The Yankees used the "number of Internet hits and the
amount of revenue" that P Mariano Rivera generated in their
arbitration case against him, according to Anthony McCarron
of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. On Saturday, a panel of three
arbitrators ruled in favor of the team's $7.25M one-year
offer over Rivera's request of $9.25M. During the case,
Rivera's agent, Jim Bronner, "tried to link" Rivera with
Yankees SS Derek Jeter, saying that Rivera was "at least as
valuable" to the team as Jeter. But the Yankees countered
by showing that Rivera and Jeter "aren't comparable in
marketing or in cyberspace." Sources said that Rivera
"doesn't produce the same kind of revenue in areas such as
souvenir sales or the same number of hits on the Yankees'
Web site." The team then showed that from '97-99, Jeter
merchandise sales at Yankee Stadium totaled $2.28M, compared
to $57,000 for Rivera. The team showed that over the same
period, Jeter received 727,196 hits on the team's Web site,
compared with 68,974 for Rivera (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/19).
PVI INKS LEAGUE DEAL: Princeton Video Image announced
today that it will create and insert virtual ads in a
minimum of 20 ESPN Sunday Night Baseball games this year
(PVI). The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Langdon Brockinton
reports that PVI's deal with ESPN marks the "first
continuing virtual advertising commitment for a network
televising a major sport." While PVI's technology has been
used on ESPN's MLB games in the past, MLB clubs can no
longer block ESPN from using the system. But some
"questions remain" regarding possible restrictions placed on
ESPN. For example, "it has not been decided whether ESPN
could sell virtual ads to a competitor of an exclusive in-
stadium sponsor" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/21).
TURNING JAPANESE: BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton reports that
MasterCard, A-B, Toys 'R' Us, Mizuno and United Airlines
will sponsor the Cubs-Mets series in Japan, MLB's first
overseas season-opener to be held March 29-30. Convenience
store AM/PM will be the title sponsor and has signed the
Cubs' Sammy Sosa to a seven-figure ad deal. AM/PM will also
get logo signage on batting helmets, while insurance company
AIU will get its logo on player uniforms. The uniform logos
are a "first for a regular-season MLB game." Commissioner
Bud Selig called the uniform advertisement "a one-time
deal." Lefton writes that the series will be "the most
profitable overseas venture yet by MLB, with sponsorship
revenue alone in excess" of $1M (BRANDWEEK, 2/21 issue).
PEDRO PLACE? In Boston, Carney & Sullivan reported that
USAopoly will release special MLB team editions of Monopoly
around the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers this April. Red Sox
VP/Marketing & Sales Larry Cancro: "It's terrific. ...
They're trying to include things that tell the story of the
Red Sox, from the early days to now" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/21).
