RotoWire
Encyclopedia
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, NASCAR.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, and Baseball Prospectus
.
RotoWire is the successor to RotoNews.com, which pioneered the concept of real-time fantasy sports information when launched in 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.
Most sites today follow how RotoNews had a "news" and "analysis" element to each player update.
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.
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.
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, U.S. that specializes in fantasy sports news and fantasy
Fantasy sport
A fantasy sport is a game where participants act as owners to build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by the real individual players or teams of a professional sport...
-style games.
RotoWire provides fantasy news and information to ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, Yahoo! Sports, FoxSports.com, NASCAR.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, and Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well player and team performance projections on the site...
.
RotoWire is the successor to RotoNews.com, which pioneered the concept of real-time fantasy sports information when launched in 1997.
Products
- 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 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 baseball and football, golf, basketball and hockey. The software comes as part of a subscription to RotoWire.com and isn't sold separately.
- RotoWire.com offers fantasy games and commissioner software.
- RotoWire hosts RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today on XM 147/Sirius 211 each Monday-Friday from 11-2 ET. The fantasy sports show is hosted by Jeff Erickson and Chris Liss. RotoWire previously hosted two fantasy sports radio shows on XM Radio from 2005-2008. Fantasy FocusFantasy Focus - XMFantasy Focus is a one-hour show from RotoWire.com focused on fantasy baseball on Blogtalkradio. It runs Monday through Friday at 1 PM ET. It can be heard live on with podcasts available later at . Fantasy Focus is hosted by Jeff Erickson. From 2005 to 2008 the show ran on XM Radio's Home Plate...
was a one-hour show hosted by Jeff Erickson on the MLB Home Plate channelMLB Home PlateMLB Network Radio is an American sports talk radio station on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio that features Major League Baseball related talk shows, as well as archives and live reports....
in connection with XM Radio's extensive MLB offerings. The "RotoWire Fantasy Sports Hour" was a one-hour show hosted by Chris Liss on XM Sports Nation channel 144XM Sports NationSirius XM Sports Nation is a work-in-progress channel on Sirius XM Radio, and is mainly the result of a merging of Sirius Sports Central and XM Sports Nation, and a couple programming changes with sister channel Mad Dog Radio....
that covered all sports, but mostly focused on fantasy football.
Staff
- Jeff Erickson is senior editor of RotoWire. He's the only two-time winner of Baseball Writer of the Year from the Fantasy Sports Writers AssociationFantasy Sports Writers AssociationThe represents journalists who cover fantasy sports including fantasy football, baseball, basketball, and hockey as well as other fantasy contests. According to its website, its mission is to "be a voice for writers in the arena of fantasy sports...
(2007 and 2008) and winner of the 2007 AL Tout WarsTout WarsTout Wars is the most high-profile fantasy baseball experts league and was the focus of the 2006 best selling book Fantasyland. It was created in 1997 by Ron Shandler who was fed up with the lack of promotion USA Today gave its annual LABR fantasy baseball experts league...
fantasy baseball title. He co-hosts the RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today on Sirius 125/XM 241.
- Chris Liss is managing editor of RotoWire and co-hosts the RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today on XM 147/Sirius 211. 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. He won the 2010 Best Fantasy Baseball Article in Print from the FSWAFantasy Sports Writers AssociationThe represents journalists who cover fantasy sports including fantasy football, baseball, basketball, and hockey as well as other fantasy contests. According to its website, its mission is to "be a voice for writers in the arena of fantasy sports...
, the 2008 Best Fantasy Football Article on the Net from the FSWAFantasy Sports Writers AssociationThe represents journalists who cover fantasy sports including fantasy football, baseball, basketball, and hockey as well as other fantasy contests. According to its website, its mission is to "be a voice for writers in the arena of fantasy sports...
and won the 2009 Mixed League Tout WarsTout WarsTout Wars is the most high-profile fantasy baseball experts league and was the focus of the 2006 best selling book Fantasyland. It was created in 1997 by Ron Shandler who was fed up with the lack of promotion USA Today gave its annual LABR fantasy baseball experts league...
fantasy baseball title.
- 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 FSWAFantasy Sports Writers AssociationThe represents journalists who cover fantasy sports including fantasy football, baseball, basketball, and hockey as well as other fantasy contests. According to its website, its mission is to "be a voice for writers in the arena of fantasy sports...
Contributors
- Carson CistulliCarson CistulliCarson Cistulli is an American poet, essayist and English professor. His works of poetry include Some Common Weaknesses Illustrated, Assorted Fictions, and A Century of Enthusiasm.- Early Years :...
is a contributing writer for NBA and to RotoWire's RotoSynthesis blog.
- Darryl Houston Smith contributes to RotoWire's NHL coverage.
- Will CarrollWill CarrollWill Carroll is a sportswriter specializing in the coverage of medical issues, including injuries and performance-enhancing drugs. He currently writes about sports injuries for SI.com...
has been a frequent contributing writer for RotoWire's baseball magazine.
Former Contributors
- Keith LawKeith LawKeith Law is a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com and ESPN Scouts, Inc. He was formerly a writer for Baseball Prospectus and worked in the front office for the Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America....
- ESPN baseball writer - Tony Blegino - Special assistant to the general manager, baseball operations, Seattle Mariners
- Stephania BellStephania BellStephania Bell is a physical therapist who has become an author, as well as both on-air and online sports commentator at ESPN where she serves as an American football injury analyst.-Career:...
- ESPN Injury Expert. - John SickelsJohn SickelsJohn Sickels is an American baseball writer, formerly of ESPN.com, who specializes in minor league baseball and amateur baseball.-Biography:...
served as RotoWire's minor league expert from 2006-2010. He also hosted Fantasy FocusFantasy Focus - XMFantasy Focus is a one-hour show from RotoWire.com focused on fantasy baseball on Blogtalkradio. It runs Monday through Friday at 1 PM ET. It can be heard live on with podcasts available later at . Fantasy Focus is hosted by Jeff Erickson. From 2005 to 2008 the show ran on XM Radio's Home Plate...
on Fridays, when it was called "Down on the Farm." - Steve Moyer - President, Baseball Info Solutions
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.
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."
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.
RotoNews.com was sold to Broadband Sports
Broadband Sports
Broadband Sports is a social media and video sharing website focused on extreme sports. The Broadbandsports.com domain and "Broadband Sports" name was originally founded in 1998, later becoming a high-flying dotcom-era network of sports-content Web sites that raised over $60 million before shutting...
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.