NBC Offers Online Football Fix
By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/13/2006 11:21:00 PM
As if eager NFL fans didn’t already have enough to root for, NBC Sports is rolling out an online show meant to win the hearts of the 11 million fantasy-football fanatics.
The NBC Fantasy Fix will air three times a week during the football season on NBCSports.com as part of a new deal with New York-based fantasy-sports company Rotoworld.com. It is expected to debut later this month, pegged to the first season of NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcasts.
The five-minute shows will air Tuesdays, Fridays and Sunday mornings, hosted by NBC’s Tiffany Simons along with Rotoworld’s Rick Cordella and Gregg Rosenthal. "We thought of using our NFL talent, but while the Rotoworld guys aren’t big media stars, they know their stuff," says Kevin Monaghan, VP of business development for NBC Sports, which will produce the shows.
NBC is also creating an aspect to the game that can allow for local tie-ins with affiliates. It will use the same model as the NBC Olympic Zone programming, which gave stations the opportunity to attach local talent, branding and ad sales to Olympic content. Monaghan says 80 NBC affiliates have already signed up.
The fantasy game will give fans the chance earn points based on how well players do during Sunday-night games. Prizes including trips to New York to watch a game with NBC’s studio team: Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Sterling Sharpe and Jerome Bettis.
NBC’s Monaghan says the game will be promoted heavily in the NBC studio shows, which may include the NBC talent’s participating in the game. He also states the network is close to finalizing a title sponsor.
