http://fantasyethos.com/2009/12/cbssportscom-abandons-fantasy-golf-and-fantasy-nascar/ Fantasy Sports Culture, News, Jobs, Industry, Business, Humor Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:54:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://fantasyethos.com/2009/12/cbssportscom-abandons-fantasy-golf-and-fantasy-nascar/#comment-111 ESPN Cancels Fantasy NASCAR Game | Fantasy Ethos | Fantasy Sports Culture, News, Jobs, Industry, Business, Humor Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:42:39 +0000 http://fantasyethos.com/?p=603#comment-111 [...] told you earlier about how CBS Sports was cancelling its fantasy NASCAR and fantasy golf games for 2010. Now, it is clear that ESPN is also on this bandwagon and is cancelling its fantasy NASCAR game for [...] [...] told you earlier about how CBS Sports was cancelling its fantasy NASCAR and fantasy golf games for 2010. Now, it is clear that ESPN is also on this bandwagon and is cancelling its fantasy NASCAR game for [...]

]]> http://fantasyethos.com/2009/12/cbssportscom-abandons-fantasy-golf-and-fantasy-nascar/#comment-110 John Hohlen Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:38:50 +0000 http://fantasyethos.com/?p=603#comment-110 Boy, this sure was a big surprise. My understanding is that the fantasy golf decision was made prior before to Tigergate making the headlines. I've heard CBS Sports had about 50,000 users playing fantasy golf, so that's nothing to sneeze at. If any of them are looking for a new game, I'd certainly like to invite them to try Pro Tour Fantasy Golf. Nonetheless, this is a real tragedy for CBS and the PGA Tour. Even though the PGA Tour has its own game via Yahoo!, the PGA Tour needs fantasy golf -- maybe this year more than ever. The more fantasy golf games there are, the more participants players there are, which means more viewership. In my opinion, fantasy golf is what makes watching golf on TV interesting outside the 4 majors. It's fun to have golfers to cheer for each week in a sport where you don't have a home team to root for. Over the past few years, fantasy golf has been considered one the fastest growing fantasy sports markets. But I guess not growing enough in the eyes of CBS. I can certainly attest to the cost of running fantasy sports games. There is a lot expense than what most people realize -- development costs, testing, server hosting, advertising, prizes, customer support, statistics, etc. So in this current economic environment, it's easy to see how expenses can exceed income, especially for a free game such as CBS's. But I would have never expected this in a million years because when I think PGA golf and network TV, I think CBS - as you alluded to. Boy, this sure was a big surprise. My understanding is that the fantasy golf decision was made prior before to Tigergate making the headlines. I’ve heard CBS Sports had about 50,000 users playing fantasy golf, so that’s nothing to sneeze at. If any of them are looking for a new game, I’d certainly like to invite them to try Pro Tour Fantasy Golf. Nonetheless, this is a real tragedy for CBS and the PGA Tour. Even though the PGA Tour has its own game via Yahoo!, the PGA Tour needs fantasy golf — maybe this year more than ever. The more fantasy golf games there are, the more participants players there are, which means more viewership. In my opinion, fantasy golf is what makes watching golf on TV interesting outside the 4 majors. It’s fun to have golfers to cheer for each week in a sport where you don’t have a home team to root for. Over the past few years, fantasy golf has been considered one the fastest growing fantasy sports markets. But I guess not growing enough in the eyes of CBS. I can certainly attest to the cost of running fantasy sports games. There is a lot expense than what most people realize — development costs, testing, server hosting, advertising, prizes, customer support, statistics, etc. So in this current economic environment, it’s easy to see how expenses can exceed income, especially for a free game such as CBS’s. But I would have never expected this in a million years because when I think PGA golf and network TV, I think CBS – as you alluded to.

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