FanDuel has expanded its presence in season-long fantasy football by introducing a new format called Championship Leagues. The new offering from the daily fantasy operator allows users to pay a one-time entry fee at the beginning of the NFL season, just like traditional fantasy football, but allows for complete weekly redrafts of team rosters. The move is part of an effort by FanDuel to refocus on its game offerings after a failed bid this year to merge with DFS rival DraftKings, and builds significantly from a "Friends Mode" the company introduced for its NFL gameplay last year. “This is our big jump into the season-long fantasy market,” said FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles. Meanwhile, DraftKings is introducing a simplified format for some of its DFS football games called "Pick ‘Em" in which traditional salary cap values for players have been eliminated and players instead have been grouped into various levels for drafting. Similar to FanDuel’s efforts, the move is designed to expand the reach of DFS and make it more immediately accessible. DraftKings is also slated to debut a new marketing campaign next week tied to the upcoming NFL season, and company officials said its marketing spend this fall will be aggressive, but still nowhere near the levels seen in '15. The company’s creative will also be more tied to fan engagement as opposed to the chance to win money. “Our marketing this (NFL) season will be much more right-sized for us,” said DraftKings CMO Janet Holian (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
IS THE FAD OVER? YAHOO FINANCE's Daniel Roberts writes FanDuel's new season-long game is the "latest indicator" that DFS has "not delivered on its hype." The move is "not encouraging for the user acquisition potential" of DFS, the format "many predicted could eventually be bigger than season-long fantasy" (FINANCE.YAHOO.com, 8/8).
