{"id":48652,"date":"2025-03-17T09:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T13:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=48652"},"modified":"2025-03-27T13:37:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T17:37:47","slug":"roberts-rotoballer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/roberts-rotoballer\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Sports Media Business Helps Fans Create Dream Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alex Roberts \u201904 cofounded RotoBaller, which publishes news, podcasts, and videos\u2014and even hosts a show on Sirius XM radio<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Melissa Newcomb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing during a regular season game in mid-March, basketball teammates Nikola Joki\u0107, Kevin Durant, and Ja Morant combined for an impressive 99 points, 27 rebounds, and 25 assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as any NBA fan knows, the three don\u2019t actually play for the same franchise. In the realm of fantasy sports, though, the three stars can all be on the same team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alex
Roberts (left) at a promotional event with his cofounder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

For the uninitiated: fantasy sports are online games where participants create virtual teams comprising real-life athletes from professional leagues like the NFL, MLB, and NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants can compete against friends or a wider community, and earn points based on how their chosen athletes perform in their actual games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the most popular resources for aficionados of the pastime is RotoBaller<\/a>, a website and multimedia company that Alex Roberts \u201904 cofounded to help fantasy sports lovers optimize their teams\u2019 performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur readers use our content, advice, and tools to inform their decisions,\u201d says Roberts, who majored in human development in Human Ecology. \u201cWe help them answer who should be the highest ranked, what kind of trades they should make, and what kind of players they should pick up week to week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offering both free and subscription-based content, Roberts\u2019s site publishes news and advice on pro and collegiate leagues in a wide range of sports including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, auto racing, mixed martial arts, and even esports (video gaming).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roberts\u2019s site aggregates news and advice on pro and collegiate leagues in a wide range of sports including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, and auto racing.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association, in 2024 more than 84 million people in the U.S. played fantasy sports. And while fantasy leagues existed in the analog era\u2014with stats kept on paper\u2014their popularity has skyrocketed in the online age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RotoBaller started in 2011 as a blog; people could submit their fantasy sports questions and, for a $5 fee, receive a personalized response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A look at the platform.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Roberts admits that business model was hardly sustainable\u2014he\u2019d often spend 30 minutes on a single answer\u2014it grew loyal followers, and showed that there was a market for that genre of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2024, Roberts says, RotoBaller had grown to 50 million page views annually. He now leads a team of more than 150 contributors who create content for the platform, which includes articles, videos, and podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an industry association, in 2024 more than 84 million people in the U.S. played fantasy sports.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

RotoBaller also hosts analysis shows on Sirius XM\u2019s fantasy sports channel<\/a>, with around 14 hours of weekly coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFantasy sports lets you root for lots of players across a league, instead of just one team,\u201d Roberts says. \u201cIt brings you together with friends or with a new group of people. If you aren\u2019t able to play sports, it lets you compete. And it takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(All photos provided.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published March 17, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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