Mostly via SBJ:
- The Yankees’ plan will cost $49.95 for the rest of the season, putting it more or less on par with the entire MLB.tv package. The theory is that if you buy MLB.tv, it’s usually to watch one team anyway. That’s probably true, but it isn’t really relevant here, since many people will use MLB.tv as their primary means of watching out-of-market games, while in-market customers will, by rule, already have the games on cable. $100 for a full season is a pretty steep price for what will undoubtedly be a supplemental package.
- BAM gets 50% of all net revenue. That’s higher than I had figured, but it’s tough to say it’s inappropriate considering BAM is supplying 100% of the technology and back-end operations. It sets an interesting precedent though, and I’m sure there’ll be many discussions over this as it gets to be a more and more valuable revenue source.
- It looks like MLB is brokering these deals. That will keep progress relatively slow, and it also decreases competition between teams. There are a few more in the pipeline, with the Padres reportedly next in line (oddly enough). But it could be a while before this is widely available.
- It doesn’t look like this is being integrated into MLB.tv, which I think is a huge mistake from a sales & marketing perspective. Increasing the visibility / availability of both can only help. And discounting a combo package would probably help increase total dollars for BAM, even if the discount had to come out of their end.
If we want to use a nine-inning analogy, we’re just about finishing the national anthem. There’s a long, long way to go, so stay tuned.
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