Variable pricing to benefit both the Red Sox and fans

By Zachary Baru

In an industry that has seen many changes in recent years when it comes to ticket sales, the need to fill the ballpark to capacity and the growing competition from the secondary market has forced the Boston Red Sox to introduce a popular trend in ticket sales, variable pricing.

Variable pricing is more than raising prices for the dates with the highest demand, it also includes lowering prices for the dates with the lowest demand, giving fans the opportunity to purchase tickets in 2014 from the box office for as low as $10.  This will give the Red Sox a better chance to sell out certain dates that statistically do not sell well.  And yes, the statistics are about the dates, not the opponents. 

The Red Sox conducted an internal study, ranking the 81 home dates from most to least desirable for fans to purchase.  This resulted in a schedule with five tiers of pricing, starting with Tier 1 being the highest, and decreasing to Tier 5, comprising of the 16 least desirable dates.

According to the team's study, some of the most popular dates statistically are after the All-Star game in July.  Make no mistake, the variable pricing structure is very much a statistical approach, and one that will allow the team to maximize prices to reflect the market value.

Without the ability to increase or decrease prices based on demand, the Red Sox are at a disadvantage against the secondary market, which allows market value to determine prices.  By the Red Sox introducing variable pricing, the team is moving closer to competing with websites like StubHub, where fans can sell tickets to other fans, and sometimes at prices below face value.  This is something that occurred all too often during 2012.

Now that that the Red Sox have captured another World Series title, and have won back fans, the team will attempt to stay in front of the competition, and curb as many secondary market sales as possible.  The opportunity for fans to purchase tickets at a lower price for games with a lower demand is not only fair, it is essential to selling out games, and more closely resembles supply and demand.  All Major League Baseball teams now have some form of variable pricing, and the Red Sox should not be any different.  Finding ways to increase ticket sales while still offering lower priced tickets presents an opportunity to meet the needs of both the team and the fans, and illustrates why variable pricing is such an effective pricing strategy.

Zach Baru can be followed @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Thursday's Bruins game shows why ties belong in the NHL

By Zachary Baru

If you watched Thursday night's Boston Bruins game against the St. Louis Blues, you saw three great periods of hockey, followed by an exciting overtime, and a shootout that illustrates why regular season ties are meant to be just that, ties.

To many hockey fans, a game does not necessarily need to be decided as a win or a loss, and a tie can reward both teams with a hard-fought game, and leave fans feeling entertained for two and a half hours.  Regardless of the fact that postseason overtimes in hockey can be some of the most exciting moments to watch in all of sports, during the regular season it is not necessary to end a game with a gimmick or skill such as a shootout.

After watching an entire game, it is more rewarding to see a team win on a hockey play, rather than on a part of the sport that resembles the skills competition of an all-star game more than anything else.  Thursday night's game was a perfect example.  With the Bruins and Blues tied 2-2 in overtime and 15 seconds remaining, the Bruins' Carl Soderberg had a breakaway opportunity to end the game, but the puck went into the pads of Jaroslav Halak.  Having the game end on a hockey play like that would certainly have been entertaining, but staging a penalty shot in a shootout just does not have the same effect.

Shootouts were introduced to the National Hockey League after the lockout and cancellation of the 2004-05 season.  The league, looking for ways to improve the game from an entertainment standpoint, introduced several rule changes, one of which being the shootout.

While shootouts may excite newer fans, and understanding that this is an audience that the NHL is focused on, traditional fans do not need shootouts to stay interested in hockey.  Rule changes after the lockout such as removing two-line passes and reducing goaltender equipment by eleven percent made the game faster and higher scoring, and to the league's delight, appealing to newer fans.  With the game unquestionably much faster and higher scoring than before the 2004-05 season, is the shootout really necessary?  Aside from disappointing traditional fans, it also changes broadcast schedules, as the shootout lengthens the typical two and a half hour television time slot by about fifteen minutes.

