What happened while I was gone?
My blog has been out of action for the last 2 days or so. Not sure what happened, but once again I’m thankful to my friend and blog guru, Douglas Karr, for fighting the good fight behind the scenes and putting me back in business. As my 7-year-old son likes to say after odd things happen, “…what what that about?!”
Anyway, the world marched on while I was sidelined.
Here are a few of the headlines pertinent to this blog’s purview:
1. MLB set to put advertising in its (paid sub) online games…(from Investor’s dot com).
In a rare and bold move, MLB is double dipping. Whereas most online broadcasts are either offered free to the user and supported by ads, or on a paid subscription basis with no advertising, MLB this season will combine the two business models, and put paid ads in its premium subscription Webcasts.
Some say this is a greedy move. Some question the deal because these Webcasts won’t be available to fans who live inside a particular team’s local TV marketplace. But MLB sees the “long tail” of the MLB fan base, and realizes that millions of passionate fans live outside local team markets…and these fans are willing to tolerate a lot in order to watch their the MLB.
But MLB says plenty of teams have plenty of fans that aren’t based locally. And fans are comfortable with Internet entertainment, Bowman says.
“People are more used to watching video online today than they were two or three years ago,” he said.
MLB has some 45 advertisers backing the online video broadcasts. Advertisers pay about $15 to $35 each time their ad is viewed 1,000 times. Those rates are among the highest for online ads, analysts say.
Advertisers are willing to pay a premium price for a rabid fan base that is also a captive audience, says Bowman. Unlike TV, there’s no TiVo or similar device that people can use to skip the ads.
Also, online ads can be targeted. A video ad for a retailer can be directed to viewers who live in regions where it has the most stores.
The targeting feature has piqued the interest of some advertisers, Leigh says.
Targeted Ads An Unknown
“That is something strictly empowered by the Internet,” he said. “There is limited capability to do that on TV. But it remains to be seen how effective it will be for advertisers.”
My comments: Hmmm. Rabid fans are more valuable to advertisers. Internet offers unique targeting opportunities…where have I heard this before??
Clearly fans are willing to tolerate a lot of crap. Still, I’m not sure that we should charge for subscriptions AND enflict ads on our fans to boot. I do, however, think that “sponsorship” should play a role in paid subscription products.
Interesting research I just found on Cynopsis:
Three-fourths of internet users aged 12-24 have viewed streaming video online, according to Ipsos Insight, compared to 61 percent of 25-34 year olds, 56 percent of 35-54 year olds and 44 percent of adults over 55. Movie/TV trailers, news and sports clips were viewed most often, followed by user-generated clips, music videos and commercials. Full-length TV shows were only viewed by 14 percent of the sample in the last 30 days.
2. ESPN Acquires NASCAR fan site, Jayski (Paid Content)
Here’s what Paid Content has to say about it: The Jayski purchase represents another “acq-hire” for ESPN: Last month, ESPN picked up Talented Mr. Roto and signed its founder Matthew Berry; the next day, it acquired TrueHoop.com, a leading sports blog covering the NBA, and signed blogger Henry Abbott as an NBA expert. The moves are designed to counter rival SI.com’s acquisition of FanNation in January.
3. Looks like Cubs will be sold – (from Chicago Tribune.com)
With or without Wrigley Field, prospective buyers are expected to line up to purchase the Cubs. And the sale will represent a big return for Tribune, which paid only $20.5 million to buy the club in 1981.
The list of prospective buyers is expected to include well-known sports figures such as Jerry Colangelo, a Chicago Heights native who was managing partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks when they won the 2001 World Series. Also among the likely bidders is Mark Cuban, the brash technology entrepreneur who sits courtside and jaws with officials as owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team.
Yet Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, in a visit to U.S. Cellular Field on Monday for the White Sox opener, indicated he would prefer to find a local buyer.
“Whenever you can find viable local ownership, that’s a good thing. A very good thing,” Selig said. The Comcast investment “will probably get sold right along with the ballclub,” Selig added.
White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf figures Selig will not have to look very far. “I know of seven different groups that are interested in buying the Cubs,” Reinsdorf said.
Expect “some wild bidding,” Reinsdorf added. “The Cubs are a premier franchise. They will go for a good number.”
Local bidders may include Don Levin, the owner of minor-league hockey’s Chicago Wolves who made an offer for the Cubs last fall. Andy McKenna, the septuagenarian Chicago civic leader who served as chairman of the Cubs early in the Tribune Co. ownership, is mentioned as capable of putting together an investor group. Chris Reyes, chief executive of privately owned Reyes Holdings, might consider a minority position in the Cubs, sources said.
The ballclub has a unique cachet, with a national reputation as “lovable losers” that current Tribune Co. management has struggled to overcome, spending $300 million over the past winter to upgrade the roster. The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908, and last appeared in one against Detroit in 1945 . Yet they retain a loyal national following, setting attendance records in each of the last three seasons by drawing more than 3 million fans.
My commentary: As a lifelong White Sox fan, I’m secretly pulling for Marc Cuban. Maybe he’ll do something crazy and move the franchse out of Chicago? (hee hee).
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