Fantasy Sports Conference to Unveil Demographic Survey and Discuss Legal Battle
Executives from the fantasy sports industry convene Wednesday and Thursday of this week at the Stardust Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s (FSTA) Spring 2006 Trade Conference to review their fourth annual demographic survey and to discuss a legal battle concerning the use of publicly available baseball statistics in fantasy games.
St. Louis, MO, March 12, 2006 --(PR.com)-- Executives from the fantasy sports industry convene Wednesday and Thursday of this week at the Stardust Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s (FSTA) Spring 2006 Trade Conference to review their fourth annual demographic survey and to discuss a legal battle concerning the use of publicly available baseball statistics in fantasy games.
Dr. Kim Beason of the University of Mississippi will unveil the fourth annual FSTA fantasy sports demographic survey. The FSTA funds the annual research and distributes it as a membership benefit to its 250+ member companies via its web site at www.fsta.org.
Fantasy sports are big business thanks to the pioneers that grew the industry in the 1980’s and 1990’s and the innovative marketing and new products launched by experienced companies and start-ups in the 2000’s. Dr. Beason estimates that more than 3 billion dollars are spent annually on publications, league fees, commissioner services, transaction fees and the purchase of fantasy sport site content. Beyond the $3 billion of direct revenue, consider the potentially billions of dollars of additional benefits recognized by professional leagues and media companies when fantasy sports participants watch more professional games on television, listen to more games on the radio, purchase more game tickets, read more newspapers, buy more team merchandise, visit more web sites, and follow their fantasy teams day and night.
The typical fantasy consumer has played for nine years and competes in an average of six contests or leagues for various sports throughout the year. These educated professionals live in suburban USA and spend an average of almost $500 annually on their magazines, online information, contests and leagues.
Today, fantasy sports enthusiasts can play a long list of fantasy games either offline, or online on hundreds of different web sites. This may not be true for long if MLBAM and MLBPA are granted rights to publicly available fantasy baseball statistics and the player names attached to them. A lawsuit between MLBAM/MLBPA and CDM Fantasy Sports is heating up and focuses on the right to use these statistics for fantasy games. If MLBAM/MLBPA prevails, consumer’s options could be limited to a handful of web sites and the industry could change significantly.
During the FSTA Conference’s Legal Panel on licensing, Glenn Colton from the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati will explain what is being done in the interest of the FSTA members regarding the issues in the lawsuit between MLBAM/MLBPA and CDM Fantasy Sports.
The FSTA Conference in 2005 drew 182 attendees representing 109 companies, setting a new attendance record for the third straight conference. Another record attendance is expected for this conference which features two days of guest speakers and seminars. A complete schedule of events is available at http://www.collect.com/shows/article.asp?id=14670
Contacts:
Legal: Glenn C. Colton, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati,
Phone 212.999.5804; GColton@wsgr.com
FSTA: Rick Wolf, FSTA Chairman,
Phone 914.224.5993; rwolf@allstarstats.com
Press Credentials: Greg Ambrosius, Conference Organizer,
Phone 513.722.5310; greg.ambrosius@fwpubs.com
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Dr. Kim Beason of the University of Mississippi will unveil the fourth annual FSTA fantasy sports demographic survey. The FSTA funds the annual research and distributes it as a membership benefit to its 250+ member companies via its web site at www.fsta.org.
Fantasy sports are big business thanks to the pioneers that grew the industry in the 1980’s and 1990’s and the innovative marketing and new products launched by experienced companies and start-ups in the 2000’s. Dr. Beason estimates that more than 3 billion dollars are spent annually on publications, league fees, commissioner services, transaction fees and the purchase of fantasy sport site content. Beyond the $3 billion of direct revenue, consider the potentially billions of dollars of additional benefits recognized by professional leagues and media companies when fantasy sports participants watch more professional games on television, listen to more games on the radio, purchase more game tickets, read more newspapers, buy more team merchandise, visit more web sites, and follow their fantasy teams day and night.
The typical fantasy consumer has played for nine years and competes in an average of six contests or leagues for various sports throughout the year. These educated professionals live in suburban USA and spend an average of almost $500 annually on their magazines, online information, contests and leagues.
Today, fantasy sports enthusiasts can play a long list of fantasy games either offline, or online on hundreds of different web sites. This may not be true for long if MLBAM and MLBPA are granted rights to publicly available fantasy baseball statistics and the player names attached to them. A lawsuit between MLBAM/MLBPA and CDM Fantasy Sports is heating up and focuses on the right to use these statistics for fantasy games. If MLBAM/MLBPA prevails, consumer’s options could be limited to a handful of web sites and the industry could change significantly.
During the FSTA Conference’s Legal Panel on licensing, Glenn Colton from the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati will explain what is being done in the interest of the FSTA members regarding the issues in the lawsuit between MLBAM/MLBPA and CDM Fantasy Sports.
The FSTA Conference in 2005 drew 182 attendees representing 109 companies, setting a new attendance record for the third straight conference. Another record attendance is expected for this conference which features two days of guest speakers and seminars. A complete schedule of events is available at http://www.collect.com/shows/article.asp?id=14670
Contacts:
Legal: Glenn C. Colton, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati,
Phone 212.999.5804; GColton@wsgr.com
FSTA: Rick Wolf, FSTA Chairman,
Phone 914.224.5993; rwolf@allstarstats.com
Press Credentials: Greg Ambrosius, Conference Organizer,
Phone 513.722.5310; greg.ambrosius@fwpubs.com
###
Contact
Fantasy Sports Trade Association
Rick Wolf
914-224-5993
www.fsta.org
Rick Wolf
914-224-5993
www.fsta.org
Contact
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