Jan 03
So, now that the MLB Network is up, both in regular and HD formats, and in 50 million homes, how long do you think it will take until baseball cuts out the middle-man and they carry the entire post-season (and the All-Star Game as well) on the MLB Network (rather than on, say, FOX and/or TBS) – keeping the whole advertising revenue pie for themselves? I’m thinking we see it as quickly as six years from now – when the current contracts that baseball has with FOX and TBS are over. What do you think?
8 Responses to “How Long Until MLB Network Takes The Whole Pie?”
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January 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
It won’t happen until MLB can make more than $3 billion over seven years for the playoffs on their own network. I doubt that could happen even within that six-year time frame you set.
January 3rd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Anything that frees up Sat. afternoon baseball from the “Watch the Fox game or go the hell” approach works for me. Even if you buy the MLB package on the dish or cable you are blacked out. Out of towners that yearn for Saturday afternoon Yankee games haven’t seen one in years.
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
~~~It won’t happen until MLB can make more than $3 billion over seven years for the playoffs on their own network~~~
Ben, think about it for a minute. If MLB is getting $3 billion from the networks, that means the networks can afford to pay them $3 billion – which also means that the networks are making *more* than that $3 billion on ad sales, etc. So, why wouldn’t MLB want to get the whole pie instead of a slice?
It’s no different than the Yankees having the game on their own network as opposed to letting WPIX, FOX or UPN carry them all and then just getting *some* of the revenue from that vendor network.
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I’m pretty excited about this network, it gives us “year-round” baseball fans something to always watch.
As far as the playoff stuff goes, I think you are on the money. It’ll be within the next 7 or 8 seasons.
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
The package is more valuable to the networks than it is to MLB. Please keep in mind the networks can use it to promote their own series and other sports programming.
In addition, the networks can bring to the world series the casual fan and the non baseball fan. Further, the networks will always have a greater
market share than mlb which will always be niche programmer. Remember, the fact that there are still people out there who do not subscribe to cable or just subscribe to the most basic package.
The next big battle in the communications wars will be the move to place sports programming on its’ own tier. Sports programming is costly and the amount charged per cable subscriber is much higher than the entertainment channels.
There is one more point, the politicans have been in bed with these sports leagues for years, allowing them to operate in the safety zone of a monopoly. That’s why the Super Bowl is on free TV. Can you imagine what the value of the Super Bowl as a pay per view event. Even the politicans who the NFL now have in their pocket wouldn’t put up with that.
The MLB World Series package will be on over the air TV well into the future.
January 3rd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
~~Please keep in mind the networks can use it to promote their own series and other sports programming. ~~
Fair point.
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Oh I believe it will be when the current contracts run out as well. I dont mind TBS or Fox but baseball on ESPN drives me insane. I hope MLBN gets the Allstar game and pulls some or all of the MLB games from ESPN. Hell, they have to dont they? Isnt the MLB Network now in competition with ESPN? Hmmmmmmm…..
I love it, I hate ESPN with a passion.
January 4th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
No Buck? No McCarver? No Morgan?!!!
This can’t happen soon enough!!