With the sale of the Capitals to AOL Studios President
Ted Leonsis and Broadcast.com co-Founder Mark Cuban eyeing
the Penguins, the INDUSTRY STANDARD's Ledbetter & Viuker
examined the emerging appeal of sports teams to Internet
company execs. Though the trend could be "nothing more than
a natural, boys-will-be-boys extension of the Internet's
newfound wealth," the attraction could be more than that.
It is "not far-fetched" that "specific strategic overlaps
between Internet companies and sports franchises" exist, as
both pro sports and Internet companies "serve heavily male
audiences concentrated in the 15-to-35 age group." Cuban
described a sports team as a "great testbed for digital
enabling of content in unique ways." Cuban, on owning a
team: "I would make everything that I could accessible to
fans, try to create as much interaction between fans, the
team and players." Ledbetter & Viuker added that a Cuban
acquisition of the Penguins could be his "first step toward
building an Internet sports broadcasting network" since
Broadcast.com has audio broadcast/video rights to NHL games
through 2000. But Cuban said such an Internet plan would
"get awful expensive" (INDUSTRY STANDARD, 5/20).
WATCH AND LEARN: In DC, Rachel Alexander looks at
Leonsis' new marketing plans for the Capitals. Leonsis went
to a Bruins game in Boston and said he "should learn" if
other teams are good at marketing by "just going to other
arenas, getting there early and watching what really turns
the fans on." The Capitals have an "estimated" season-
ticket base of 3,000-6,000, a "relatively low number" for
the 20,000-seat MCI Center (WASHINGTON POST, 5/21).
