XM Satellite

Top Tips: MLB to Disappear from Terrestrial Radio?

Changes that occurred in the way Major League Baseball games were broadcast on television lead many to believe that the same thing happen to radio soon as well. Local television stations are only broadcasting twenty-three percent of MLB games. Also, seven of the major league team games are available only on cable, a system that seems to work well for them. Recently interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Edison Media Research's president Larry Rosin described that it might be inevitable that baseball radio broadcasts will go to a 100% subscription model. This will happen because there is simply too much money invested not to do it. This is an interesting perspective for the primary digital satellite radio providers Sirius and XM Satellite Radio. Such a development would be excellent for XM especially, as they would hold exclusive rights to all MLB games. This would be an important leap forward for them, as Major League Baseball enjoys great interest in the US. This would mean that another building block has been added to satellite radio's development.

XM Radio and Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball does have its own subscription online radio channel. Should the same thing happen to radio that did to television they would definitely enjoy the development. Experts in communications believe satellite radio is still in its infancy. The trend of moving broadcasts of games to a "paid" environment would take digital radio to the next level of development. Earnings from XM Radio and MLB Radio are split between the 30 Major League teams. But, they are divided equally. The MLB team’s interests would be high and the financial and economic factors could speed up the process of making games exclusive to satellite radio. Statistics today tell an interesting story: around twenty-three percent of XM subscribers have signed up to receive the MLB broadcase, so there's still plenty of room for growth. Terrestrial radio is already beginning to feel the danger of losing MLB broadcasts to satellite radio as this income-driven model is more attractive for the MLB teams.

Implications of such a transfer

As with most things which reach a controversial topic, opinions are shared among the general public and experts. Some are convinced that this movement is little more than a bubble about to burst. Baseball is mostly a TV favorite and although interest remains in MLB radio broadcasts, many will not feel the transfer to digital radio as a significant change. Perhaps radio was the initial growth medium for baseball, but television is king today. They say that such a transfer from terrestrial radio to satellite radio is not something that will have a significant impact. Others believe Major League Baseball would lose more audience than it would gain from subscription fees. Since the format of the traditional radio stations is more flexible, it allows them to broadcast more games than television. Some of the same people believe Major League Baseball would alienate many local fans if they removed programming from AM radio”. For others, there is another comparison to be made – between the impact this would have on MLB and the similar impact on the NFL, where a comparable process has already begun. Sirius NFL broadcasts did bring the company some new listeners, but these changes were not extreme. Since the NFL is more popular than MLB, there is an expectation that the same trend will follow in MLB's case as well. Some voices say this change would have a significant impact on the way baseball is perceived. Since watching a game on TV can take away a few hours, many prefer to listen on radio while they are doing something else. We find this is especially true during the summer, when many prefer to spend time on the porch or in the yard, rather than in front of their television. Comparisons between the various major sport types in the United States can be made from different points of view, but most will agree that baseball can be followed on radio. All the signs point to a transfer of broadcasts from terrestrial radio to satellite. But this may change depending upon the response companies and Major League Baseball hear from an interested public.