MLB in Japan: Follow the money, but at what price?
So, the Major League Baseball season has begun! …in Japan. Games came on at 6 am, eastern time. In what can only be described as an genius obvious marketing move, Major League Baseball decided to invite Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima and the Red Sox to play against the Oakland Athletics. Very good move by baseball to invite two of the biggest Japanese Major League stars back to Japan for a major league game. One question though…what were the Mariners doing? Ichiro is from Japan too…would it have been too much to have a 2 game Mariners-Red Sox series?
But I digress, this post is about the viability of baseball in Japan. As I’ve mentioned countless times on this blog, sports are trying their darndest to go global. I think I’m going to refer to this whole thing as the “Spo-Glo Movement” for the sake of conciseness, and until one of these professional sports writers come up with a better term for it. As for the opportunity to make money in Japan? Look at these details from The Sports Economist (Emphasis is mine)
The number of MLB licensees in Japan has grown to 61 from just six in 2000, according to MLB. Retail sales revenue from licensed products has nearly tripled during that time to $103.7 million, according to MLB figures.
Local partnerships include Uniqlo, a unit of Fast Retailing Co. and one of Japan’s leading clothing retail chains; LB-03, a fashion line for young women; and Toys “R” Us, whose stores in Japan have MLB corners selling branded toys and apparel. MLB apparel is also sold at some 2,000 sporting-goods stores around the country, according to Miki Yamamoto, senior vice president of IMG Licensing Asia, which handles licensing here for the league.
At the 109 shopping mall in the Shibuya neighborhood, a popular hangout for Tokyo’s young and fashionable, “you can see kids with very hippy, trendy designs with a Red Sox logo or shocking pink Yankees clothing,” Ms. Yamamoto says. “Those girls are buying those products without knowing how Daisuke is doing or how Ichiro is doing. This is not just about baseball; it’s a culture now.“
In terms of TV viewership, pitcher Hideo Nomo, who joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995, was the wedge in the door, with the public broadcaster NHK showing the games he pitched. But the advent of Ichiro, a center fielder, took things to another level, because a position player plays every day, while pitchers rotate in every few days.
“Now you had an everyday player, who’s out playing 162 games a year,” MLB’s Mr. Small says. “That made great television: Folks could tune in every day knowing he was going to play.”
MLB soon negotiated a new six-year TV deal with Japanese advertising giant Dentsu Inc. valued at a reported $235 million, three times as much as the previous deal. The money from the broadcasts, as well as from sponsorship deals and sales of licensed merchandise, is split equally among the 30 major-league teams. Fans also can catch a nightly news feed with highlights of Japanese stars in the majors.
Baseball is a culture in Japan, the same way it is in America. So, if you’re Bud Selig, why would you not try to foster that growth? Obviously, the money is there, and don’t doubt for one second that Bud Selig doesn’t want baseball in Japan. Not only is baseball in Japan a viable option, its a lucrative option…right? Not so fast. Baseball in Japan has a few problems.
1. It is Japan! If you are an east coast team and you have to go to Japan? Yeah, good luck with that. The only time games in Japan make any sense are at the beginning of the season, immediately before or after the all-star break, or heaven forbid, during the playoffs.
2. The length of the baseball season. 162 games. 6 months. This isn’t like playing a week 8 football game in London or 3 or 4 basketball games in Spain. The baseball season is long, and teams hardly ever get more than a single day off at any given time. Travel between America and Japan would definitely take its toll, and could, in theory, effect the quality of play. Or, you could have American teams stay in Japan for weeks at a time…but 3 weeks of away games…I don’t see too many players agreeing with that.
3. The Disgruntled Fan Base. I know, I know. I myself have said on this blog that sports are going global. I still believe that’s true, and obviously the recent happenings in American sports have done little to hinder that progression. But, it has to be baby steps…you can’t upset or alienate the American fan base. It is that fan base that has supported American sports for over 100 years. It is that fan base that has made wealthy men and women out of the people who are now seeking to grow their sports in foreign markets. Why bite the hand that fed and continues to feed you? The same way Roger Goodell should not even be thinking about a Super Bowl in London right now, Bud Selig should not have what is arguably the most hallowed sporting event in American sports, opening day of the major league baseball season,…in Japan. Would there have been any problem with the Red Sox-Athletics game being a spring training game? Would the game not sell out if it didn’t count? I highly doubt it. Why take away America’s Opening Day? Sure, many people will love the idea, but, and this is a big “but” Mr. Selig, you know there are more than a handful of people who will be annoyed. Why annoy those people for seemingly no good reason?
Baby steps. This whole Spo-Glo Movement has to crawl before it can walk. Opening Day in Japan? Although popular, was probably not the right idea.
The Sports Economist: MLB in Japan & the EPL too?
Sports Business Digest: Sports are going global
Sports Business Digest: Super Bowl in London…Revisited
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 12:31 am and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
4 Responses »
Additional comments powered by BackType
RSS Feed
E-mail Feed
Follow us on Twitter!
This is dumb. They can barely get MLB to work in Canada. They can barely get it to work in Pittsburgh. Why not try some Latin American countries that are a lot closer and where baseball is just as popular as in Japan? Or why not just keep MLB here in the states where it can continue to teach our children the American value of living life on an uneven playing field?
Daddy, why is the Pirates team salary $150 million less than other teams?
BECAUSE THAT’S LIFE, JUNIOR! WELCOME TO AMERICA!! 20 STRAIGHT LOSING SEASONS? YEAH, THAT’S WHAT WE IN THE GROWN-UP WORLD REFER TO AS LIFE!!
On a recent episode of “No Reservations” the travel/cooking show starring Anthony Bourdain, he toured Japan and got a taste of what being a fan of Japanese baseball in Japan is like. He went to a sports bar and a regular-season game, meeting and talking with people who truly have devoted part of each day and most of their life to their favorite (almost always) hometown squad. These people are SERIOUS baseball fans. Americans have little idea what being a baseball fan means to the Japanese. That being said, I continue to vent against the concept of outsourcing our sports to our nations, whether exhibitions or games that count. Build the walls and flood the moats and keep the leagues at home. So they sold a few tickets overseas – all they did was ruin what most every baseball fan considers what Opening Day should be like…opening in our own country.
Having opening day in Japan was an attempt by Selig to further globalize the sport. Baseball is very popular in Japan right now (started in the 90′s with Nomo entering the league)and if you ask any Japanese person who their favorite baseball player is they will most likely answer back with a player in the NPB or MLB. The sport has been played in Japan since the late 19th century and has some pretty solid roots established. If you’re surprised with the MLB’s attempts to go global, try not to **** yourself when some Japanese football (yes, American football) players start entering the NFL in the next couple of years, as the NFL is making some pretty strong offers to Japanese players as well.