One of my favorite old sites.
Hub Arkush: What to expect from Pro Football Weekly
Who are we at PFW? And what are we going to be?
By HUB ARKUSH – harkush@profootballweekly.com
Published: Feb. 18, 2016 — 10:18 a.m.
Updated: Feb. 18, 2016 — 1:34 p.m.
Quite frankly, today is a day I never saw coming, but I can’t tell you how good it feels now that it’s here. To those of you who are old friends, welcome home. To those of you who are new to Pro Football Weekly, thank you so much for joining us.
My dad actually created PFW in 1967. When he passed away suddenly and very unexpectedly in 1979, I took over at the ripe old age of 26. Our goal was always to be the one football publication no pro football fan could do without, and over the years, hundreds of thousands of you let us know we were getting that job done.
Among PFW’s accomplishments, we invented and perfected independent scouting and analysis of college prospects, spawning the “Draftnik” community. We were the first to create an all computerized statistical database. We created and operated the first national Fantasy Football league in 1980. We were the first to use our published material to nationally syndicate radio and TV programming in the mid- and late-’80s. In 1993, we were the initial provider of NFL content to a company called Starwave.com, which a little over a year later became ESPN.com. In 1997, we were one of the first sports publishers to launch its own web site, the precursor to this site, ProFootballWeekly.com.
When I sold the company in 2008 to some great partners with a much larger publishing company, it was because we believed they had the resources we didn’t to bridge the gap for PFW into the new digital world. Sadly, after a huge investment of their resources, we were unable to reinvent the business and were forced to close the doors.
Fortunately, much has changed since then. A number of very smart publishers and content providers are beginning to thrive in the digital space. When I was approached by one of them, Shaw Media, about putting Pro Football Weekly back in circulation, I said, “Where do I sign up?” ProFootballWeekly.com was reborn.
Our goal is to be the one website than no football fan can do without. Over the coming months, we expect hundreds of thousands of you and then millions will let us know we are getting the job done.
What you are witnessing today is a soft launch, as we still have much to do to be worthy of the Pro Football Weekly name, so let me tell you a little bit about what we are going to be. This website will be our anchor, and by the beginning of the 2016 season, it will include all that you came to expect of the old ProFootballWeekly.com . We might have some premium offerings down the road, but for the foreseeable future, our plan is to be completely free.
We are attempting to have our new mobile applications for your smart phones available well in advance of this year’s college draft.
Our three best-selling annual magazines, 2016 Pro Football Weekly NFL Draft Guide, 2016 Pro Football Weekly NFL Preview and 2016 Pro Football Weekly Fantasy Football Guide will be bigger and better than ever and available at your local newsstands in the coming months, with the Draft Guide on sale March 15, and the Preview and Fantasy Magazines on sale June 15.
The Draft Guide that many of you have already inquired about is at the printer now. Within the week, we will have information here as to how you can order it directly from us as soon as it’s available if you prefer not to wait for it to get to the newsstands.
We are in the process of re-launching our weekly radio show. You can expect to hear it back in your local markets as well as here at the website no later than early April. The Pro Football Weekly TV show will once again be available every weekend in more than 50 million TV homes on all Comcast Sports Net regionals in late August.
We are not planning a weekly print publication available for sale at this time, but after an extremely successful test program in Illinois during the 2015 season, we are working on a printed insert that would be available for free with your daily newspaper each week of the NFL season in as many markets as possible. We are also considering a digital download of that product for folks in markets where it is not available in your local papers.
Big plans, I know. This is something we would not be attempting without significant planning, testing and due diligence, along with the experience and accomplishments of a great media company like Shaw Media and our media partners at the Daily Herald Media Group and the Sun Times Media Group.
For those of you who were subscribers to the old Pro Football Weekly publication, we are not affiliated with it in any way nor have we received any compensation from it at all. However, if you can be patient with us for just a few weeks, we will be posting information here as to how you can contact us about some special gifts and offers we are planning for you to thank you for your commitment in the past and hopefully to encourage you to stay a part of the PFW family.
For all we’ve been through over the past 50 years, the National Football League is bigger and better than ever and is still the greatest game in the world. Our goal is to bring you everything you need to enjoy it as much as possible.
