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Looking to leverage a lineup of current and former MLB players from Curacao that includes Didi Gregorius, Andruw Jones and Andrelton Simmons, the Curacao Tourist Board has signed an international rights deal with the league.
The two-year deal will allow the Caribbean island (approximate population 160,000) to promote tourism on MLB regular-season and postseason telecasts, and includes around 2,500 30-second TV spots, along with social media sweepstakes rights and virtual behind-the-plate signage on broadcasts throughout Canada, the Caribbean and portions of Central and South America. Within those territories, the CTB also can identify itself as the “Official Destination of Major League Baseball.” Player involvement is to be determined.
With a team of MLB stars touring Japan this November and games set for London, Asia and Mexico over the next two seasons, MLB wants to grow its international licensing and sponsorship revenue.
Noah Garden, MLB executive vice president of business, called the Curacao partnership baseball’s largest international tourism deal to date. He said the international market now represents around 10 percent of overall sponsorship and licensing revenue, and he’d like to double that.
“We’re approaching international as a continuation of our ‘one baseball’ strategy,” said Garden, who added international sponsorship and licensing to his area of responsibilities earlier this year. “Now, when we’re talking to our domestic partners, international will be a bigger part of that for all the global brands we are looking to attract.”
Garden identified China, Europe, Japan, Korea, London and Mexico as areas of importance and continued growth.
As for adding more resources internationally, Garden said, “There are definitely plans to beef up our group internationally, but how that goes and where and whether we open more international offices is something that’s evolving.”