Returning the game to the way it was always played, before the shootout, would satisfy longtime hockey fans who remember when great evenly matched games would end in a tie, rewarding both teams, and leaving all fans feeling entertained.  No gimmicks, no skill competitions, just 1 point for rewarding a team for what happened on the ice, not what happened in a shootout after the game.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Revolution attract largest stand-alone MLS crowd since 2009

By Zachary Baru

Don't tell the Revolution they can't compete with baseball, as Saturday night proved to be a night where soccer fans showed their support on the Revs' home finale, and in impressive numbers.  Just as the Red Sox were looking to reach the World Series at Fenway Park, down I-495 in Foxborough the Revolution came one step closer to reaching the playoffs with a 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew before a season-high crowd of 26,458.

This was also the largest stand-alone Major League Soccer crowd for the Revolution since August 8, 2009, in a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy.  Since many MLS franchises schedule doubleheaders with international clubs playing friendlies, MLS attendance records are often recorded separately for stand-alone games.

For the Revolution front office, the season finale could not have been any better.  Edging Columbus in a close, exciting game in front of a season-high crowd and giving the Revs an opportunity to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009 - depending on the results when the season ends this Sunday in Columbus - made for the perfect script to end the home schedule of an entertaining season.

Saturday's game was a reminder of just how supportive Revolution fans can be.  With better on-field performance this season and the emerging young talent from players like Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe, it is easy to understand why fans have returned the favor and come out to show their support.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Bruins' popularity creates new task for franchise

By Zachary Baru

Could it be that times are too good for the Boston Bruins?  You could say that is the case for the Bruins, who are enjoying strong revenue from multiple streams.  But with a surge in popularity beginning in the 2008-09 season and highlighted by the championship season of 2011, the Bruins are close to maxing out some revenue streams including season tickets and sponsorship sales.

Season tickets are once again sold out this season, and have a long waiting list.  With revenue streams maxing out, the Bruins will need to seek new ways to generate revenue.  

It's the problem every sports franchise wants to have, as the Bruins' popularity shows no signs of slowing down.  It's little examples like Comcast SportsNet airing a special thirty-minute Bruins post-game show immediately following Thursday night's opening night game on NESN.  Five years ago, no such thing would ever occur.  

As for attendance, the Bruins have reached 100 percent capacity since the start of the 2010-11 season.  The Bruins were just short of that mark in 2008-09 and 2009-10, reaching 97 percent and 99 percent capacity respectively.

While the Bruins are hot at the gate, the television numbers are just as good.  Bruins television ratings were up 41 percent last season from 2011-12, good for the third-highest television rating in the National Hockey League during 2012-13.

As the Bruins come close to maxing out important revenue streams, it appears that times are in fact too good for the franchise.  That's one problem the Bruins won't mind facing.

Source: ESPN, SportsBusiness Journal

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Revolution draws season-high crowd Saturday

By Zachary Baru

The result may not have been what the New England Revolution were looking for, but fans flocked to Foxborough Saturday night as the Revs tied the Houston Dynamo 1-1 before a season-high crowd of 21,297.

Large crowds are not uncommon for Revs late in the season, as many of their promotions and ticket plans fill seats in these final home games.  This on top of the Revolution's push for the last playoff berth helped bring a large crowd and a playoff-like atmosphere to Gillette Stadium.

As the top rows of the lower bowl are typically tarped off for Revolution home games, on Saturday much of the lower bowl was sold.  It was an opportunity for the Revs to have an "official" sellout, but it is hard to be disappointed with a crowd of 20,000-plus, especially with many Major League Soccer stadiums only holding 18,000-20,000 fans.

The Revs finished the 2012 season with an average of 14,001 fans per home game, which was up 5.9 percent from 2011.

The Revolution have one more home game remaining, October 19 against Columbus.  A decent amount of tickets have been sold, in what should be another large crowd for the Revolution.

