Fox Sports boss not sold on streaming games
Kent Chapline September 7th, 2008
Hot on the heels of NBC’s live stream of the first NFL game of the season, the head of Fox Sports says he’s not sure how much he likes the idea of streaming games. Ed Goren told Broadcasting & Cable “the big dog is definitely viewership on network television and the ad revenue that generates.” And while he says he’s not convinced that live streaming of sporting events is damaging to the broadcast audiences right now, he’s clearly looking ahead to the future and what might happen to the big bucks.
3 Comments Add your own
1. wtf | September 8th, 2008 at 9:32 am
it’s not the idea of streaming games. that’s a no brain-er.
It’s the same internet advertising issue of finding a way not to turn broadcast dollars into digital pennies.
2. Geoff Northcott | September 8th, 2008 at 10:11 am
MLB’s streaming operation nets them $450 million a year. And it’s not cannibalizing the rest of the business:
“Rights fees are up, attendance is up, viewership is up,” says Bob Bowman, chief executive at MLBAM. “Somehow the strategy of putting [baseball games] on every device that has a plug or a battery has worked for the business partners. Even more important, it’s worked for our fans.”
MLB approached reaching their audience through digital channels as a business opportunity rather than a threat, and are reaping the rewards. I think other media owners would be well advised to take their and Hulu’s example, rather than say the RIAA.
That quote and more details are from an article in last week’s BusinessWeek. Would link to it if the spam filter will let me, otherwise do a search for “MLB’s Real Competitive Advantage”
cheers,
Geoff
3. tdc | September 8th, 2008 at 10:15 am
“broadcast dollars to digital pennies” is soooo-nbcu.
why not just raise your digital PRICES?
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