Sixteen of the 30 MLB teams still have local OTA TV broadcasts of some kind.
Angels: KCOP Astros: KTXH A's: None Blue Jays: None Braves: None Brewers: WMLW Cardinals: KSDK Cubs: WGN Diamond Backs: None Dodgers: KCAL Giants: None Indians: WKYC Mariners: None Marlins: None Mets: WPIX Nationals: WDCW Orioles: WJZ Padres: None Phillies: WPHL Pirates: None Rangers: KTXA Rays: None Red Sox: None Reds: None Rockies: KTVD Royals: None Tigers: None Twins: WFTC White Sox: WGN Yankees: WOR The problem is that the data pretty consistently shows that young male demo isn't into sports, probably because the leagues did such a piss-poor job of reaching out to them in the past 15 years because they were so obsessed with the TV and business market money grab. To vastly oversimply things, there are two groups of customers for sports: individuals and businesses. They each approach sports for different reasons. Individuals generally (remember: vast oversimplification here) can't afford higher-priced tickets (suites, premium seating, etc.) So teams started catering towards businesses, who had no problem dropping cash for that kind of thing. The problem is that businesses generally don't make the kind of emotional connection towards a team that build long-term customer loyalty. So when things get tight, it's much easier to just stop renewing that suite or those club level seats. So you have places like New Yankee Stadium, where massive swaths of seats are empty because there simply is no market for them at the prices offered. Because sports teams have spent so much time courting the business market, they've alienated the individual market. Now, when they reach out to the fans who they've pissed on for 20 years, those fans have no interest in the sport, much less the high prices they're being charged. And if you have no "free" broadcasts which generally act as advertisements, people don't care. As far as TV revenues go, teams are having to go deeper and deeper behind the cable wall to get more money. So it becomes a vicious cycle: if you want more money, you have to put your product behind a higher-priced wall, which reduces demand otherwise, which causes you to need more money to make up for the reduced demand. The NFL is in an odd position, because their owners are stubbornly stuck to NFLN, even though they could easily get more money if they put that game package on the open market. That's because they were effectively sold a bill of goods when the channel launched: that they could get all these cable companies to pay the grossly-inflated rates once the channel had NFL games. But it backfired disasterously. As a sidebar: this is exactly why ESPN360.com will *never* go the open-subscription route. I'm sure there's a study floating around in Bristol telling someone what percentage of cable subscribers would pay for ESPN360, and that number is depressingly low. On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 11:46 AM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 10:48 AM, Joe Hass <[email protected]> wrote: >> At least you're not a Detroit Tigers fan, who has no OTA broadcaster >> (only Fox Sports Detroit), which means that the only games you can get >> if you don't have cable are whatever Saturday games are on FOX. > > The same holds true for Pittsburgh and I'm guessing most MLB cities. > >> This, along with the previous post from Paul that identifies that the >> two most expensive sports cable channels are ESPN and FOX Sports, >> leads me to believe that there is a day of reckoning coming for the >> entire world of professional sports. Professional sports have spent >> the last 15 years absolutely crapping on the next generation of fans. >> The NBA is discovering it now, with NASCAR coming close behind. I >> think MLB is next. > > Radio stations and TV channels will overpay for sports because it gets > the attention of young males. It always seems as if the reckoning is > coming and yet when it's time to renew contracts, bidding wars start > and the license fees go up once again. If there is going to be a > tipping point, it most likely will be if the NFL goes through a > lockout in 2011. > > Tom > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
