Baseball_Case

Problem Statement: BAM has given commitment to Apple’s ipad for developing an application. The issue in the case that:- • The management has to decide whether developing such an application for the ipad would give BAM a competitive advantage. • If the application is developed, how different should it be from the already existing mobile app in terms of name, features and price' Situational analysis: • The firm belongs to the ‘digital media’ industry. • It was established in 1999 to manage the digital operations of major league basketball. It was initially funded by the 30 teams that played MLB. • The firm’s products included :-  MLB.com, the firm’s website which served as a platform for subscribers to stream videos, obtain game stats, purchase tickets online, obtain links to the apps that the firm developed, online shops, auction and community initiatives.  MLB.tv which enabled subscribers to watch live games on their personal computers.  Mobile applications including ‘Atbat’ for Apple products and ‘Atbat 2010’ for Android and Blackberry,  In market streaming which allowed subscribers to stream live games online and watch them on their personal computers. • The firm has used the ‘premium pricing’ strategy and sells some of the products at two prices. Premium subscribers pay prices that are slightly higher than regular prices and get access to certain additional features that are not available to regular subscribers. • MLB’s target market are the technology savvy fans of Major League Baseball. • Financial Statistics of MLB show that it earns 36% of revenues from ticket sales, 31% from paid content, 21% from merchandising and 12% from advertising and sponsorship. SWOT Analysis Strengths • BAM team members work with Steve Jobs • Dominant in digital media market • Huge iPhone 'At Bat' app success Weakness • Minimal time • Unknowns and unpredictability • Name, features, and price remain unsolved Opportunities • Increased live stream and paid subscriptions • Continued success with iPhone app Threats • App may not be ready • Price resistance to app • iPad app may threaten other BAM products • Discoverability Suggested Alternatives: 1. Develop a new app altogether for the ipad with special features that complement the interactive features that the ipad has. Price the app at a slightly higher price than ‘Atbat’. 2. Develop a new platform merging all the paid content that the firm has and adopt a tier based pricing. Charge the subscribers based on the number of services that they require to subscribe to. Also, slightly modify the features for the content in ipad and charge ipad customers at a higher price. 3. Develop each product separately and price them separately for the customers. Determine a blanket price where the customers can avail of all the services together at a specific cost. Recommendations: It is recommended that the company choose option 1 wherein a separate app is developed for the ipad. This enables the developers to specifically concentrate on adding features that suit the ipad. The pricing is also such that ipad users can be charged for the additional features. The app can be created in such a way that is appealing to ipad users. It ensures that all available platforms are used optimally. *******************