A "few early building blocks are in place" for MLB's
"nascent Internet venture," according to Terry Lefton of
BRANDWEEK, who reports that the Web initiative was given the
name of MLB Advanced Media LP last week, while candidates
have been interviewing for the "top exec spots." In
addition, MLB has "finally secured" MLB.com for its URL, an
address that was held by law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius,
which "ironically does work" for the league. MLB Exec VP
Bob DuPuy: "We're not known as MLB the way the other leagues
are known by their acronyms, but this probably gives us the
opportunity to do some branding. Our overall charter is to
build a profitable Internet business that will be consistent
with the brand of MLB as we know it, not create a kind of
New Coke, and to grab the audience we often lose between
Little League and college" (BRANDWEEK, 7/17 issue).
LICENSING & SPONSORSHIP: Meanwhile, MLB Exec
VP/Business Tim Brosnan "suggests a scenario where MLB would
take some equity positions in its licensees," similar to its
recent deal with Seasonticket.com (see THE DAILY, 5/8).
Brosnan: "We can make a compelling case to ownership that it
will provide security for our licensees and afford us a
certain amount of control and greater ease with our core
licensees." Lefton adds that an "auto deal continues to
elude" MLB, while overnight delivery is "another target,"
and a telecom deal is "another must" (BRANDWEEK, 7/17).