Source: Sports Business Journal

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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98.5 The Sports Hub grows its empire by inking deal with Celtics

By Zachary Baru

As if 98.5 The Sports Hub was not already in control of much of the Boston sports radio scene, the CBS-owned station added yet another team to its broadcast-rights.  The Sports Hub, or WBZ-FM, announced a multiyear agreement Thursday to broadcast the Celtics, which will not divert any Boston Bruins broadcasts to any other networks.  The Sports Hub will continue to broadcast all Bruins games, moving Celtics games that conflict to 100.7 (WZLX-FM).

With the addition of the Celtics, The Sports Hub now broadcasts four of the five major teams in New England, as they already broadcast Patriots and Revolution games.  Revolution games are a simulcast of the Comcast SportsNet New England broadcast.

While Entercom formerly had a monopoly in Boston sports radio, The Sports Hub has quickly grown to take over the country's seventh largest market.  Launched in 2009, The Sports Hub was the only FM sports station, and used their strong signal and interesting personalities to capture the interest of Boston listeners.

During a time when sports radio was starting to appear on FM, WEEI failed to do so, leaving the door open for CBS to launch the Sports Hub, the beginning of what is now an empire in Boston sports radio.  WBZ-FM also gains strong television presence from the simulcast of its popular afternoon drive program the "Felger & Massarotti Show".

Since the launch of The Sports Hub, WEEI revenues are down nearly 20 percent, according to an article published by the Boston Globe last month.

As The Sports Hub continues to expand its audience, more and more listeners are being converted to their new style of broadcasting, after decades of dominance from WEEI.  The Sports Hub's slightly less-serious but more fun approach to programming has proved to be successful with sports fans, and in just four years has changed an entire radio market.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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Diego Fagundez leading the Revolution on and off the field

By Zachary Baru

It is not often that a team's leading scorer creates so much buzz for reasons other than their scoring capabilities.  Then again, it is not often a team has a local athlete that is developed in their own academy and is only eighteen years of age.  For the New England Revolution,  Diego Fagundez is all of these things, combining stellar play with his massive off-the-field appeal, creating both excitement and attention for the franchise.

Fagundez, of Leominster, played on the Revolution's academy team before being signed to a senior roster contract on November 15, 2010, becoming the Revolution's first homegrown player.  The combination of his local ties and young age make Fagundez highly marketable to Major League Soccer's key demographic.  And let's not forget about his impressive skill.

A new generation of fans is watching MLS who only know the league in its present form as an established part of the professional sports landscape.  MLS has gone through its growing pains in the late 90's and now has a strong identity and following that has lead to the expansion of its 20th franchise earlier this year in New York City.  Fagundez represents a new generation of fans who for the first time the Revolution can connect to on a more personal level.

He attracts hundreds of fans seeking autographs after each home game, and he is very good about staying to sign them all.  And who can blame him?  After all, just a few years ago, he was them.  This is the connection that is so important for the Revolution and their fans, making Fagundez arguably the face of the franchise.  His popularity has gone national, most recently from being the subject of the MLS documentary program "MLS: 36", which aired on NBC Sports Network.  The appeal of Fagundez allows the Revolution to market their brand of soccer to more than the average soccer fan, which has always been, and continues to be a challenge for all MLS franchises.  That connection is something Fagundez has been able to master, creating attention from the non-soccer community and using his on-the-field production to make believers of soccer fans across the country.

Having a player with the appeal of Fagundez is a void the Revolution have had since Taylor Twellman retired in 2010 after suffering a concussion two years prior.  What is so special about Fagundez is that he is able to be marketed to both traditional and non-traditional soccer fans.  He is the team-leader in goals this season, earned MLS Player of the Week earlier in the year, and shows no signs of slowing down.

At just eighteen, Diego Fagundez delivers the high expectations with results week after week.  It is no wonder why there is so much buzz about this young athlete.  He is able to withstand the pressure, and shows so much joy doing it.  Meet Diego Fagundez, the newest, youngest star in New England sports.

Zach Baru can be followed on Twitter @zbaru and reached at zachbaru@gmail.com.

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