FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 1st, 2015

BYTES: ROTOWORLD.COM POSTS BEST MONTH EVER IN SEPTEMBER

NBC SPORTS DIGITAL “BYTES”

October 1, 2015 – Vol. 69

NBC Sports Digital “Bytes” is a collection of highlights, information and metrics for NBC Sports Digital properties. Previous editions can be found on NBCSportsGroupPressbox.com.

Rotoworld.com Posts Best Month Ever in September

The start of the 2015 NFL season boosted Rotoworld.com to its best month, week, and day ever. The site delivered 7.8 million unique users for the month, up 17% over September 2014, and up 14% over the previous record, a record 2.7 million unique users for the week of September 7-13, and a record 690,000 unique users on September 13.

This marks the 12th consecutive month for Rotoworld.com, the highest-trafficked fantasy sports information site on the web, in which unique users and visits have been up versus the year prior.

September’s most searched players included:

  1. Houston Texans RB Arian Foster
  2. New Orleans Saints RB J. Spiller
  3. Green Bay Packers RB Eddie Lacy
  4. Denver Broncos RB J. Anderson
  5. Indianapolis Colts WR Y. Hilton
  6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans
  7. New York Jets RB Chris Ivory
  8. Jacksonville Jaguars WR Matt Jones
  9. Atlanta Falcons RB Tevin Coleman
  10. Louis Rams RB Tre Mason

Golf Channel Digital Posts Best Quarter Ever

Golf Channel Digital via GolfChannel.com and Golf Channel Mobile App posted its best quarter ever in key metrics, according to Adobe Site Catalyst:

  • 278 million page views (up 30% versus 2014)
  • 19 million video starts (up 9% versus 2014))
  • 54 million average monthly unique users (up 3% versus 2014) – best ever for mobile platforms

American Formula One Driver Alexander Rossi’s First Guest Blog on NBCSports.com

As previously announced, Formula One driver Alexander Rossi (Team Marussia-Ferrari), the first American driver to complete the circuit since Scott Speed in 2007, debuted his weekly guest blog for Motorsports Talk on NBCSports.com yesterday. Rossi’s first post reflects on his first two races in Formula One. Click here for a link to the post.

Rossi’s posts will be published every Wednesday, culminating on Dec. 2 with a season wrap-up.

ICYMI on NBC SportsWorld, NBC Sports Digital’s Long-Form Website

Renowned baseball authority Joe Posnanski weighed in on the Bryce HarperJonathan Papelbon fiasco, when an argument between the two ended in a physical altercation at Nationals Park in Washington. Click here for the video on NBC SportsWorld.

Joe Prince-Wright caught up with Wayne Gretzky at White Hart Lane before the recent Spurs-Arsenal League Cup match where they discussed his longstanding appreciation for soccer. Click here for the long-form story on NBC SportsWorld.

Mid-Atlantic Traffic Soars in September

In September, CSNmidatlantic.com set all-time records for a CSN Mid-Atlantic digital property for unique users in a single month and single day. The website’s 5.9 million unique users during September was higher than the combined totals generated in any month by its previous market-focused websites dating back to their inception in 2009. CSNmidatlantic.com also registered the top single day in CSN Mid-Atlantic history last month with 735,000 unique users on Sept. 21. CSNmidatlantic.com launched Aug. 19 to replace CSNwashington.com and CSNbaltimore.com.

2015-16 NHL Regular Season on NBC Sports Live Extra

With the 2015-16 NHL regular season kicking off next week, NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile, devices, and tablets – will provide streaming coverage of all 105 regular-season games on NBC and NBCSN this season. For the first time in the regular season, Live Extra will feature new broadcast-quality enhanced data graphics that provide an improved streaming experience for NHL fans.

The new functionality and graphics include real-time player and game statistics, roster listings, and live rink maps which highlight shot locations, blocked shots, goals, face offs, hits, giveaways and takeaways.  In addition, every goal, every penalty and every key moment is quickly available to viewers via the redesigned Key Events bar.

