San Francisco Giants are using technology to win the world series. The San Francisco Giants are owned and operated by San Francisco Baseball Associates LP. They were purchased for $100 million in 1992 and are now worth $483 million, 9th overall. San Francisco Baseball Associates LP is operated by silicon valley companies such as Microsoft corp, Cisco Systems inc, Yahoo inc and Intel Corp. This background of technology based companies has benefited the Giants greatly.
The Giants are using new technological advances in training to help improve their players skills. This intern increases sales because if the Giants win, then more people will want to buy tickets and attend the games. This is how the Giants are using technology to increase revenue. The first piece of technology the Giants utilize is to help their pitching staff. They own a pitching suit that helps evaluate pitches. The article states that the Giants have been focusing more on pitching rather than hitting after Berry Bond was part of the organization. Another piece of equipment the Giants use to train is a hitting aid. The Giants use a special outfitted pitching machine rather than a regular one. The machine shoots different colored balls at over 100 mph. This helps the batters practice hitting in blind spots. Both of these technologies are advancement from the basic pitching and hitting practices that most teams use. This gives the Giants a leg up against the competition. The Giants are also using supply and demand pricing. Meaning the ticket prices are based on the supply and demand of the seat. This is similar to airline or hotel room pricing. Giants chief executive officer Bill Neukom stated, “The point is to be restless about where technology can help us on the baseball side and on the business side." The Giants are using technology to help them on and off the field. The improvements made on the field also help build Giant's customer and fan base, which lead to increase in revenue.
Performing well on the field is a bigger economic boost than most may think. Reaching the world series is a multimillion dollar increase in revenue per season. This season is the first time the Giants have made it to the world series since 1958, and moving to the San Francisco from New York. Richard Walden, the head of sports business at JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Private Bank unit said, "Playing in the World Series will bolster the Giants’ season-ticket sales, merchandise orders, endorsement deals and TV revenue." San Francisco Baseball Associates LP also owns part of the Comcast network in the Bay area where their games are showed. Richard Walden shows how technology on the field can help business off the field.
I believe this is a great way to boost profits. The Giants are backed by leading innovators in technology, so why not use that technology to improve their baseball skills? Some people may call this an unfair advantage over the competition, but I disagree. This is a great way to improve training, while boosting skills. It is a win win situation for the Giants and baseball as a whole.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-28/giants-silicon-valley-owners-profit-from-tech-savvy.html
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