![]() The Red Sox were one of the first teams to air its games on an RSN when the team broadcast most away games in 1984 on New England Sports Network, which is majority owned by the Red Sox. In particular, baseball teams were among the first organizations to either sign lucrative local television deals with regional sports networks (RSNs) or build their own networks to broadcast games. The only baseball teams with unsettled stadium situations reside in Oakland and Tampa Bay.Įven while prioritizing the building and enhancing of its venues, MLB was also quick to recognize the importance of media rights deals. The latest example is the Atlanta Braves, who reached an agreement in 2013 with Fulton County to fund a new stadium after only playing for 17 years in Turner Field, which was originally a publicly funded venue built for the 1996 Olympics. Since 1994, 60% of MLB teams have built new stadiums with many using public financing to help build these venues. MLB would likely not have been in a position to use iBeacon technology without building or making significant upgrades to its ballparks. They can also provide fans with opportunities to improve their stadium experience by offering them the ability to purchase seat upgrades when they arrive at a game. Teams can now send specific promotions based on a fan’s past behavior at the ballpark. Created by Apple, iBeacon uses Bluetooth technologies to send messages to mobile devices depending on their location in the stadium. The league recently introduced the iBeacon system to improve the audience experience while at the ballpark. MLB has been at the forefront of integrating technology with the in-stadium experience whenever possible. It also created the MLB At Bat mobile application to enable users to stream out-of-market games on their mobile devices while also providing unique content customized for the mobile experience. Among MLBAM’s many innovations, it became one of the first sports organizations to provide out-of-market broadcasts of games through MLB.TV to fans that lived far away from their favorite teams. Originally created in 2000, MLBAM centralized all digital and mobile activities for the league into one organization led by Bob Bowman, who has increased revenue to an estimated $800 million in 2014. Even though he claims he has never sent an email in his life, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has presided over the growth of one of the leading digital and mobile companies in the world, Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM). If relying on star power did not fuel MLB’s long-term success, then what has led to the league’s meteoric rise since the strike? It starts with maximizing new technologies. Forecasts put revenues as high as $9 billion in 2014 or only $1 billion less than the NFL’s 2013 annual revenue. At the same time, annual baseball revenues have soared from $3.6 billion in 2003 to over $8 billion in 2013 (revenues were $1.9 billion in 1993). According to MLB, the “10 best-attended individual seasons” occurred from 2003-13. While overall league attendance has consistently increased since the strike, MLB has only more recently reached a “Golden Age“ in attendance. More recently, Most Valuable Player award winners Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun admitted to using PEDs after previously denying taking these drugs.įallen stars, however, have not led to a fall in MLB’s profits. In 2005, All-Star first baseman Rafael Palmeiro defiantly told Congress while under oath that he never took PEDs, only to have a positive drug test that same season. Many of the stars of the late 90’s and early 00’s, including McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds, have been linked to using performing enhancing drugs (PEDs). ![]() While stars did play a major role in MLB’s rise after the strike, they also could have sunk baseball. The only problem with this story is that it turned out to be too good to be true. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |