New ESPN Fantasy App lets users to play Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey in same app
Includes televised 28-hour ESPN Fantasy Football Marathon presented by Draft Kings
ESPN Fantasy Football, the most popular fantasy football game in the industry, begins its 21st pro football season with a mix of new and highly popular content and features across ESPN platforms. The game is accompanied by the fantasy sports industry’s most comprehensive collection of expert analysis, news, tools and statistical information. Exclusive content available to ESPN Insiders includes Insider Recommends, Roster Advisor, Custom Value Generator, and expert analysis from Matthew Berry, Eric Karabell, Field Yates, Stephania Bell, Mike Clay, Tristan Cockcroft, KC Joyner, and Tim Hasselbeck, as well as special contributions from ESPN’s NFL Nation staff writers. Also, ESPN will televise the 28-hour ESPN Fantasy Football Marathon presented by Draft Kings on August 15-16.
The new ESPN Fantasy app updates the No. 1 ESPN Fantasy Football app on iPhone, iPad, Android phone, and Android 7-inch tablets and allows users to play Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Hockey in the same application for the first time ever. Major enhancements this year include a brand new design and visuals that feature new game logos, player headshots, sticker packs, and animations; award-winning fantasy analysis and video accessible right from the app’s home screen; improved draft and live scoring features; and personalized notifications tailored to users’ rosters. The free-to-download app makes it easy for users to sign up, create or join a league, customize their league, draft, make trades, add players, follow their matchups with real-time scoring, view expert analysis and video, and view and post messages to other league members.
Kicking off preseason preparations for fantasy players, ESPN.com has begun hosting Mock Draft Mondays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET every Monday in August. Players have the unique opportunity to ask questions and practice draft strategies against ESPN fantasy football analysts including Matthew Berry, Eric Karabell, Field Yates, Mike Clay, Tristan H. Cockcroft, and KC Joyner, along with injury analyst Stephania Bell, His & Hers’ Michael Smith, SportsCenter’s Randy Scott, ESPN New York’s Anita Marks, and various NFL Nation reporters, among others. Fans are also able to interact with ESPN’s experts and analysts via social media.
ESPN.com provides multiple tools for the draft including a Fantasy Football Draft Kit, which analyses and projects more than 500 players. Cheat Sheet Central, rankings and strategy content are also included, as well as the 2016 editions of Matthew Berry’s “Draft Day Manifesto” and soon-to-be-published “Love/Hate” column. For those looking for a more hands-on way to prepare, the Mock Draft Lobby is designed to run nearly unlimited live practice drafting sessions against other ESPN fantasy football owners.
ESPN will again offer free Team Logo Sticker Packs, including many new collections for this season, which allow players to easily create unique avatars for their fantasy football team. Millions of players customized their team logo last year, including original artwork from sports, pop culture and entertainment, adding fun to any team’s identity.
During the season, managers can follow ESPN FantasyCast for free, real-time scoring of their weekly fantasy matchups, updated as the plays happen in real life. Embedded player profiles allow fantasy players to get the latest statistics, news and injury information for players they own or are following, and easily add, drop or trade players to build a championship team.
Each league also features message boards, chats, polls and smack boards, and players can interact with ESPN Fantasy throughout the season on social platforms via Facebook Live on the ESPN Fantasy Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ESPNfantasy and on Periscope on the @ESPNFantasy Twitter page.
ESPN.com
Every year, ESPN.com provides fantasy football players with an unmatched depth and breadth of news, analysis and insights on fantasy football. Once again, ESPN has brought together the No. 1 roster of writers, analysts and media personalities in the industry.
- Matthew Berry (a.k.a. “The Talented Mr. Roto”), a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame and Fantasy Sports Trade Association Hall of Fame, will release his signature “Love/Hate” columns beginning Thursday, August 11, and weekly during the NFL season, while also appearing in a variety of video segments.
- com Fantasy Insider Eric Karabell will blog daily and post his popular weekly Flex Rankings every Thursday.
- ESPN Insider Field Yates will continue to co-host of the daily Fantasy Focus podcast with Matthew Berry, write his weekly free-agent pickup column and contribute to ESPN.com fantasy rankings.
- Mike Clay, founder of Pro Football Focus Fantasy and its managing editor until joining ESPN Fantasy as a senior writer last spring, will drive ESPN’s season-long and weekly projections, host a weekly forecasting-based podcast, and continue to host his own daily show “Next Level Fantasy Football” on SiriusXM radio’s fantasy channel. Clay also will continue to write his popular “Fantasy 32” column every Tuesday, highlighting a fantasy fact or trend from each of the NFL’s 32 teams.
