Pro Yakyu on ESPN Campaign

This is much along the lines of what I suggest to people who want to see Pro Yakyu in the States, to write to ESPN or Fox either directly or via their local cable companies. The only thing I would modify is sending requests via snail mail. E-mail is often not taken seriously by upper management because (1) they don't understand the digital world, and (2) those who do understand the technologies also understand that it's easy to mail-bomb requests, even unique requests from many people, by having people click through requests without thinking. They put more value in the physical world.

Information you'll want to include other than your name is the cable network you subscribe to and a short explanation as to why you think it would be in their interest to show the Nippon Series.

You have to remember that covering the Nippon Series will most likely be a large expense for any U.S. network who considers it. Getting the video feeds will be at expensive yen rates, and they'll most likely have to supply their own English speaking announcers. I'd heard complaints about the English announcers used when Fox broadcast the Series while MLB was on strike several years back.

Personally, I think that it may well be worth it for a U.S. network to cover the Series. I'm sure that there are many more people interested than just those who visit this site, especially considering that I still get people just "discovering" the site every week. And if the number of displaced Tiger fans in North America is anywhere near the number in the Tokyo area, it may have better viewer ratings than most of those "reality TV shows" I've heard so much about.

Now, having said a snail-mail campaign might be best, I was unable to find ESPN's snail-mail address. I did find this form for making comments to the TV division.

Fox can be contacted at (310)369-7761 by phone for the quickest method of letting your voice be heard. Here is Fox Sports' feedback page. And their snail-mail address:

FOX SPORTS
P.O. BOX 900
BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90213-0900

It's all in your hands. Let them know what you want.

In 1999, a local UHF channel in L.A. showed Games 1 and 2 of the Japan Series. They were shown live. This channel, though, didn't buy the rights to the broadcast. The channel just lets people buy programming to show on it. They were Japanese-only broadcasts. This channel shows a lot of stuff in a variety of languages, mostly from Asia.

At this time, I would think it would be difficult for ESPN or Fox to find anyone who would want to go over there and cover the Series. Does anyone know if ESPN brings its own crew over to cover the NFL exhibition game in Japan, or do they just borrow the Japanese crew?

At best, you could get a situation like you do in soccer, where two guys sit in a studio in Connecticut and call the action off a monitor.

ESPN does indeed bring over their own crew to cover the NFL exhibition game in Japan. Every time they come here to Japan, the same announcing crew (Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, and Paul Maguire) and the same staff make the trip, and they show it back in the U.S. just like they normally do on Sunday nights on Sunday Night Football.

It would be neat to have the Japan Series shown in the U.S. on some channel, whether it be ESPN, Fox, or some local UHF channel. Life would be perfect if they showed the Japan Series in the U.S. and if they showed more NFL games here in Japan.

Those of you who took the time to send ESPN a note at the above address will have recieved an automated reply by now, or should be expecting one soon. At the end of their reply was the following postscript:

P.S. Would you like to continue to express your opinions about ESPN and play a part in the programming decisions that get made? Come join the ESPN Viewer Panel where you can take surveys, earn prizes, and have your voice heard.

Please go to http://www.espnviewerzone.com to sign up. You must complete the registration process to qualify.

Your opinion counts. Come join the exclusive ESPN Viewer Panel today!

That looks like the way to make a difference in their programming. (It also looks like a way to get on a marketing list, but Thunderbird can handle that problem for you. When working with large corporations, there has to be some give and take.)

I agree. Why ESPN or Fox Sports Network would not show the Nippon Series makes no sense. They show rugby, Lacrosse, billards, and other sports which get low viewership. It must be about ratings and money (which is always comes down to). If they thought the Japan Series would draw good ratings they would give it a try. What other reason could there by?

I think ESPN fears that with the time zone problems, that finding a slot to show the Japan Series would be difficult.

Also, ESPN and Fox Sports both have big contracts with MLB and probably don't want to do anything that would detract from the declining TV ratings for MLB's postseason.

I'm beginning to think that if MLB wanted to make a big international push and forge closer ties with NPB, MLB would give its blessing.

I sent an e-mail to ESPN's Rob Neyer asking about the feasibility of his network showing the Japan Series. I even suggested the tape-delay or 2-hour cutdown formats. We'll see if he replies. He is usually diligent about answering fan e-mails.

I see why not.

With all the success with Ichiro, Nomo, Sasaki, etc., I'm sure there are a few baseball fans (morning GM/scouts) that are curious enough to wonder what Japanese baseball is like.

OK, because I'm interested and you did kindly refer me to the thread, I sent an email to ESPN. Let's see if they listen. I may have to call my misunderstood twin brother for some action.

If the rights could be secured at the right price, there might be a chance, assuming no MLB conflict. I can't recall if any of the March exhibition games were televised.

However Mr. Commish, let's not get too myopic. Most folks over here don't know or give a gnat's derriere about NPB. To help remedy that, I suggest ESPN get Bobby Valentine to do the color commentary, maybe with Tuffy Rhodes.

How about the Yanks playing the Giants for an exhibition series? How about the NPB team coming over to the U.S. (and experience jet lag)?

The long awaited reply from ESPN has finally come in. A form letter stating that they aren't planning on broadcasting "that event." Well, at least it's confirmed. A copy of the letter follows:

Thank you for your e-mail.

At this moment, we are not planning to broadcast that event.

