September 25, 2004
MLB Bats Wireless: Scores and More Hit Mobile Phones
Major League Baseball is making league news, scores and standings, video highlights, radio feeds - and perhaps even tickets, hot dogs and sodas down the road - available to fans via their wireless phones, reports Technology News
Three weeks ago, MLB and Nokia launched a service that, for $7.99 a month, gives fans access to constantly updated scores and standings, video highlights and live audio feeds of home and away radio broadcasts for all 30 teams - streamed to their Nokia 6600 and 6620 video phones.
But that's just the start of it. Coming up next:
-- Baseball is testing a ticket-sales system that would allow fans to sign up for a text-messaging service alerting them on game day when extra tickets are available, said George Kliavkoff, senior vice president of business development for MLB Advanced Media, baseball's interactive media arm.
-- Fans could use their wireless phones to buy tickets (press #1 for one ticket, #2 for two.)
-- A code, messaged to ticket buyers' wireless phones, could be scanned at the stadium gate, allowing fans access to a game. The ticket charge would show up on a mobile-phone bill.
Adam Zawel, analyst with the Yankee Group in Boston, says MLB's wireless efforts are in the second inning. "They have some idea what they're doing, but they're still trying things out."
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