Stay tuned; the best is yet to come!
Who are we at PFW? And what are we going to be?
By HUB ARKUSH – harkush@profootballweekly.com
Published: Feb. 18, 2016 — 10:18 a.m.
Updated: Feb. 18, 2016 — 1:34 p.m.
Quite frankly, today is a day I never saw coming, but I can’t tell you how good it feels now that it’s here. To those of you who are old friends, welcome home. To those of you who are new to Pro Football Weekly, thank you so much for joining us.
My dad actually created PFW in 1967. When he passed away suddenly and very unexpectedly in 1979, I took over at the ripe old age of 26. Our goal was always to be the one football publication no pro football fan could do without, and over the years, hundreds of thousands of you let us know we were getting that job done.
Among PFW’s accomplishments, we invented and perfected independent scouting and analysis of college prospects, spawning the “Draftnik” community. We were the first to create an all computerized statistical database. We created and operated the first national Fantasy Football league in 1980. We were the first to use our published material to nationally syndicate radio and TV programming in the mid- and late-’80s. In 1993, we were the initial provider of NFL content to a company called Starwave.com, which a little over a year later became ESPN.com. In 1997, we were one of the first sports publishers to launch its own web site, the precursor to this site, ProFootballWeekly.com.
When I sold the company in 2008 to some great partners with a much larger publishing company, it was because we believed they had the resources we didn’t to bridge the gap for PFW into the new digital world. Sadly, after a huge investment of their resources, we were unable to reinvent the business and were forced to close the doors.
Fortunately, much has changed since then. A number of very smart publishers and content providers are beginning to thrive in the digital space. When I was approached by one of them, Shaw Media, about putting Pro Football Weekly back in circulation, I said, “Where do I sign up?” ProFootballWeekly.com was reborn.
Our goal is to be the one website than no football fan can do without. Over the coming months, we expect hundreds of thousands of you and then millions will let us know we are getting the job done.
What you are witnessing today is a soft launch, as we still have much to do to be worthy of the Pro Football Weekly name, so let me tell you a little bit about what we are going to be. This website will be our anchor, and by the beginning of the 2016 season, it will include all that you came to expect of the old ProFootballWeekly.com . We might have some premium offerings down the road, but for the foreseeable future, our plan is to be completely free.
We are attempting to have our new mobile applications for your smart phones available well in advance of this year’s college draft.
Our three best-selling annual magazines, 2016 Pro Football Weekly NFL Draft Guide, 2016 Pro Football Weekly NFL Preview and 2016 Pro Football Weekly Fantasy Football Guide will be bigger and better than ever and available at your local newsstands in the coming months, with the Draft Guide on sale March 15, and the Preview and Fantasy Magazines on sale June 15.
The Draft Guide that many of you have already inquired about is at the printer now. Within the week, we will have information here as to how you can order it directly from us as soon as it’s available if you prefer not to wait for it to get to the newsstands.
We are in the process of re-launching our weekly radio show. You can expect to hear it back in your local markets as well as here at the website no later than early April. The Pro Football Weekly TV show will once again be available every weekend in more than 50 million TV homes on all Comcast Sports Net regionals in late August.
We are not planning a weekly print publication available for sale at this time, but after an extremely successful test program in Illinois during the 2015 season, we are working on a printed insert that would be available for free with your daily newspaper each week of the NFL season in as many markets as possible. We are also considering a digital download of that product for folks in markets where it is not available in your local papers.
Big plans, I know. This is something we would not be attempting without significant planning, testing and due diligence, along with the experience and accomplishments of a great media company like Shaw Media and our media partners at the Daily Herald Media Group and the Sun Times Media Group.
For those of you who were subscribers to the old Pro Football Weekly publication, we are not affiliated with it in any way nor have we received any compensation from it at all. However, if you can be patient with us for just a few weeks, we will be posting information here as to how you can contact us about some special gifts and offers we are planning for you to thank you for your commitment in the past and hopefully to encourage you to stay a part of the PFW family.
For all we’ve been through over the past 50 years, the National Football League is bigger and better than ever and is still the greatest game in the world. Our goal is to bring you everything you need to enjoy it as much as possible.
Stay tuned; the best is yet to come!
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