SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

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Greg Ambrosius
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SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Tue Nov 15, 2016 5:37 pm

We are VERY excited to announce today that our suite of high-stakes contests will be joining a new team.

SportsHub Technologies, LLC has acquired the assets to the NFBC, NFFC and NFBKC from STATS LLC and is ready to spur our contests' growth through tech upgrades and promotional partnerships. All of our contests will get a complete overhaul; everything from the way we pay out our prizes going forward to the way we host our online drafts.

SportsHub Technologies might be new to our customers, but they're not new to the industry. Run by CEO Rob Phythian, one of the founders of Fanball.com in the 1990s, the company has added several well-known businesses in the past 18 months. SportsHub has acquired the assets to CDM Fantasy Sports, Sports Technologies LLC, and League Safe. Now you can add the NFBC and NFFC to that list.

Here's why Tom and I are so excited by the move:

* Technology, technology, technology. Everyone involved with this move agrees that the online growth potential is huge with the right tools and platforms. The team at Sports Technologies has built games for the NFL, NASCAR, NCAA March Madness, PGA Tour and other leagues. We will have programmers dedicated to all of our products full-time and we'll be able to improve our current contests and add new games as well. You're going to see a very dedicated community of players with a whole host of fantasy games and more.

* Timely payments. This move ensures that our customers will never have to wait six weeks again for payment. In fact, thanks to the LeagueSafe ewallet system, future payments will just be deposited into your Player Account where you can decide what to do with the prize money. For the first time in our history, our customers will have the opportunity to manage their winnings in their Player Accounts and to use for future games if needed.

* Expanded user base. Being able to promote all of our games to the folks at CDM, League Safe and Sports Technologies can only grow our customer base. And I think we'll create some lower-priced entry point games that will be attractive to a lot of these customers. Stay tuned.

* Mobile growth. Online and mobile technology will grow by leaps and bounds. Starting with football 2017, you'll see every aspect of our contests touched by new technology. That goes from registering for contests to drafting in our contests to managing your teams in our contests. Programmers are working on all of this as we speak.

* State by state legislation. We will be compliant in every state and have already applied for licenses in many of the states in question. Doing this as a company with multiple games makes the most sense as more and more states put stipulations on our industry.

* In-season games. There are plans for additional contests beyond just our season-long format. You may see weekly games in the near future. There will be more options under this new company umbrella and it's sure to grow in future years as consolidation becomes a big part of our industry.

Anyway, we'll have more information coming soon. I can't thank STATS enough for the past 13 years together. We would never have had the NFBC without STATS. They were there for me in 2003 when I worked at Krause Publications and pitched this idea to several folks. Nobody thought much of my idea, but STATS took the chance and built the web site and ran all of the games for us from 2004-09. Then after a shaky 18-month turn at Fanball.com (Rob had already sold the company), STATS was willing to take us on in 2011 and ran all of our games for the last six years. They assumed ownership at that time and worked with Rob on this asset transfer.

We will continue to work with STATS during this next year and in fact the NFBC will continue to be run on the STATS platform using all of the same software as last year. We won't have time to integrate software changes for this baseball season, so we will build out our new platform and debut it in football 2017 and then build out basketball and baseball after that.

The programmers working on this product are fantasy players and understand every new item we presented before them. They understand why we need timers added to owners in Draft Champions Leagues. They understand how important it is to easily make your picks and sign up from your phone. They understand why it's important to build Lineup Pages with all of your teams on one page and Score pages with all of your live scores on one page. They are excited to add all of these new features while building the best online draft room in the industry.

Nothing against STATS, but we never had the dedicated resources to add all of these upgrades these past few years. They are a data company and that is their prime focus. We all know that the sites need help now and that we need to make it easier for all of you to manage your teams during the season so that you can have more teams during the season. And we have to make online drafting simple, easy and fun. We now can do that with the resources we have through SportsHub and especially the team at Sports Technologies LLC. That's what's so exciting about this deal.

I know it's change again. I know it's going to be a pain to move our game sites and our Message Boards to new locations. But we're with a fantasy games company now whose sole purpose is to create and run the best games in the industry. Spoil us with some love and attention boys. 8-) We could use it.

Thanks to STATS for 13 wonderful years (give or take 18 months). You guys were the best.

