many 15 team guys that think they are too smart to play this 12 team event. Completely different game. And they may not have what it takes. They cannot change their mindset from the 15 teamer to the 12 teamer. People can do it in football just fine. But for some reason they cannot in baseball.

I don't have much else as far as improving it, as I don't think it is flawed. But if people prefer to try and beat 2 or 3 times as many teams to win a main event and generally be drawing dead when they begin then that is their right. I don't even like fantasy baseball, so if this game ends, that is fine by me. Hopefully there is a way to figure it out though.

[Sebadiah23]

"NFBC Primetime- Grinder Venus Fly Trap"

At least that's something tangible...

[Tom Kessenich]

(and I don't think that is the case your hotel costs at least in Las Vegas and NY are mostly determined by how much space you need for main event leagues)

How we wish that was true.