Baseball in the Digital Age: the Role of Online and Mobile Content
BASEBALL IN THE DIGITAL AGE: THE ROLE OF ONLINE AND MOBILE CONTENT IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S MEDIA PRODUCT PORTFOLIO Brian P. Hutton, B.A. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2010 APPROVED: Alan B. Albarran, Major Professor Samuel J. Sauls, Committee Member and Director of Graduate Program R. Todd Jewell, Committee Member C. Melinda Levin, Chair of the Department of Radio, Television and Film James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Hutton, Brian. Baseball in the Digital Age: The Role of Online and Mobile Content in Major League Baseball’s Media Product Portfolio. Master of Arts (Radio, Television, and Film), December 2010, 141 pp., 5 tables, 5 figures, references, 179 titles. This case study evaluated Major League Baseball’s (MLB) media product portfolio to identify how broadcast revenues have evolved over the past decade. This research looked back across baseball’s long, dysfunctional history with broadcasters in order to recognize the significance of its ambitious use of online content. While MLB had failed to fully utilize the potentail of broadcasting, the league’s aggressive online strategy through its Advanced Media (MLBAM) division made it the industry leader in broadcasting live streaming sports video. MLBAM expanded its online streaming video to mobile phones and iPad, further expanding the distribution of its content. This research compared MLBAM revenue to traditional broadcast revenue while analyzing the online division’s role in promoting the MLB brand. This case study concluded that while MLBAM had made a number of groundbreaing developments, the league could still improve its use of embedded, shared video clips, archived footage and international marketing in order to further extend the brand equity of the MLB, its thirty individual brands and its media product portfolio.
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