And welcome to SportsHub Technologies. May this be our last and most successful transfer ever. I truly believe it will be. Thanks all and enjoy this upcoming season.
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius

Teufel Hunden
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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Teufel Hunden » Tue Nov 15, 2016 5:47 pm

Congratulations to all involved. Sounds like an improvement for you and your customers.

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KJ Duke
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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by KJ Duke » Tue Nov 15, 2016 6:07 pm

Great news, Greg! Looking forward to the tech changes and a more engaged team to help you guys deliver an even better game for us all. We'll just have to slog thru one more season of lame-duck old tech until we reach the promised land.

Be sure these guys understand the huge loyalty-building value of your live events; most of us aren't DFS basement-dwelling action junkies. :P

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by ToddZ » Tue Nov 15, 2016 6:22 pm

SWEET! Congrats. Perfect match.
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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by King of Queens » Tue Nov 15, 2016 7:12 pm

Great news -- sounds like a Win for everyone.

You forgot to mention: it's now the "High Stakes Fantasy Advantage" on SiriusXM :D

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Bronx Yankees » Tue Nov 15, 2016 7:20 pm

Sounds like great news, Greg and Tom. Congratulations on the move - seems like a great fit for you and for us.

Man, just as I was getting excited about this coming drafting season, you got me pumped up about next season. 8-)

Mike
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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by EA Sports » Tue Nov 15, 2016 7:30 pm

Congrats guys! Really looking forward to it.

Eric
"Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win" - Bobby Knight

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Le Grand Orange » Tue Nov 15, 2016 8:09 pm

You had me at owner timers for DCs. :D Mazel Tov to you and Tom!
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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Glenneration X » Tue Nov 15, 2016 9:29 pm

We should always be thankful to STATS for helping save the NFBC/NFFC after the debacle of Fanball back in 2011. It was a turbulent time for fantasy sports with the death of the aforementioned Fanball coming right off the heels of the demise & defaulting on payments of Fantasy Jungle, AFFL, FFOC, and WCOFF. If not for STATS, these games may have suffered a similar fate. STATS helped stabilize the industry while at its lowest point and a half decade later all the major contests seem strong and stable.

That said, I won't miss STATS' reluctance to improve on its Commodore 64, internet dialup, Hal from Space Odyssey 2001 level of technology.

Thanks again STATS, but I look forward to a new era for the NFBC/NFFC with quicker FAAB, easier lineups, better live scoring, player accounts, and just a much better player experience for all of us.

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Edwards Kings » Wed Nov 16, 2016 6:01 am

As long as Greg and Tom are safe in this transition, GREAT!
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Cocktails and Dreams » Wed Nov 16, 2016 11:12 pm

Sounds great. Having more football teams with you than every before, it is maddening how long it takes to get stuff done with the awful platform. Sounds like the new tech guys understand this stuff. Look forward to that very much.

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Nov 21, 2016 9:40 am

The official announcement of our sale was today, so we can finally spread the word and list the press release. Enjoy.

SPORTSHUB TECHNOLOGIES TO ACQUIRE THE NATIONAL FANTASY CHAMPIONSHIP ASSETS FROM STATS

Acquisition will Reinforce SportsHub Technologies’ Fantasy Sports Strategy and Builds on Recent Acquisitions of Sports Technologies, CDM Sports and LeagueSafe; STATS Will Continue to Power the Data and Scoring for the NFC

Minneapolis, MN, November 14, 2016 – SportsHub Technologies, LLC (“SportsHub”) announced today that it has purchased the assets of the National Fantasy Championship (“NFC”), from STATS, the world’s leading sports data and technology company. The NFC runs the largest high-stakes events in the world, including the National Fantasy Football Championship, National Fantasy Baseball Championship, and National Fantasy Basketball Championship. A high-stakes fantasy pioneer that launched in 2004, the NFC has awarded more than $37 million in prize money and has the distinction of being the longest-running high-stakes fantasy sports operator in the industry. As part of the transaction, STATS will continue to power the NFC data and scoring.

