Barbarian Sports, Inc: a New Sports Model
Fresno attorney wants to flip the classic sports league conventions.
Fresno, CA, July 31, 2008 --(PR.com)-- William Tatham Jr., armed with hard lessons learned, is unveiling what he believes is the perfect marriage of sports and gambling — and a sure moneymaker.
Tatham says his goal is to create a worldwide sports production company that owns and creates content for delivery through multiple channels, including television, the Internet and gambling venues. Tatham is looking for ground-level investors to join him in the venture, Barbarian Sports, LLC, by pitching in $5 million apiece. Projected revenue streams in the first year are $10 million, according to the investor pitch.
To Tatham the plan is possible only because it scraps every convention of the classic league sports model. But such an approach is common sense to Tatham. He has seen sports leagues implode because team owners work at cross-purposes. And during a stint as a developer, he experienced what happens when you don’t follow someone else’s game plan.
“We’ve turned it upside down, where it belongs,” Tatham said, referring to his sports venture. But that might also explain his approach to things in general.
The next big thing for Tatham is Barbarian Sports, LLC. The concept is of a company that owns sports leagues in addition to producing content for them, including games, DVDs, specials and reality shows. The plan is to maximize revenue while delivering content through traditional channels like network and cable television, as well as the Internet and gambling venues.
The ultimate vision of Barbarian Sports is as a global Web hub for sports content, Tatham said. That’s so sports fans around the world have ready access to content. It also tears open global markets where Internet penetration is on the rise.
“Europe is a ready-made market, and Asia is exploding,” Tatham said.
What makes the plan unique are the sports. Tatham said it’s essential these sports have short playing times, domestic and international market appeal and popularity among bettors.
Tatham has engaged a wide swath of former television executives, book making interests and sports executives as a “brain trust” for the project. These include former honchos from Paramount International Television, Caesar’s Entertainment and the San Francisco Giants.
“This is not taking an existing game and televising it, it’s creating a product designed for a media environment,” said Ed Desser, former President of NBA Television.
Tatham had the concept nailed, but didn’t have a sport. He thought of making one up, but he found the answer when he attended a Rugby 7s tournament in Long Beach a few years ago.
Rugby 7s is a shorter variation on a standard rugby game. With seven players per side and two seven minute halves, the play is faster but just as brutal as the original. The athletes tackle each other like American football players, but without the pads.
“I was there for four hours and didn’t even realize it,” he said.
He paid a seven-figure sum to acquire exclusive sanctioning rights for Rugby 7s in the United States. This means no one but him can own and operate such a league affiliated with the USA Rugby organization. This means he can attract the top players in the world to his league. And anyone else seeking to co-opt with the league would have to go through him first.
Tatham’s American Rugby Football League (RFL) will launch with a $1 million tournament planned for Las Vegas in 2009. Athletes from all over the world will have their expenses paid to play for teams competing for the top prize.
For a three-year term, the league will play in centralized locations like Las Vegas to cut down on costs for multiple venues. The American RFL Web site will also offer exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the league and its happenings. The plan is for casino sports books to make odds on games as well.
“It’s essentially a three-year commercial for the American Rugby Football League,” Tatham said.
Tatham eventually wants to feed at least two more sports into his Barbarian Sports production model. He declines to publicize just what those are, but they will follow the same short-play format. That’s to allow bettors a varied wagering experience that will hold their attention, kind of like a day at the races, Tatham said.
Like many business plans, this one includes an exit strategy that gives investors a picture of what their wallets might look like after all is said and done. For Barbarian Sports, Tatham projects that the American RFL would be worth $80 million through sales of franchise directorships. Another thought would be for the whole thing to go public.
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Tatham says his goal is to create a worldwide sports production company that owns and creates content for delivery through multiple channels, including television, the Internet and gambling venues. Tatham is looking for ground-level investors to join him in the venture, Barbarian Sports, LLC, by pitching in $5 million apiece. Projected revenue streams in the first year are $10 million, according to the investor pitch.
To Tatham the plan is possible only because it scraps every convention of the classic league sports model. But such an approach is common sense to Tatham. He has seen sports leagues implode because team owners work at cross-purposes. And during a stint as a developer, he experienced what happens when you don’t follow someone else’s game plan.
“We’ve turned it upside down, where it belongs,” Tatham said, referring to his sports venture. But that might also explain his approach to things in general.
The next big thing for Tatham is Barbarian Sports, LLC. The concept is of a company that owns sports leagues in addition to producing content for them, including games, DVDs, specials and reality shows. The plan is to maximize revenue while delivering content through traditional channels like network and cable television, as well as the Internet and gambling venues.
The ultimate vision of Barbarian Sports is as a global Web hub for sports content, Tatham said. That’s so sports fans around the world have ready access to content. It also tears open global markets where Internet penetration is on the rise.
“Europe is a ready-made market, and Asia is exploding,” Tatham said.
What makes the plan unique are the sports. Tatham said it’s essential these sports have short playing times, domestic and international market appeal and popularity among bettors.
Tatham has engaged a wide swath of former television executives, book making interests and sports executives as a “brain trust” for the project. These include former honchos from Paramount International Television, Caesar’s Entertainment and the San Francisco Giants.
“This is not taking an existing game and televising it, it’s creating a product designed for a media environment,” said Ed Desser, former President of NBA Television.
Tatham had the concept nailed, but didn’t have a sport. He thought of making one up, but he found the answer when he attended a Rugby 7s tournament in Long Beach a few years ago.
Rugby 7s is a shorter variation on a standard rugby game. With seven players per side and two seven minute halves, the play is faster but just as brutal as the original. The athletes tackle each other like American football players, but without the pads.
“I was there for four hours and didn’t even realize it,” he said.
He paid a seven-figure sum to acquire exclusive sanctioning rights for Rugby 7s in the United States. This means no one but him can own and operate such a league affiliated with the USA Rugby organization. This means he can attract the top players in the world to his league. And anyone else seeking to co-opt with the league would have to go through him first.
Tatham’s American Rugby Football League (RFL) will launch with a $1 million tournament planned for Las Vegas in 2009. Athletes from all over the world will have their expenses paid to play for teams competing for the top prize.
For a three-year term, the league will play in centralized locations like Las Vegas to cut down on costs for multiple venues. The American RFL Web site will also offer exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the league and its happenings. The plan is for casino sports books to make odds on games as well.
“It’s essentially a three-year commercial for the American Rugby Football League,” Tatham said.
Tatham eventually wants to feed at least two more sports into his Barbarian Sports production model. He declines to publicize just what those are, but they will follow the same short-play format. That’s to allow bettors a varied wagering experience that will hold their attention, kind of like a day at the races, Tatham said.
Like many business plans, this one includes an exit strategy that gives investors a picture of what their wallets might look like after all is said and done. For Barbarian Sports, Tatham projects that the American RFL would be worth $80 million through sales of franchise directorships. Another thought would be for the whole thing to go public.
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Contact
Barbarian Sports
Ben Corbett
888-88RUGBY
www.AmericanRFL.com
Ben Corbett
888-88RUGBY
www.AmericanRFL.com
Contact
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