MLB.comMini Case StudyPrepared byMartin WalshDigital Marketing Director

Backgroundwww.mlb.com launched in 2000MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) was backed by all 30 MLB teamsEach team contributed less than $3m each to get the MLBAM startup off the groundInitial investment has been paid back in full to all teamsSituational ContextIn 2007, MLB generated USD$6.1b in revenue and NFL generated USD$6.3bSuper Bowl drew in 100m viewers in 2008 while only 17m bothered to tune into the 2007 World Series.But, baseball has found increasingly inventive ways to ramp up revenue from:Counterintuitively reducing the number of seats in stadiumsto selling streaming video of baseball games online - hitting record revenues for 5 consecutive years.

www.mlb.com launched in 2000

MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) was backed by all 30 MLB teams

Each team contributed less than $3m each to get the MLBAM startup off the ground

Initial investment has been paid back in full to all teams

In 2007, MLB generated USD$6.1b in revenue and NFL generated USD$6.3b

Super Bowl drew in 100m viewers in 2008 while only 17m bothered to tune into the 2007 World Series.

But, baseball has found increasingly inventive ways to ramp up revenue from:

Counterintuitively reducing the number of seats in stadiums

to selling streaming video of baseball games online - hitting record revenues for 5 consecutive years.

MLB.com offers fans the most complete baseball information on the web, including :up-to-date statisticsgame summariesextensive historical informationexclusive features about Major League Baseball events and programsforums and message boardsblogson-line ticket salesbaseball merchandiseauthenticated memorabilia and collectiblesfantasy gameslive and archived radio broadcasts of every gamelive and archived video webcasts of entire gamespitch-by-pitch enactment of gameshosted post-game video highlight shows

up-to-date statistics

game summaries

extensive historical information

exclusive features about Major League Baseball events and programs

forums and message boards

blogs

on-line ticket sales

baseball merchandise

authenticated memorabilia and collectibles

fantasy games

live and archived radio broadcasts of every game

live and archived video webcasts of entire games

pitch-by-pitch enactment of games

hosted post-game video highlight shows

Key StatisticsMLB.com generated USD$380m in 2007 up from $236m in 2005 and is growing more than 30% per annumMLB.com gets 8m UU’s per day during the seasonMLB.com sells more than 500k annual season subscriptions of live game video priced from $80-$120Streams as many as 3m videos per dayMLBAM now manages content for numerous online affiliates such as NCAA and French tennis OpenMLB.com has boosted ticket sales using digital channelstickets used to slide 72 hours before game 27m+ tickets sold online in 2007 (total MLB tickets sold 79.5m)MLB.com accounted for 34% of all ticket sales in 2007At least 8 teams now deliver last-minute digital ticket sales to mobiles

MLB.com generated USD$380m in 2007 up from $236m in 2005 and is growing more than 30% per annum

MLB.com gets 8m UU’s per day during the season

MLB.com sells more than 500k annual season subscriptions of live game video priced from $80-$120

Streams as many as 3m videos per day

MLBAM now manages content for numerous online affiliates such as NCAA and French tennis Open

MLB.com has boosted ticket sales using digital channels

tickets used to slide 72 hours before game

27m+ tickets sold online in 2007 (total MLB tickets sold 79.5m)

MLB.com accounted for 34% of all ticket sales in 2007

At least 8 teams now deliver last-minute digital ticket sales to mobiles

MLB and Mobiles – as at 23 September 2009The MLB.com At Bat application can be downloaded in the App Store for $9.99 and users can then stream complete MLB games to their iPhone for $0.99 each (see story). MLB’s iPhone portfolio also includes the GameDay, LiveAudio and LiveVideo applications.The brand's applications have been downloaded more than a million times and 400,000 of the downloads are for paid applications.MLB.com’sWAP site today gets 25 million page views daily, which includes 4 million unique visitors.So what has MLB.com learned? What are the secrets to a successful mobile application?“Great content matters—it matters how you present your content, what it looks like and how easy it is to use,” Mr. Bowman said. “How you get your app discovered is very important and it’s hard even if you’re Major League Baseball.“We’re trying to get people to use our apps, not ESPN’s apps, and it’s not enough just to say ‘We’re baseball,’” he said. “The notion of a one-minute delay is unacceptable, it has to be now, because people want to be the first to know, they want to see it on their phone before they hear about it on TV.“Another important piece is providing ease of payment, and iTunes plays a key role, but it’s important for billing systems to be user-friendly because it’s a pain in the butt for a lot of people to type on their phones.”“Whereas with subscription products on other channels people might use it once or twice a week, our mobile app consumers use it every day, which is staggering,” Mr. Bowman said. “We’ve seen phenomenal usage levels and it’s because you have the phone with you all the time.“It stays next to you at your bedside table and it’s the first thing you look at in the morning when you wake up,” he said.Robert Bowman is president/CEO of Major League Baseball Advanced Media

The MLB.com At Bat application can be downloaded in the App Store for $9.99 and users can then stream complete MLB games to their iPhone for $0.99 each (see story).

MLB’s iPhone portfolio also includes the GameDay, LiveAudio and LiveVideo applications.

The brand's applications have been downloaded more than a million times and 400,000 of the downloads are for paid applications.

MLB.com’sWAP site today gets 25 million page views daily, which includes 4 million unique visitors.

“Great content matters—it matters how you present your content, what it looks like and how easy it is to use,” Mr. Bowman said. “How you get your app discovered is very important and it’s hard even if you’re Major League Baseball.

“We’re trying to get people to use our apps, not ESPN’s apps, and it’s not enough just to say ‘We’re baseball,’” he said. “The notion of a one-minute delay is unacceptable, it has to be now, because people want to be the first to know, they want to see it on their phone before they hear about it on TV.

“Another important piece is providing ease of payment, and iTunes plays a key role, but it’s important for billing systems to be user-friendly because it’s a pain in the butt for a lot of people to type on their phones.”