Yahoo! is getting ready to introduce a daily fantasy sports product that could turn this red hot market on its ear.
Though details on what Yahoo’s fantasy sports offering will actually look like are pretty vague at this time, the company expects to have it ready in time for the start of NFL football in the late summer.
Given the company’s difficulties competing in the search market, Yahoo’s decision to enter this rapidly growing sector of the internet gaming industry is something of a no-brainer. Yahoo! is one of the top brands in American fantasy football, drawing millions of players every season.
Adding new revenue streams to that already strong base is one of the better ideas that’s come out of tenure of controversial Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer.
Yahoo’s entry into the daily fantasy sports realm isn’t likely to be praised by the industry’s current leaders, Draft Kings and FanDuel. Both companies posted huge revenue gains last season and are locked in a bitter struggle for industry dominance. (Though neither company is currently profitable.)
At a press conference earlier this week, Mayer spoke on Yahoo’s potential in the market place and how the new product came about in response to customer demand saying:
Normally, we do not announce products before launch but this has been such an area of interest for our fantasy players and our investors that we wanted to announce that we have a new daily fantasy offering in the works that will launch this summer.
Mayer’s words can be translated from corporate-speak to mean, “Don’t write off Yahoo! just yet, we’ve finally found a product that we think can generate some revenue.”
All told, it could be a very interesting season for daily fantasy sports players and affiliates alike.