MLB Names Yahoo! Official Fantasy Baseball Game
By: Derrick Eckardt | Categories: Fantasy Baseball, MLB, Yahoo!
Wow! I struggled with how big a move this is initially. The fact that Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball ‘10 Named Official Online Fantasy Game for MLB.com indicated that it is much more profitable for MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) to partner with Yahoo for its fantasy baseball game than produce it themselves.
MLBAM is easily the most technologically advanced of the professional leagues, is easily top five companies for digital sports capabilities, and has a ton of awards to provide it. Running fantasy baseball leagues is something that it can easily do (and has done in the past), yet it is choosing not to do this year.
Yahoo! is by far the most popular site for fantasy baseball, and it also makes the most money. As a partner, MLBAM could not have picked a better partner. The financial nature of the relationship is unclear, but MLBAM is either getting a share of the advertising revenue, a sponsorship fee from Yahoo!, or possibility both of these situations.
From a competition stand point, it is always disappointing to see one fewer company in the mix. While MLBAM has not been known for its leagues, the fact that it was competing in the past was always a good sign. Fewer options always mean less innovation.
The underlying question here is how exactly profitable is free fantasy baseball if Major League Baseball finds it better to outsource its game? If you are operating a free fantasy baseball game, how much scale do you really need to make it profitable, and how achievable is that scale?
What are your thoughts? Am I completely off my rocker?





