SWCAMBORNE

The LA Dodgers were sold for 2.1 billion dollars this week.  A billion dollars more than was expected and twice what a sports franchise has ever sold for.  I’m calling it the DVR premium.  Follow me on this for a minute and then I show you the next place where values are going to increase.

A DVR (Digital Video Recorder) allows a viewer to fast forward through commercials.  So if your okay with watching CSI later you can watch it in 40 minutes by fast forwarding through the commercials.  But sports is a contest that is best watched live so its value as a deliverer of viewers to commercials is higher than that of shows that can be recorded like dramas and comedies.

The $2 billion valuation of the Dodgers franchise is an estimate of this new reality.  It is however contingent on a few assumptions that have yet to be tested.  One potential issue is that network driven, free to the consumer, advertising financed television is not the only model available.  Another is that competition to sports as a deliverer of advertising viewers is already developing in the form of reality TV contests.  Shows like American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and The Great Race have injected an audience participation element, typically voting, that causes some viewers to want to watch live.  This is good for advertisers.

But there is a way it could be better.  If a show like Dancing With the Stars also gave its voting audience points that were redeemable for discounts and free stuff they would increase viewership of their target demographics and with the premiums the brand loyalty of the viewers.  This is a win-win the audience would receive rewards for playing and the advertisers would get live viewers.  Move over Frank McCourt this is a billion dollar idea.

“I don’t like to be alone, but I do cherish the moments that I am alone with a good book.”

Vin Scully

Dodger Broadcaster

When life gives you lemons make lemonade.   The announcement that Frank and Jamie McCourt are separated is lemons for a Dodger team that is struggling to beat the Phillies for the National League Pennant.  But other teams have used adversity to build their resolve.  The Phillies are wearing the initials HK on there uniforms in memory of Hank Kalas and the Angels wear the initials of Nick Adenhart.  So I’m proposing that the Dodgers wear this patch to turn their misfortune into lemonade and help them win the World Series:

Frank and Jamie Separated

What do you think?

We went to our third baseball game of the year on Saturday night and the Dodgers lost again. So far we are 0 – 3. Other than that it was a perfect evening it didn’t rain and the company, Lillian and Barbara, was very simpatico. Baseball is an anachronism. It moves slowly in a fast paced world and the players spit. I think it can survive the slow but I don’t know if it can survive the HD spitting.

excellent seats

Nurit and I are planning a road trip to Arizona and Colorado in August to finish visiting all of the National League West ballparks. Maybe I’ll make a sign that says “Stop HD Spitting” or “Kobe Doesn’t Spit.” and try to get on TV.
Life is Good!

Nurit and I went to a spring training game and saw the Royals beat the Diamondbacks at Tucson Electric Park.

We had excellent seats in the shade

It was our first spring training game ever and will definitely improve our performance as fans during the 2008 season.

right behind home plate ($15.00each)

It is an intimate park with excellent food vendors

The only discordant thing was a recruiting race car for the border patrol as we walked in. I wrote about the implications of this type of recruiting on my immigration blog.

“Out to the ballpark”

taken by the new friend the usher

Why is the Boston baseball team called the Red Sox?

Based on their uniforms in the World Series they seem to be the Red Sleeves.

From what I can see none of them are wearing red socks but they are wearing red sleeves.

Go Figure

Baseball players spit. It is part of the ritual. They all used to chew tobacco so spitting was a requirement. Now it is part of the tradition and if it doesn’t change it will kill the game. Spitting when you are 50 or so feet away from someone at a game is not to gross. A player spitting during a radio broadcast of a game is hardly noted.

Spitting on TV is disgusting but not horrible. But spitting in a close up on HDTV is beyond disgusting and enters the realm of “please don’t make me watch.” The pictures are so vivid you can see the color of the spit. We don’t want to see this and people will tune out to avoid seeing it. By the way public spitting is against the law.

Can baseball save itself? Can players change a deep seated behavior? Think about this: basketball players in a much more strenuous sport don’t spit. It is time to stop spitting and save baseball.

Yesterday we went to a Washington Nationals – Atlanta Braves game at RFK Stadium in Washington DC.

The stadium was built in 1961 and is showing its age.

This is the last year the Nationals will play here and the Redskins left a decade or so ago. So it is a good thing we came now because we would have missed tis 60′s architechural landmark. The Nationals, for those of you not following closely, are the former Montreal Expos. Based on the promise of a new stadium they have been in DC for two years.

The Senators who played here in the 60′s left to become the Houston Expos. The best thing about the game, won by the Braves 3-0, was the Presidents race after the 5th inning. I had my picture taken with them:

Washington won the race.

They sang the National Anthem and America the Beautiful. What a great country.

Play ball.