As I've mentioned before, I listen to MLB Home Plate on XM Radio and the afternoon guys on The Show are constantly talking about how MLB doesn't do enough to promote itself. Their usual example of a job well done is NASCAR, where fans are allowed to walk around in the pit, meet drivers, walk across the finish line, storm the field after the race, etc. They also talk a lot about the advertising spots that NASCAR has and how little kids want to grow up to be like their NASCAR idols, something little boys used to wish about baseball players.
One summer during law school, I spent some time interning in the legal department for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour (women's tennis for those who don't know). Built into their rules are guidelines requiring players to do a certain amount of press after matches. The most is required out of those who finish high in a tournament, who must do meet-and-greets after their matches with corporate sponsors, the press, etc. There is a far greater chance that a fan can mingle with players at these tournaments than there is for a baseball fan to mingle with a player after a regular season game. That's why people love spring training once they experience it - it's more like a college baseball atmosphere and you can actually get close to the players, get autographs, chat with them, etc.
So, I've been thinking of ways baseball could better promote itself. Last week, the guys on The Show were talking about how there are former stars from other sports doing things like Dancing with the Stars and other reality shows. I thought something interesting to do would be to do a reality show following a minor league team for a season, or covering the Cape Cod League for a season. There wouldn't have to be that much shot during the game, so I don't think it would be all that disruptive. It's more about what the guys are going through off the field. People will get attached to players and watch with excitement to see if they make it to the big leagues. It won't even matter what club they end up with, people will always be interested to see where that player goes after having followed their rise to the majors.
America, especially America's youth, is glued to reality tv. Real life drama and excitement is what grabs people these days. MTV has a show right now called Two-A-Days that follows a high school football team and young guys love it - what I'm proposing could be similar to that. I think a show like the ones I've proposed could renew interest and again make young men dream of growing up to be baseball players. It could make baseball "cool" again, something the guys on XM are always trying to figure out a way to do.
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5 comments:
You know i don't think we are far away from having a baseball network on digital cable and satellite that televises baseball year round. I could envision some reality program type stuff that you are talking about and then have shows that speak to the fantasy crowd, and then in the winter and fall they could televise the AFL and winter leagues.
The average baseball fan today i think has a more heightened awareness of the baseball world outside the majors thant they did, say, 20 years ago. Now would be the perfect time to build a network that reached around the world and televised all sorts of baseball and built a fan base like that of football or basketball. There 4-5 times as many teams in professional baseball and many many more leagues than any of the other professional sports (save soccer). So why not exploit all of those leagues? I would love to watch college baseball on a regular basis. Or some of the minor league games. There is too much potential here thats not being tapped.
On the other hand, baseball fans are a different breed because the game isn't the same as football and basketball. Baseball is relaxed so our fans are relaxed, still passionate mind you, just laid back because we are used to the long haul (both in game and season). Maybe normal marketing won't appeal to us with our devotion and reverence to stats and prospects. I don't know, i didn't major in marketing :-)
It's not exactly a baseball network but MLB Extra Innings may as well be:
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIF.jsp?assetId=1100044
I know DirecTV offers it. I think a couple of the cable providers do as well.
MLB Extra Innings is pretty incredible as far as being able to see nearly all of the regular season games. However, I'm with Foreman and would like to see a channel that mixes in college and minor league games. I'd also love to see some of the games in the winter leagues. Being a reality tv addict, I'd also like to see some reality shows following a minor league team or a team in the Cape Cod league. I think a mainstream channel like MTV would be best for this sort of thing in order to get the younger crowd interested in baseball again.
Now that i think about it a little more, baseball might be the only sport that could actually support a whole network that showed nothing but actualy games year round. With the minors, college, MLB and winter leagues there are always games to be played and seen. And there is a ton of room for programming other than actualy games.
MLB's imminent deal with DirecTV for exclusive rights to the Extra Innings package could cause established fans to turn away or lose interest. Sure, in the short term it's a financial boon, but I really can't see it will help them in the long run. Is a 24-hour baseball network really going to boost revenue that much? Extra Innings via cable has been a godsend for me these past few years, especially now that TBS is in the final year of broadcasting games (and only 70 at that). Many out of market fans will be forced to subscribe to DirecTV, but I'm sure many will just opt to stay with cable. MLB.tv certainly is an option, but watching games on a computer just isn't the same.
Regardless of what happens, baseball as a spectator sport still holds true to this principle: it is an entirely different experience in person, especially for the casual fan. If one has played the game and perhaps understands the strategy, TV is tolerable, but for many that just isn't so.
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