MAJOR LEAGUE BROADBAND

In light of the game's leisurely pace — a stark contrast to (and some would argue, safe haven from) the frenzy that passes for daily life lately — it's ironic that Major League Baseball is the sport that arguably has made the best use of broadband to date. Baseball has finally discovered, at least as far as the Internet experience goes, that speed thrills.

But baseball has only scratched the surface of broadband's potential, said Bob Bowman, president of MLB's properties division. The real impact will be felt as broadband reaches deeper penetration nationwide.

Currently, just 5% of the traffic that hits the MLB Web site originates from a broadband connection. But that 5% is very important, Bowman said, because those users are not only avid fans who “grew up with baseball and want to get it every way they can” — they also understand the relationship between the value of a service and its cost.

“The broadband user is our best customer,” Bowman said. “They're already paying $40 to $50 a month for their Internet connection, so they are able to see the value in what we offer. They look at our site as they would a magazine subscription.”

Most of what MLB offers is best utilized via a broadband connection. Bowman's division makes available a wide variety of feature-rich experiences, including live radio broadcasts of each day's games, highlights packages that can be customized by the user, and condensed rebroadcasts of each day's games that feature only the runs, hits, errors, and outs, which can be viewed in about 20 minutes (compared with a live game, which lasts about three hours).

In addition, the site offers full rebroadcasts of some of the sport's most famous games dating back to the 1950s. A subscription for an entire season costs $9.95 per month.

Bowman added that broadband has enabled the sport to attract younger fans who are drawn by the customized highlights packages as well as the SimLeagues, simulated leagues that give participants the chance to manage great teams from the past in games that are played out over the Internet. “Were talking about 14-year-olds who can't imagine doing anything if it's not on the Internet,” Bowman said. “Our site fulfills their need to get baseball online.

The site also fulfills baseball fans' need to purchase tickets and licensed merchandise online. Major League Baseball sold 72.5 million tickets last year, many of which were sold through the MLB Web site or affiliated team sites. Speed often is the difference between making and losing a sale.

Bowman looks forward to the day when the majority of Americans have broadband Internet connections. When that happens, fans will keep coming back more often — and not just to the Web site. “They will go to a ballpark more often if they keep up with the game every day.”