ESPN makes its programming decisions based on a number of factors. Most important are viewer, advertiser and affiliate interest. Many organizations or individuals send programming proposals to us. We review each proposal and, if it seems feasible, we research how that particular sport or subject has been received by the audience and advertisers in the past.

If an organization or individual wishes to have their event televised, they must contact our program acquisitions area (860-766-2901) for details on procedures to be followed in submitting a program/event proposal.

Sincerely,
ESPN Viewer Response

While I can't even fatham that the Japanese baseball championship series is less attractive to viewers and advertisers (Nike has a number of Japanese ball players on their payroll) than the National Cheerleading Championships, or that they even had any previous data on the subject to work with, that's their response. I would guess that it never got past the "feasible" stage, because the slightest research would show that there is a market of advertisers and viewers wanting this. It's ESPN's loss.

Having made this same proposal to ESPN 10 years ago with the interest from more than one Japanese network, ESPN rejected the proposal based on "lack of advertiser support and viewer interest." I asked how it worked that "The World's Strongest Man" competition fit either of of those criterion and was told flat out that it cost them nothing to put that on.

It may sound like a poor excuse, but ESPN may be drowning in red ink. They have overpaid for MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA broadcasts and can just no longer afford anything else outside of their new drama series. Fox Sports may be a viable alternative as their Fox Sports World carries a variety of sports from all over the globe.

In the end, we'll borrow a phrase from the Red Sox Fan Handbook, "Wait 'til next year!"

I guess ESPN considers dog shows, cheerleading, ballroom dancing, poker, and billiards to be more exciting than NPB baseball.

I think we may well be approaching this from the wrong side. It may be more productive if we put pressure on NPB (or whoever holds the TV rights) to sell their product to ESPN or Fox.

You see, it's probably simpler for the Japanese side to add English commentary on the sub channel because they're used to doing this sort of thing. And it would be easier for them to then sell the complete package to the American TV network.

I think we can rule out live coverage, mainly because of the satellite costs, but surely a delayed telecast would be possible.

Too late for this year, but next year?

So the efforts of us fans should be to convince NPB that there is a market for their game and then in turn they could package it to Fox or ESPN - good perspective!

I know that the Yankees struck a deal with the Yomiuri Giants this past off-season. I don't know all of the details of the deal, but I know that the Yankees were supposed to air some Giants' games on their YES Network. Being from New York, I'm always looking out to see if this is going to happen. Since the deal had been struck, YES has only aired two Giants' games, and they were from last season, where Matsui had big games. And the games were aired during the off-season.

I know that the ESPN campaign doesn't look like anything is going to happen, and I don't know much about the Fox effort, but I think that fans in the New York area should write to YES and the Yankees if they want to see some games. As for fans in other parts of North America, mijow has a very good point, NPB should try to sell their games to American networks, offer some sort of deal.

And on another note off the subject, I know it was probably mentioned a while back, but if it is possible, could anybody get me the details to that Yankees/Giants deal? Thanks.

I agree that the Japan Series would be far better programming than more than two-thirds of what is shown on ESPN or ESPN2, but, as people have said before, the cost versus the return on paying for the rights and then sending a crew to Japan probably doesn't make financial sense for them right now.

Remember, too, that often ESPN puts on programming specifically meant to NOT interfere with programming they know their viewers are watching elsewhere. For example, every time their two hour Sunday morning NFL Countdown show ends, they jokingly hype the Outdoorsman or Bowling competition that follows on their station. They know that every single one of their viewers is going to switch over to the football games on other channels.

The idea of lobbying NPB to aggressively sell their rights is interesting, but based on what I've read, I wonder if this is realistic. On the one hand, I'm sure that NPB is eager to demonstrate that their level of play is on par with the rest of the world. On the other hand, there appears to be great concern that MLB will continue to lure away the best Japanese baseball players. Wouldn't marketing Japanese baseball to American audiences only make it easier for NPB players to gain fame here [in North America] as a prelude to high-priced jumps from league to league?

I, more than anybody, would love to see Japanese baseball here in America, but I fear it would feel like watching college football and wondering where these players were going to go when they got drafted into the "pros."

I have a hard time believing that NPB teams wouldn't see it this way. Plus, given NPB's astounding popularity in Japan, why do they need to find new markets? As I understand it, most of the teams are more public relations/advertising gestures than they are stand-alone "money-making" ventures. Or has this changed?

After posting, I realized I was critical of the "Japanese baseball on ESPN/FOX" idea without offering a better suggestion, so I put my mind to it. What about Pay-Per-View? I have the Dish Network in America, and in the few months since I've been a subscriber, I've seen such events as the Rugby World Cup, regular season English Premier Cup League, and the CONCACAF soccer finals advertised as pay-per-view. That seems the most likely possibility to me: lobby Dish Network or Direct TV to make the Japan Series available. They have pay-per-view channels that go unused, and I refuse to believe there would actually be fewer viewers of the Japan Series than the Rugby World Cup in America.

A satellite network would probably not have English announcers or translators - I suspect they would merely carry the Japanese television broadcast. That's fine with me, even though I don't speak Japanese. I would enjoy the authenticity.

Another nice thing about the pay-per-view broadcasts is that they often replay them over and over again, which would allow those of us on the other side of the world to view the games during normal hours.

If you want to watch the Japan Series, my bet is that the only way that you can watch it in the U.S. is through TV Japan service on Dish Network for $30 a month. Provided you want to pay $30 a month for at most 7 games of baseball.