Rob Phythian, CEO of SportsHub and a longtime industry veteran, expressed his enthusiasm for the transaction. “I’ve been in this industry for over 20 years and I’ve known NFC General Manager Greg Ambrosius for just as long. He is the best in the business, and we look forward to working with him to make an already outstanding product even better.” The NFC has revolutionized the world of high-stakes fantasy sports since its inception and caters to some of the highest value fantasy sports fans and most loyal users in the world. They are the only high-stakes operator with live events hosted in Las Vegas, New York, Chicago and online. “These high-stakes contests and events offer the perfect way to reach the high-end fantasy sports participant. Our management team is excited for the possibilities this acquisition brings to our long-term strategy” said Phythian.

The deal adds to a series of recent acquisitions and expansion announcements made by SportsHub to enhance its position as a full-spectrum provider of fantasy sports products and services. As a part of the SportsHub family, NFC will continue to operate as a separate division of the company. GM Greg Ambrosius will retain his previous responsibilities while taking on a senior role with the SportsHub management team. “We started the NFC in 2004 with the vision of creating a new fantasy sports experience for hard core fantasy sports fans who wanted a higher level of competition,” Ambrosius said. “Today, I couldn’t be more excited to join with SportsHub to advance that vision, and I thank STATS for being a home for NFC for the past four years, both accelerating our growth and working with SportsHub to unlock our full potential.”

STATS, as the leader in sports data and solutions for media companies, technology platforms, fantasy games, brands, and leagues and teams around the world, will continue to invest deeply in solutions – including fantasy – for its partners to help them increase the engagement of fans and improve performance on the field. “Greg and NFC have been a great addition to STATS, and I’m excited for them to be able to work with Rob and team to continue to build a strong consumer business and for STATS to partner with the NFC and SportsHub as they grow,” said Kenneth Fuchs, CEO of STATS. “STATS has always been at its best powering our partners’ success and we’ll continue our heavy investments in new technologies and products in sports data, software, applications and services with that mission as our core focus.”

About Rob Phythian

Rob Phythian is a true visionary and pioneer of the digital sports world. Mr. Phythian co-founded one of the first-ever online fantasy sports platforms, Fanball, and sold it to Liberty Media in 2005. More recently, he co-founded and led SportsData, a company that makes software that disseminates sports stats to media outlets, fantasy leagues and social media giants like Google and Twitter. Phythian grew SportsData into a prominent and successful business, landing deals with the NFL and NASCAR, and served as CEO until its acquisition by SportRadar in 2013.

About SportsHub Technologies

SportsHub Technologies was founded in 2015 by a team of veteran fantasy sports industry insiders including Rob Phythian, a member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Board of Directors and a member of the Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame. SportsHub owns and operates real money gaming sites and is on a mission to level the playing field for daily fantasy sports fans. In addition, SportsHub specializes in helping sports media companies develop strategies, products and innovative solutions to drive deep customer engagement with highly interactive games and mobile applications. For more information, please visit www.SportsHubTech.com.

About STATS

As the world’s leading sports data and technology company, STATS powers sports. We are trusted by more than 800 clients around the globe to enhance fan engagement and maximize team performance by analyzing sports data from more than 100,000 games a year with unrivaled speed and accuracy. We power sports on and off the field through data feeds, video analysis, sports content and research, player tracking through STATS SportVU®, and customizable digital solutions. For more information, go to www.stats.com and follow STATS on Twitter @STATS_Insights.
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by FrozenTundra » Mon Nov 21, 2016 10:07 am

Greg,

Congratulations on this big step up. Look forward to these improvements and to watching our game continue to grow. Since I didn't participate until I retired six years ago, I was unaware of the NFBC's history. It's quite a story. As you said, hopefully this will be your last move! Was good to see you at FPAZ.

Dick

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Walla Walla » Tue Nov 22, 2016 12:56 pm

Congrats to Greg and the team for all the years keeping it going and wishing many more. I miss seeing all the players in Las Vegas. I'll see if I can swing something this year and show up for baseball.

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Re: SportsHub Technologies Acquires NFBC/NFFC

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Tue Nov 22, 2016 1:26 pm

Walla Walla wrote:Congrats to Greg and the team for all the years keeping it going and wishing many more. I miss seeing all the players in Las Vegas. I'll see if I can swing something this year and show up for baseball.
Sounds good John. You are one of the original 195 Charter Members of the NFBC Main Event. That's a special group who did enough to convince Krause Publications to try the NFBC for one more year. The rest is history.

See ya in Vegas.
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius

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