The New York Mets’ on and off-the-field narrative has been challenging so far this season, but the MLB team is betting that longer-term its brand will grow with more behind-the-scenes content.
It announced a new production deal with Range Media Partners, in which Mets owner and hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is a minority investor.
The focus is to create content that will introduce the team’s players and brand to viewers beyond its core fan base, and create new opportunities for sponsors and partners to generate revenue.
Pro sports is known for its drama, from thrilling finishes to the agony of defeat. The New York Mets are no stranger to that across the team’s 63 seasons, which includes one of the most shocking World Series victories in Major League Baseball history to the frustrating season it’s currently having with one of the league’s highest payrolls.
Drama has helped make live sports content more valuable than ever, with media companies touting the audience and advertising it brings in during recent upfronts while the NBA is negotiating upwards of $75 billion in new broadcast deals.
But with all the eyeballs on what happens during games, more effort is being made to capture what goes on behind the scenes, both good and bad, from Netflix’s F1 “Drive to Survive” and PGA Tour “Full Swing” documentaries to the NFL and HBO’s annual “Hard Knocks” series, and to what teams and leagues increasingly capture in locker rooms and in training.
To that end, the Mets will be working on development, production and distribution with Range Sports, a division of entertainment management firm Range Media Partners. Mets owner and hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is a minority investor in Range through his Point72 Ventures fund. A+E Networks, John Malone’s Liberty Global, and private equity billionaire David Bonderman of TPG are also investors.
“Fans are connecting with content on social media and digital media more so than ever, and while sports teams do a pretty good job of pushing out game clips and other highlights, there’s a wealth of opportunity beyond that,” said Mets President of Business Operations M. Scott Havens.
Havens, who joined the Mets in November after previously serving as the CEO of Bloomberg Media, said he sees the audience opportunity for off-field content “probably just as big” as what goes on during games, noting how much existing fans are interested in “the human stories, the struggles, the drama, the personal lives of the players and coaches,” but also how that appeals to non-sports fans.
The past 24 hours have been a good example of the drama that can engulf teams, with Mets’ star slugger Pete Alonso hit in the hand by a 90mph-plus pitch, frustrated Mets pitcher Jorge Lopez getting ejected and throwing his glove into the stands, and the team’s players, mired in a long losing stretch, holding a closed-doors meeting after the game.
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