Syracuse Chiefs general manager John Simone announced the
creation of the Syracuse Chiefs Baseball Network as the team's new broadcast
home. The Chiefs are believed to be the first team in Triple-A baseball to air
its games solely on the Internet.
"We look at it as we have an opportunity to do
something different and new,'' Simone said told the Syracuse Post-Standard.
"This is something we're doing to reach more people. There is no signal problem
(on the Internet), and then as technology continues to evolve, it's something
that's moving fast. We just thought this is time to do it. Why not be the
people who do things first?''
The network will be available on syracusechiefs.com and via
one click on an app for iPhone, Android and other smart phones. The app, which
is free, is expected to be available by the time the Chiefs open their season
April 4 at Lehigh
Valley
Simone said the team has been considering this move for
three years. He said the decision, which was approved by the team's board of
directors, will save the team money, allow it to control and create new content
and make it available to fans around the world.
The general model in minor league sports is
that teams
purchase air time from stations and then slot their games into those windows.
The teams then try to recoup that investment by selling ads during the games
and keeping that money themselves.
The Chiefs paid The Score $25,000 for air time last season.
Simone said that's money than can now be put toward advertisements promoting
the team across different media outlets. The Chiefs can also get better
demographics of their listeners via the app and then, in turn, make more
effective sales pitches to its potential sponsors.
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