As recently as a few years ago, sports leagues relied on media properties to distribute their content, thousands of games played each year around the country. In the content ecosystem, they relied on NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and, more recently, cable networks such as ESPN, TNT, TBS to get their product in front of large audiences.
The Internet opens new distribution channels to content producers, allowing anyone to become a content company with its own a destination web site and the ability to strike deals across mediums.
Bob Bowman talks about the MLB’s push into interactive media, what it means for the future of the brand, its growth strategies, and its relationships with distribution partners.
Bob Bowman joined Major League Baseball Advanced Media LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, as president and CEO in November 2000.
Prior to joining MLBAM, Bob was president and COO of ITT Corporation. He joined ITT in 1991 as EVP and CFO of ITT Sheraton, the Boston-based global hotel network. In 1992 he was named EVP and CFO of the parent company before being named President and COO in 1995. Following the trivestiture of the Company’s business divisions in 1995, Bob oversaw the growth and operations of the $8 billion conglomerate until it was acquired by Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 1998. During his tenure, Bob and the senior management team at ITT created more than $25 billion of value for the company’s shareholders.
