FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 15th, 2018

BEST FEB EVER: NBC SPORTS DIGITAL SETS FEBRUARY SPORTS RECORD WITH 93 MILLION UNIQUE USERS

NBC SPORTS DIGITAL “BYTES”

March 15, 2018 – Vol. 112

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.

Best Feb Ever: NBC Sports Digital Sets February Sports Category Record with 93 Million Unique Users

The 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, Super Bowl LII, NHL, and Premier League powered NBC Sports Digital to the best February delivery ever in the sports category, with 93 million unique users in the month, according to multiplatform data released by comScore.   In addition to setting the February record, Yahoo Sports–NBC Sports Network’s 93 million unique users topped by 31% the No. 2 outlet in February (ESPN, 71 million uniques), and delivered NBC Sports Digital’s second best month ever – behind its sports-industry record 110 million uniques in August 2016, which was highlighted by the Rio Olympics, NASCAR, the Premier League’s season opening weekends, and NFL preseason games. NBC Sports Digital also outpaced its performance last February by 83% (51 million) and the Sochi Olympics-led February 2014 by 46% (64 million).

In addition Yahoo Sports–NBC Sports Network delivered 721 million minutes of desktop video streamed, ranking No. 1 across the Sports category in February, up 387% over February 2017 (148 million, comScore industry-wide video streaming metrics for February 2018 are available for desktop-only).

In addition, Golf Channel Digital in February was up 24% year-over-year for total minutes streamed (27.2 million), led by all four PGA TOUR events during the month recording their highest live stream minute totals on record. Consumption of Golf Channel Digital content across its website and mobile app also was up 13% for page views (87 million) and 5% for unique devices (4.2 million) vs. 2017.

Rotoworld 2018 Fantasy Baseball Live Mock Draft

In anticipation of the start of the 2018 Major League Baseball season, Rotoworld will hold a live fantasy mock draft on Tuesday, March 20, at 8 p.m. ET from the NBC Sports International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. Matt Stroup (@MattStroup), DJ Short (@djshort), Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) and Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Famer Matthew Pouliot (@matthewpouliot) will be in studio taking part in the draft against eight Rotoworld Draft Guide users. A member of the Rotoworld.com staff will grade each team to declare a winner. Streaming coverage of the event can be found on https://www.facebook.com/rotoworld/ and the NBC Sports app. Click here for more information.

The Rotoworld 2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, the industry-leading source for fantasy baseball news and information, is available online at Rotoworld.com with less than two weeks until Opening Day on March 29.

From Single-A prospects to MLB All Stars, the Rotoworld 2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide features player and team profiles, updated team depth charts, analysis, rankings and customizable projections for more than 1,000 players. In addition, the online guide features articles on prospects, offseason moves, sleeper picks and position tiers.

Rotoworld 2018 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide packages begin at $19.99, and other options include:

  • Draft Guide – The industry’s most comprehensive tool for fantasy baseball drafts, the Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide is available for $19.99 and features fully customizable cheat sheets, more than 1,000 player profiles and projections, ADP reports, closer and rotation reports, multiple mock drafts, sleepers, busts, prospect rankings, and much more.
  • Double Play Package – Available for $34.99, the package features the 2018 Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide and the Rotoworld Baseball Season Pass. The Season Pass includes player tracking reports for up to 100 players, updated ranking and projection reports, premium closer and rotation reports, and much more.
  • Draft Day Package – Available for $39.99, the package includes the 2018 Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide and Rotoworld Draft Master. The Draft Master features offline draft tools, auction and non-auction drafts, premium draft guide stat projections, rankings and profiles, as well as mock draft tools to test draft strategies.
  • Triple Play – Available for $49.99, the Triple Play package features the most comprehensive collection of fantasy baseball draft resources and tools offered by Rotoworld. The Triple Play package includes the 2018 Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Season Pass, and Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Draft Master.

To purchase the 2018 Rotoworld Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide & packages, visit Rotoworld.com.

NBC Sports teams with NHL, Sportsnet, Viasat on 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship™

NBC Sports will air the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship™, an eSports bracket-style tournament beginning later this month. Over four consecutive weekends starting March 24, registered players will showcase their skills in the single-elimination Qualifier tournaments. The Players can register at https://fce.gg/NHL.

The 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship™ is a venture with NHL global broadcast partners NBC Sports, Sportsnet and Viasat. NBC Sports will host a Regional event and produce unique content throughout the various stages of the competition. The content will be available on NHL digital platforms, the digital platforms of our broadcast partners, and on NHL’s Twitch channel, www.twitch.tv/nhl.  FACEIT, the Official Tournament Platform for the competition, will host and administer the tournament where players can follow the bracket. Click here for more information.

Four NBC Sports Group Execs Honored at Cynopsis’ Top Women in Digital Awards

Yesterday, Cynopsis honored its 2018 Top Woman in Digital class, which featured a diverse collection of female industry pros in digital content, marketing, advertising, social media and online content. Among the 100 honorees from 77 companies, NBC Sports Group was represented by four distinguished leaders: Portia Archer, VP, Direct-to-Consumer Services; Lyndsay Signor, Sr. Director Consumer Engagement; Laura Harrington, Sr. Director Digital Business Operations, Golf Channel; and Shannon McKenzie, Director, Product Development, Sports Digital Product.

NBC Sports Chicago Marks Milestone with its 100th “White Sox Talk” Podcast

With growing excitement for the Chicago White Sox this season, NBC Sports Chicago will mark a significant milestone next week for its popular “White Sox Talk” PODCAST with the premiere of its 100th episode. The celebratory 100th “White Sox Talk” podcast will also have a special guest as 2005 White Sox World Series championship manager Ozzie Guillen joins the network’s trio of hosts/White Sox experts: Chuck Garfien, Ryan McGuffey, and Chris Kamka. Through its weekly consistency and social media support from the White Sox fan base, the “White Sox Talk” podcast has emerged as the network’s most popular podcast as more than 604,000 downloads have occurred since the podcast debuted in October 2016. Among the top guests on the podcast over the first 99 episodes: Hall of Famers Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and Tim Raines, along with former fan favorites Mark Buehrle and A.J. Pierzynski, legendary team broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, and White Sox GM Rick Hahn. The “White Sox Talk” and all of NBC Sports Chicago’s variety of podcasts can be located and downloaded here.

NBC Sports Boston to Stream All New England Revolution Games Live

The New England Revolution kicked off their 2018 season home opener and their NBC Sports Boston season debut on Saturday, March 3, with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids. For the first time ever, all Revs games carried on NBC Sports Boston will be streamed live on NBCSportsBoston.com (nbcsportsboston.com/streamtherevs) and via the NBC Sports app for tablets and mobile devices for authenticated NBC Sports Boston subscribers via participating distributors. NBC Sports Boston’s Revs Postgame Show will also be streamed live.  In addition, NBC Sports Boston launched a new Revs-specific Social Media Account (@NBCSRevs) in conjunction with the start of the MLS season.

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