- Tristan Cockcroft, an FSWA Hall of Famer, will continue to compile ESPN’s exclusive Consistency Ratings and write his popular Fantasy Fallout column, highlighting the most significant takeaways and performances from each game on Sunday.
- Fantasy injury analyst and ESPN.com senior writer Stephania Bell will blog about the latest player injury news and updates from around the league.
- NFL Insider Matt Bowen, who spent seven years in the NFL as a safety, will bring his experience and X’s and O’s acumen to ESPN fantasy, providing valuable insight into how NFL teams prepare for their games and applying it to trending fantasy topics.
Berry, Karabell, Yates, Clay and Cockcroft all contribute to ESPN’s Wednesday Rankings, one of the most popular pieces of content on ESPN.com each week. Fans will also find insight from ESPN.com’s football experts and analysts, including pro football Hall of Famer John Clayton, national columnists and Insiders, as well as team-by-team coverage from ESPN.com’s NFL Nation network.
ESPN Fantasy Focus Football Podcast
The most popular fantasy sports podcast returned to its daily schedule Monday, August 8. Hosted by Matthew Berry and Field Yates, with injury expert Stephania Bell joining full-time this season, Fantasy Focus provides player previews, game overviews and strategies, as well as featured guests and interviews. The show’s first-ever live production will be Wednesday, August 10, from Hill Country Barbecue on West 26th Street in New York with more than 100 fans in attendance.
Additional Fantasy Football Audio
ESPN Audio will once again bring fans original programming and content dedicated to fantasy football.
- ESPN Radio– Throughout the season, ESPN Radio will devote attention to fantasy football in popular programs like the daily Mike & Mike simulcast on ESPN2, as well as ESPN Radio’s weekend shows including Fantasy Focus, Weekend Observations with Stu & Spain and Operation Football.
- 11th Annual Fantasy Draft Convention and Championship – ESPN Chicago will once again host the popular event at UIC Forum in Chicago on Saturday, August 27, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT, with ESPN NFL and Fantasy Football analysts onsite, hosted by Stephania Bell and John Clayton, with ESPN Chicago 1000 voices including Tom Waddle, John “Jurko” Jurkovic, Marc “Silvy” Silverman, Carmen DeFalco, Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Sarah Spain, David Kaplan, Jonathan Hood, and Jeff Meller.
- 2nd Annual ESPN New York Fantasy Football Convention – On Saturday, August 27, ESPN New York will host its second ESPN 98.7 Fantasy Football Convention at Resorts World Casino in Queens, N.Y., from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. ESPN NFL and Fantasy Football analysts and ESPN 98.7FM hosts at the event will include Matthew Berry, former New York Giant and Super Bowl champion Chris Canty, Dave Rothenberg, Anita Marks, Robin Lundberg, Alan Hahn, and Rick DiPietro.
Television
ESPN will provide fantasy players with more insights, information and analysis on its television networks for the 2016 season, including:
- Fantasy Football Now: Michael Smith joins the Emmy Award-winning live Sunday morning program with Matthew Berry, Sara Walsh, Tim Hasselbeck, Field Yates and Stephania Bell, as they prepare fans for the day’s fantasy action. Fantasy Football Now debuts on opening night – Thursday, September 8 – with a 30-minute show at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Then, on September 11 and on Sundays throughout the season, Fantasy Football Now will air for two hours at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2 or ESPNEWS.
- Fantasy Football Kickoff: Featuring Smith, Berry, Hasselbeck and Bell, this half-hour fantasy football-centric show will air every Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN starting August 23. A one-hour special edition airs August 16 at 1:30 p.m. ET, as part of the Fantasy Football Marathon.
- Additionally, Berry will again contribute to ESPN’s NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition (10 a.m. ET, ESPN) and Sunday NFL Countdown (11 a.m. ET, ESPN).
* All ESPN networks are available to stream live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Schedule subject to change.
ESPN The Magazine
The Magazine’s 2016 Fantasy Football Guide is currently on newsstands and full of information and insight for every fantasy football player including:
- A cover story on Antonio Brown, the first wide receiver ever to be ranked No. 1 overall by ESPN Fantasy
- An early edition of Matthew Berry’s highly popular Love/Hate column
- Mel Kiper Jr.’s Top 10 fantasy rookies
- Field Yates’ guide to working the waiver wire toward a fantasy football championship
- ESPN’s ultimate strategy guide with tips from Mike Clay, KC Joyner, Eric Karabell, Tristan Cockcroft, and Dr. Renee Miller, Ph.D.
- Eric Karabell’s “State of the Position” essay, highlighting ESPN’s Position Reports
- Mike Clay’s individual player outlook, which go in-depth on more than 250 players, along with projections for the entire league
- James McCormick’s outlooks on 150 individual defensive players
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