NFL calls the right play, brings website in house

The NFL announced recently that it would be bringing NFL.com operations in-house, bringing to an end a longstanding outsourcing relationship with CBS Sportsline.

I think this is a smart move and can’t wait to see what’s next

Here a the Colts we’ve always had a DIY mindset and this year our owner (Jim Irsay) has allowed us to expand our staff dramatically. We’ve gone from one full-time person to 5 FTEs on our Web team. We now have a front end graphic designer, a full-time coder, and a videographer / photographer to go with myself (strategic business development) and AJ Macht, who oversees daily operations and technical innovations.

We’ve partnered with one of our sponsors, Crowe Chizek, to help us re-design our flagship site and build the Colts Fan Network from the ground up, but once these sites are up and running, we will handle day-to-day maintenance and upgrades with our in-house staff.

The decision to build out internal capabilities is a concious one. I have witnessed first hand the frustrations other teams have with their web management partners. Time and again I hear my peers at other teams bemoaning the exhhorbitent expense (in terms of time and money) incurred by outsourcing Web operations.

Our internal development and content creation personnel understand football and they understand fans. No outside company can know our business better than we do. Plus, by doing things in-house, we remain nimble so that we can innovate and quickly fix problems as they occur. The Web moves too quickly to let anyone outside the house.

NFL.com is already a leading site in the sports vertical. I expect this maneuver will cause the site (and its affiliate network of team sites) to grow in quality and popularity – among both fans and sponsors – over the next 12 to 18 months.