Hockey’s Back on the RSN’s

CSNmidatlantic.com

The Washington Capitals will celebrate opening night of the 2015-16 NHL regular season in style, and CSNmidatlantic.com will provide fans with a front-row seat. The Capitals will arrive at Verizon Center in a special red carpet event, as CSNmidatlantic.com will deliver expanded coverage of the pregame celebration, along with comprehensive news and analysis before, during and after the game from Capitals Insider Chuck Gormley. Fans can also follow the coverage on Twitter at @CSNCapitals and join the conversation by using #CapitalsTalk.

CSNBayArea.com

CSNBayArea.com kicks off hockey season with coverage from Insider Kevin Kurz on October 7 from Los Angeles, when the Sharks take on the division rival Kings from Staples Center, a game that will be televised on NBCSN (10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT).  Kurz will add a new video feature for every home game: “Sharks Morning Skate,” a 60-90 second look at the top storylines headed into that evening’s game, taped from the Sharks morning skate and posted to CSNBayArea.com shortly after. Kurz will also be doing weekly Facebook Q&A chats with fans, and can be seen during Sharks intermissions providing the “Inside Edge” during the 2015 and 2016 season.

CSNPhilly.com

CSNPhilly.com will have extensive coverage of the Philadelphia Flyers with daily reports from Flyers Insider Tim Panaccio, exclusive video content and features. Also, “Dropping the Gloves” returns this year with John Boruk and Tim Panaccio breaking down the team strengths and weaknesses and what lies ahead for the team. Fans can also follow all Flyers online during the game with “In-Game Live,” which allows fans to follow the game live with play by play, in-progress stats and tweets from Comcast SportsNet’s Flyers reporters. Fans can follow Comcast SportsNet on Twitter or Facebook and for behind-the-scenes access to Flyers game broadcasts.

CSNChicago.com

Coming off their third Stanley Cup Championship in six years, CSNChicago.com is ready to bring Chicago Blackhawks fans even more comprehensive 24/7 digital coverage this NHL season highlighted by Blackhawks Insider Tracey Myers (@TramyersCSN) returning for her sixth season on the beat.  Digital highlights on CSNChicago.com include a live stream of Blackhawks head Joel Quenneville’s post-game press conferences (sponsored by Xfinity), video highlights, and “Blackhawks Pulse” (presented by AT&T U-verse), a one-stop social media and behind-the-scenes destination. “Blackhawks In-Game Live,” – featuring STATS Inc.’s enhanced Game Zone real-time tracking system – is a second screen platform for PCs, tablets and mobile devices that combines state-of-the-art infographics, data visualization of real-time statistics and game info with rich social interactivity tied to CSN Chicago’s live game broadcasts. CSNChicago.com will deliver Blackhawks push notifications for breaking team and player news, Insider reports, plus game reminder alerts via CSN Chicago’s SportsTalk app for iOS and Android devices.

CSNCalifornia.com Welcomes New Kings Insider James Ham

James Ham (@James_Ham) has joined CSN California/CSNBayArea.com as the network’s Kings Insider.  In his new role, Ham will provide coverage of the Kings across the network’s growing list of multiplatform outlets, including CSNBayArea.com’s “KingsTalk” section and on-air for SportsNet CentralSportsTalk LiveKings Pregame LiveKings Postgame Live and other NBA related programming.

Ham, a Northern California native, is starting his sixth year on the Kings beat.  He comes to CSN from Cowbell Kingdom (2010-2015), part of the ESPN TrueHoop Network, where he was the senior editor and provided news and analysis, and interviews with players, coaches and Kings alumni on the Cowbell Kingdom Podcast.  Additionally, he was a contributor to ESPN.com, covered the Kings as a beat writer for NBA.com for three seasons, and is one of the producers behind the award-winning, independent documentary film “Small Market, Big Heart.”  A graduate of the University of California at Davis, Ham makes his home in the Sierra Foothills with his wife and two sons.

— NBC SPORTS DIGITAL —