CBSSports.com
CBSSports.com is an American sports news website operated by the CBS Interactive division of CBS Entertainment Group, itself a division of ViacomCBS. It is the website for CBS's CBS Sports division, featuring news, video, and fantasy sports games.
History
SportsLine
In 1997, the service entered into a content-sharing partnership with Viacom. SportsLine also entered into agreements to operate official websites for the NCAA, NFL, and PGA Tour. The company later launched a co-branded website for CBS Sports, CBSSportsLineCBS purchase
In August 2004, already holding a 38% stake in the company, Viacom announced that it would acquire the remainder of SportsLine in a deal valued at $46 million, and re-align it with the CBS Sports division. The company originally operated as a division of CBS Sports, reporting to its president Sean McManus.Fantasy Sports
CBSSports.com got into the fantasy sports business early on, producing games in 1997. In 1998, CBSSports.com partnered with Daedalus World Wide Corporation, a producer of online fantasy sports products. CBSSports.com would acquire Daedalus World Wide Corporation in 1999, using their products as the basis of its fantasy sports business going forward. Initially, CBSSports.com charged a subscription fee to play its fantasy games. However, in July 2000 the company decided to drop all fees associated with its fantasy sports games and starting offering the products free of charge. The switch caused a massive amount of sign-ups for its fantasy sports games. However, the move to free fantasy sports products did not last long as just two years later CBSSports.com switched back to a subscription-based model to run their fantasy sports business. Behind the popularity of the CBSSports.com Commissioner product, which has been voted the best fantasy sports league manager service by the FSTA in eight of the last nine years, fantasy sports are a significant portion of CBSSports.com's business.In August 2015, the SportsLine brand was revived for a new subscription-based site featuring advanced statistics, sports betting and handicapping content. CBS continues to own the site.
Notable Accomplishments
- November 6, 1995- SportsLine USA was ranked as the #1 sports service on the Web by Interactive Sports Wire. SportsLine USA received an overall rating of 86 percent, a full eight percent in front of ESPNet.
- June 27, 1997- SportsLine USA, Inc., CEO Michael Levy was named 1997 Florida Entrepreneur of the Year by a panel representing Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Services LLP. Levy, 50, won in the "Emerging" category for companies less than five years old.
- March 9, 1998- SportsLine USA, Inc., publisher of CBS SportsLine, the Internet's leading sports Web site, announced that CBS SportsLine was awarded the prestigious 1998 Webby Award in the sports category.
- December 16, 1998- SportsLine USA, Inc. announced today that its popular CBS SportsLine Web site has been named "Best Sports Site" by NetGuide. NetGuide 99's "The Year's Best of the Web" recognizes exceptional sites in 22 separate categories ranging from Best Chat site to Best News site to Best Sports site.
- September 26, 2000- Dennis Dodd, CBS SportsLine.com's college football senior writer, earned a first-place award in the annual Football Writers Association of America Best Writing Contest for the second consecutive year.
- January 8, 2008- The winners of the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards were announced and CBSSports.com and CBS Sports were honored for their production of March Madness on Demand, the online video experience that provides live streaming video of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
- April 30, 2012- The winners of the 33rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards were announced and CBSSports.com was honored for its production of the Game of Honor Web Series.
News
Columnists
- Gregg Doyel- National Columnist
- Clark Judge- NFL
- Pete Prisco- NFL
- Jason La Canfora- NFL
- Pat Kirwan- NFL
- Rob Rang- NFL Draft
- Jamey Eisenberg- Fantasy Football
- Dave Richard- Fantasy Football
- Dennis Dodd- College Football
- J. Darin Darst- College Football
- Tony Barnhart- College Football
- Bruce Feldman- College Football
- Ken Berger- NBA
- Scott Miller- MLB
- Jon Heyman- MLB
- Scott White- Fantasy Baseball
- Al Melchior- Fantasy Baseball
- Nando Di Fino- Fantasy Baseball
- Gary Parrish- College Basketball
- Jerry Palm- College Sports
- Michael Hurcomb- Fantasy Sports
- David Kelly- NHL
RapidReports
Awards
Freshman of the Year
Since 2006, the CBSSports.com Freshman of the Year award is given yearly to the top college football newcomer.Previous Winners
- 2010 - Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
- 2009 - Dion Lewis, Pitt
- 2008 - Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State
- 2007 - Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
- 2006 - P.J. Hill, Wisconsin
Fantasy
Traditional Games
- Free Leagues - These free leagues, which are not eligible for league champion prizes, are aimed towards fantasy game beginners. The College Football game is the only one available on a major sports website.
- Premium Leagues - The paid leagues are eligible for prizes
- Commissioner Leagues - These leagues offer customizable settings.
Challenge Games/Brackets
- NFL Game Pick 'em Contest - Pick the winners of every NFL each week competing against experts or friends.
- Office Pool Manager - Choose picks with spreads, confidence weighting or in a survivor format
- Bracket Manager - Men's college basketball tournament bracket competition
- Round by Round Brackets - With each new round of the tournament, Round by Round brackets brings a new chance to make picks and win cash.
Awards from Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA)
- 2001 Best Fantasy Football League Manager- CBS SportsLine.com commissioner
- 2001 Best Fantasy Football Big Business of the Year
- 2002 Best Fantasy Football League Manager
- 2002 Best Fantasy Baseball Commissioner Service
- 2003 Best Fantasy Baseball League Manager
- 2004 Best Commissioner
- 2004 Best Online Marketing Campaign
- 2006 Best Online Service
- 2008 Best Draft Style Contest
- 2009 Best Fantasy Commissioner League Management Product
- 2009 Best Online/Mock Draft Room
- Lifetime Achievement Award- SportsLine.com Commissioner
Fantasy Writers
- Jamey Eisenberg
- Sergio Gonzalez
- Michael Hurcomb
- Jeff Lippman
- Al Melchior
- Dave Richard
- Scott White
- Nando Di Fino
- David Kelly