World’s First Pro Baseball Team Youtube Site
The Seibu Lions have started a channel partnership with YouTube, the Lions@YouTube. The service is provided for fans to view clips which are produced by the Seibu Lions. Many branded YouTube channels exist, including NBA.Com partnering with Youtube, but this is the first professional baseball team to have a channel on Youtube.
On the site, fans will be able to take a look at promotional events conducted by the Lions. What is interesting about the Lions@YouTube is that the website is not about highlight reels and game reviews, but more of a way for the fans to see behind-the-scenes and events conducted by the Lions.
In order to get a better idea, I recommend taking a look at these scenes from promotions done by the Lions:
- Businessman Night – An opportunity for businessman off from work to live out their childhood dreams. Some of the opportunities include interacting with former players after the game by taking ground balls and challenging to throw runners out from the outfield, and playing catch on the field immediately after the game.
- Baseball Women Night – An opportunity for female fans to interact with players and the sport. Opportunities include throwing off the mound and participate in toss batting, playing catch in the outfield and opportunities for couples to participate are available as well.
These events are conducted immediately after the game and it’s easy to see the excitement on participants’ faces in the clips. Establishing their own website in partnership with YouTube may inspire fans at home to attend the ball games themselves with their colleagues and friends.
Technology has been a big part of professional teams changing their methods of interacting with fans and the media, ie Twitter becoming the new trend in the United States. It will be interesting to see how NPB teams react to new trends and if other teams will follow with their own YouTube site or attempt for a new opportunity using a new wave of technology.
19/07/2009 at 9:42 am Permalink
Just another stupid npb gimmick.
Pro baseball? Nah, I don’t care.
19/07/2009 at 10:05 am Permalink
This wouldn’t happen to be Sergei of the old Borisov’s Pro Yakyu site, would it? That was a great site.
20/07/2009 at 6:57 am Permalink
Yeah, that’s me.
It must not be too many people named Sergei who follow NPB.
But good guess anyway.
Thanks.
20/07/2009 at 9:46 am Permalink
Hi Sergei,
Why did you discontinue your web site? I really liked your site. So much information.
21/07/2009 at 4:57 am Permalink
Ken,
Seems like i’ve just lost faith in people in general. :((
And have lost my faith in baseball in particular.
I’ve quit my work in Russian baseball – I could hardly foresee i’d be able to do that. That was and is a painful, painful decision.
But I’m still doing the NPB data gathering/processing locally on my PC, even this season. Albeit grudgingly and cursing at baseball all the time.
I don’t really know why i’m still doing it, but for some reason just not being able to throw it away altogether.
But publishing it online again – I”ve just forgotten why would anybody need this stuff. Maybe it all was an illusion from the very beginning.
But I’ve found a sorce of solace and inspiration: it’s CRICKET.
Sergei, 38-year-old native of Moscow