NEW YORK – The Fantasy Sports Network is preparing to launch in Canada and the U.S. on March 4, its parent company Anthem Media Group revealed Tuesday.
The network said it will be available across traditional, over-the-top, online and mobile video platforms, offering interactive fantasy sports programming in a linear stream, as a video-on-demand service and as an application. Programming will include live studio and call-in shows, celebrity and expert drafts, reality programming, and on-site commentary from sports venues, all geared to the estimated 40 million people who play fantasy sports annually and on a daily basis.
“This project has been two years in the making, and we are thrilled that it has finally all come together,” said Anthem president and CEO Leonard Asper, in the announcement. “We are combining the television experience of the Anthem team with the fantasy sports expertise of Anthem’s Rotoexperts.com, and major partnerships across the industry, to form a unique, compelling and relevant offering for our audience.”
A network spokesperson told Cartt.ca that Fantasy Sports Network will launch in Canada first as an app and a digital channel streaming 24/7 on the web while it completes negotiations with BDUs and over-the-top providers.
“We will be available on at least one telco provider in Canada and as we finalize all discussions in the U.S. and Canada, we will announce them in due course”, reads the emailed response.
Anthem Media Group also operates RotoExperts.com, a leader in fantasy sports content; Fight Network, the world’s premier combat sports channel now broadcasting in the U.S. and in over 30 other countries, and is a significant investor in American outdoor service the Pursuit Channel. Anthem also owns general sports entertainment commentary site SportsGrid.com.
