Major League Baseball Advanced Media: America’s Pastime Goes Digital

Izabella Andersson Izabella Andersson II Clara Rodrigues Clara Rodrigues II Matilda Olori Matilda Olori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK7bocrVDMs&feature=player_embedded

E-commerce encouraging changes

• Baseball Advanced Media (BAM) has a well structured business model, the e-commerce store formation was to improve MLB’s competitive balance.

• Best league website till date with 30 official MLB clubs websites

• Partnership with Apple to launch apps (iPhone and iPad) which is the second highest selling apps.

• Generates $440 million annually from Tickets, Paid Content, cable –television contacts, Advertising sales and Merchandizing

• Attracts over 50 million visitors per month (as videos can’t be found on other sites)

E-commerce encouraging changes

• They offered a variety of products on different platforms.• MLB.com• MLB.TV (Charged a premium on this model)

• Established itself as a technology leader (highlights, streaming games)http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19960359&topic_id=11493214&c_id=mlb

• They had a practise of offering free live games to get reaction of consumers in other to entice them.

Digital Revolution

• BAM (Baseball Advanced Media)

• 2000 a unanimous voice to go digital

• Bob DuPuy’s vision to take advantage of the media world

• 2500 games a year – a potential to exploit

• 30 teams x $4 million each

• A website for each team = revenues distribution

Digital Revolution

• Money from Technology

• Just write down every single detail & HIGHLIGHT

• Software & “Online geo-location technology”

• Key goal: presence in multiple-consumers platforms

• Source of money: paid-content model

• 475 employees = $ 475 million

2002-2011

Wider issues

• Fans are better served through MLB Network website, than only through TV

• By being in the forefront of technology, it advances (broadband, wireless), innovating the whole IT industry

• By offering commercially viable content, innovation continues. They prove that it is possible to sell subscription content online

• By offering attractive services online (which people are willing to pay for) a company can become less dependent on advertising and sponsorship income

• Online content allows people to get in touch with the product more frequently (video on demand, through an app on the iPhone, through updated scores)

Wider issues

• The work day (M-F, 9am to 5pm) is the primetime for Internet video

• Mobile subscribers watching video online in Q3 2011 showed the fastest growth of all viewing mediumsjumping 37% year-over-year and 5% quarter-over-quarter to reach more than 10% of the population. This represents a jump of 205.7% in users since Nielsen first launched its report in Q3 2008.

• Personalization and interactivity increases appeal of online content over TV

• Online shopping and subscription model means less dependency on advertising and sponsorships

The Strategy

• Election of a key commissioner: Bud Selig• 4 regular meetings / year consensus• 80% revenues from local sources & 20% from centralized sources • Redistribution of revenues across teams to balance competitiveness

“REVENUE-SHARING AGREEMENT in 2011 teams paid the league 31% of local revenues”

• TV Network (ESPN, FOX, TBS) 80 games per season & exclusive Sunday night games 5 times per season. Monday and Wednesday broadcasts. FOX rights agreement until 2013.

• Radio contract and Nets• 2009 own cable television - 50 million subscriptions • Events, program and website promotion• TOTAL CONTROL OF FAN’s EXPERIENCE on & off-field• Interactive, personalized and up-to-date information online

Thank you!