AOL Overhauls Sports Site with Focus on Blogs
FanHouse Blogs, Enhanced Fantasy Sports, Top Stories, Scoreboards and
Videos Allow Fans to Control Content
DULLES, VA. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) July 2, 2007 --
AOL today launched a new version of its sports site, http://sports.aol.com,
that focuses on community content and blogs, and leverages the power of
its top sports blog the FanHouse, http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/.
AOL also rolled out the new blog format on its news portal earlier this
week, http://news.aol.com. The
overhauled sports and news sites build on the success of the
blog-centric format first used by celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, which
is a joint venture of AOL and Telepictures Productions.
In addition to the new Web 2.0 features, the sports site features
traditional sports news, exclusive columnists, up-to-the-minute
scoreboards, and user-generated video. AOL also announced a new fantasy
football experience that provides simple sign up, and will include free
live scoring, line-up analyzer and free online draft kit.
The new AOL® Sports blog format invites
discussion and debate about top sports stories. Posts are tagged by
topic and team so fans can easily find news on their favorite team or
rivals. The site also incorporates the FanHouse on the main sports page,
giving users the power to engage in a real-time dialogue with other
sports fans. Since the launch of the FanHouse last August, page views to
AOL Sports have grown 28%.1
“The FanHouse has been our ‘slam
dunk’ when it comes to community and this new
format leverages this strength to provide users with a dynamic Web 2.0
experience that incorporates our blogs, top industry news, and users’
voices,” said Neal Scarbrough, Editor, AOL
Sports. “Unlike other sites, our fantasy
sports offerings are entirely free. This year, we have made our feature
game, League Manager, among the easiest on the Web, with quick sign-up
and free live scoring to make it a simple and comprehensive experience."
Among the features of the new AOL Sports site:
-
The left side of the page features exclusive content from the
FanHouse, including links to the most recent posts, most popular posts
and tags to popular topics.
-
The center column of the main AOL Sports page features regularly
updated top sports stories of the day, including photos, videos and
polls, delivered in a blog-style format that lets users vote and
comment on each story. Stories are tagged so fans can easily find what
interests them the most.
-
The right side of the page includes daily scoreboards and schedules,
interactive scoreboards, fantasy links, exclusive columnists, and
constantly updated sports headlines, photos and videos.
The improved fantasy offerings include free league style games offering
express sign-up and a fully customizable game - League Manager.
With League Manager, users get free live scoring, robust commissioner
tools and access to a live draft room. In addition, all users can access
fantasy news and tools including a free online draft kit and line-up
analyzer to optimize users’ line-ups and can
be used for teams on other fantasy sites, not just AOL.
Fans can sign-up now for the 2007 Fantasy Football season and review
training camp previews. The Fantasy Football draft starts in August and
will feature a fully-customizable game.
About AOL
AOL® is a global Web services company that
operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a
comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the
country's largest Internet access businesses, and provides a full set of
advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.,
AOL LLC is based in Dulles, Virginia. AOL and its subsidiaries also have
operations in Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.
1. comScore Media Metrix, May 2007.
MULTIMEDIA GALLERY http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5438332
See the original story at: http://eon.businesswire.com/releases/sports/fanhouse/prweb537246.htm
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