MAY 15, 2008
Shandler Enterprises, LLC is sold
As reported this morning in the Wall Street Journal, we have been sold.
Officially on April 30, 2008, Shandler Enterprises, LLC became part of a company called Fantasy Sports Ventures, Inc., a serious and growing player in the fantasy sports information business. FSV operates a huge network of owned and affiliated fantasy websites across multiple sports. Part of FSV's business is to aggregate web traffic and sell it to major advertisers, and they are doing a pretty good job of that... FSV's traffic is now among the top 10 of all sports sites on the internet. FSV also has strong ties to Gannett/USA Today, which recently became a minority shareholder in the company. That is one of the reasons you have been seeing HQ contributions in USA Today and Sports Weekly this year.
FSV has bought the entire Shandler Enterprises line -- Baseball HQ, Roto HQ, the Baseball Forecaster, the Minor League Baseball Analyst and the First Pitch Forum conference series. They plan to keep the line intact and keep the current business model so long as it continues to be profitable.
I have signed a contract to continue to run the editorial end of the business for the next four years. During that time, we have grand plans for enhancements to the Baseball HQ line.
I am excited about this new relationship and the opportunities it offers. I am confident I have made the correct decision, for all of us. There will be changes here, though not right away. But it'll all be good, I promise.
- Ron Shandler
