RotoWire

Infobox Website
name = RotoWire.com
favicon =



caption =
url = [http://www.rotowire.com www.rotowire.com]
commercial = Yes
type = Fantasy Sports
registration = Mostly Pay Site
owner = Roto Sports, Inc.
author = Peter Schoenke, Herb Ilk, Jeff Erickson
launch date = 1997
current status = Active
revenue =

RotoWire.com is a company based in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. that specializes in fantasy sports news and fantasy-style games. RotoWire provides fantasy news and information to ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, FoxSports.com, XM Radio, NFL.com, NBA.com, Baseball Prospectus and EASports.com.RotoWire is the successor to RotoNews.com, which pioneered the concept of real-time fantasy sports information when launched in 1997.

Products

* [http://www.rotowire.com RotoWire.com] is the company's primary product. It's a fantasy sports news site that focuses on MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, Auto Racing (mostly NASCAR), Golf, college football, college basketball and soccer. The web site features player news, draft kits, in-season tools, feature stories and statistical data to help fantasy players in each sport.

* RotoWire has two annual print publications produced by the same staff that operates the web site: The RotoWire Fantasy Football Guide and [http://www.rotowire.com/magazine RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Guide] . Both publications are published at the start of the preseason and focus on fantasy draft preparation.

*RotoWire offers In-draft software for [http://www.rotowire.com/baseball/draftsoftware.htm baseball] and [http://www.rotowire.com/football/draftsoftware.htm football] . The software comes as part of a subscription to RotoWire.com and isn't sold separately.

* RotoWire.com offers [http://www.rotowire.com/currentgames.htm fantasy games and commissioner software] .

* RotoWire has two fantasy sports radio shows on XM Radio. Fantasy Focus is a one-hour show hosted by Jeff Erickson on the MLB Home Plate channel in connection with XM Radio's extensive MLB offerings. The “RotoWire Fantasy Sports Hour” is a one-hour show hosted by Chris Liss on XM Sports Nation channel 144 that covers all sports, but mostly focuses on fantasy football.

taff/Contributors

*Jeff Erickson is senior editor of RotoWire and winner of the 2007 AL Tout Wars fantasy baseball title. He hosts “Fantasy Focus,” on XM 175 during spring training and the regular season. “Fantasy Focus," focuses on all aspects fantasy baseball. He also won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.

*Chris Liss is managing editor of RotoWire and hosts the "RotoWire Fantasy Sports Hour" on XM channel 144. He also writes "Beating the Book," where he has picked every NFL game against the spread since 1999 at an astonishing 54 percent success rate.

*John Sickels is RotoWire's minor league expert and also hosts "Fantasy Focus" on XM 175 on Fridays, when it is often called "Down on the Farm."

*Will Carroll is RotoWire's NFL injury expert.

*Peter Schoenke is the company's president and also frequently writes for the site. He won the Best Fantasy Baseball Article on the Internet in 2006 from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association

Company history

RotoNews.com launched in January 1997 and published its first player note on Feb. 16 1997. RotoNews revolutionized how fantasy sports information was presented on the web with the innovation of the "player note" which were snippets of information every time a player got hurt, traded, benched or had a news event that impacted his fantasy value - all search-able in a real-time database. [cite news | first=Sean | last=Nolan | coauthors= | title=Access Magazine | date=1999-08-16 | publisher= | url =http://www.presstelegram.com/ | work =Long Beach Press-Telegram | pages =15 | accessdate = 2007-07-24 | language = ] Most sites today follow how RotoNews had a "news" and "analysis" element to each player update.

"Back in 1997, Peter and his crew launched RotoNews.com (now known as Rotowire.com), giving us fantasy owners a wondrous gift: the player news application. You know, here's an update on a guy, and here's the fantasy spin on that news.This changed everything. The days of feeling like a moron because you started a quarterback who, unbeknownst to you, had frayed his septum? Over. And you have Peter to thank." [cite news | first=Matthew | last=Berry | coauthors= | title=HITTING THE JACKPOT | date=2008-03-24 | publisher=ESPN | url =http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3288522 | work =ESPN the Magazine | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-19 | language = ]

Within two years RotoNews had become one of the top ten most trafficked sports sites on the web, according to Media Metrix, ranking higher than such sites as NBA.com. RotoNews.com also launched the Web's first free commissioner service in 1998, quickly becoming the largest league management service.

"The Internet has been a god-send for fantasy-leaguers. Updated information is just a mouse-click away, while instantaneous box scores make the morning paper seem like the Stone Age.How did we ever play fantasy baseball before the Internet? The same question can be asked of an online service that is changing the face of the industry. In just two short years, RotoNews.com has become the industry leader for news and stats. [cite news | first=Greg | last=Ambrosius | coauthors= | title=Fantasy Sports Magazine | date=August, 1999 | publisher=Krause Publications | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-11-08 | language = ]

RotoNews.com was sold to Broadband Sports in 1999, which went belly up in 2001. The company would re-emerge as RotoWire.com.RotoWire.com moved from a free model to a pay model in 2001. [cite news | first=JOE | last=SALKOWSKI | coauthors= | title=Subscription Model Creeps Into More Gash-Needy Sites | date=2001-05-01 | publisher=Tribune Company | url =http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Subscription+Model+Creeps+Into+More+Gash-Needy+Sites-a079916132 | work =Chicago Tribune | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-28 | language = ]

References