Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball '10 Named Official Online Fantasy Game for MLB.com

Co-Branded Fantasy Baseball Game Offers Fans In-Game Video Highlights, Live Stats, News, Analysis, Tools, and Live Online Auction Draft

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Mar 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — As Spring Training heats up, Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), the online partner of choice for major media companies, and MLB Advanced Media, the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, today announced an exclusive deal that makes Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball ’10 the official fantasy baseball game of MLB.com.

The co-branded Yahoo! Sports fantasy baseball game, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball ’10(http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/), which will be promoted on MLB.com and across its online properties, will deliver fantasy players the most compelling experience of its kind ever offered, including integrated in-game and post-game video highlights of Major League Baseball action.

By signing up on Yahoo! Sports, the number-one online destination for sports enthusiasts, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball ’10 players can purchase MLB.com’s new Fantasy Highlights package, giving them the opportunity to watch customized, in-game and post-game video highlights of their fantasy players directly from their homepage. MLB.com’s Fantasy Highlights package will be available to all Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball ’10 users as a free-trial for the first two weeks of the MLB regular season and the full season will be available for a one-time fee of $9.95.

The unique feature, combined with Yahoo! Sports’ leading online news and insights, will provide players with the most comprehensive and interactive fantasy baseball experience anywhere. Additionally, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball ’10 will offer a new live online auction draft application and free live scoring, which gives fans the ability to view live stats and instant scoring for teams or matchups and get real-time league standings straight to their homepage.

“This partnership with MLB.com will provide fans with the most relevant and engaging fantasy baseball experience on the Web,” said Kyle Laughlin, head of Yahoo! Sports. “The combination of Yahoo!’s unmatched sports news and MLB.com’s in-game and post-game video highlights makes Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball ’10 the biggest and best fantasy game for passionate fantasy baseball fans.”

“Integrating this new highlights package with Yahoo!’s industry-leading fantasy baseball game will take fans beyond the box score to watch the performance of their fantasy roster as it unfolds on the field,” said Kenny Gersh, senior vice president, business development, MLB.com. “We believe this product will exceed fantasy baseball players’ growing appetites for deeper engagement by delivering an immediate, high quality experience.”

Yahoo! works closely with major sports, entertainment, and media companies to deliver the world’s most relevant and engaging content to its consumers. This is the third official league relationship Yahoo! has entered into, with the NHL and PGA Tour fantasy games already leading in their respective online categories. Yahoo! also has partnerships with content creators and publishers such as AP, Reuters, NFL, NCAA, Meredith Publications, Condé Nast, The New York TimesWall Street Journal, and more than 800 newspapers through the Newspaper Consortium.

SOURCE: Yahoo!