here are three kinds of consumers from which to generate revenues for the Yankees. One kind is the spectators who watch sporting events. The second kind is individuals who participate in sporting events. The third kind is represented by the sponsors that exchange money or products and services for a guaranteed association with a sporting event (typically large corporations). The nature of the Yankees sports product is unique. Basically a sports product may be defined as a “good, service, or any combination of the two that is designed to provide benefits to a sports spectator, participant, or sponsor” (Shank 16). The main sports products of the Yankees are the actual Yankee games themselves. Sponsor and spectators consume this product. An example would be watching Derek Jeter play in Yankee stadium.
Another powerful form of revenue is from concessions in the stadium. This includes sporting goods, equipment, licensed merchandise, collectibles and memorabilia, programs and food concessions. The relationship among the event, the spectators, the media, and the sponsors forms the revenue generating stream. Sponsors for the Yankees include Anheuser-Busch, Nike and others. The revenues generated by the Yankees come from a variety of sources. This table below shows the dollar amounts of revenue generated by the Yankees for 2000 by category of where the revenue comes from:
REVENUE STREAM AMOUNT ($Millions)
Merchandise, Concessions & Promotion $30.0
Perhaps the media represents the most lucrative source of revenue for the Yankees. Owners derive much of their revenues from regional television contracts. National television rights are shared equally by all baseball franchises. However, local rights accrue to the local team. It is often revenues from local media rights that owners argue make teams non-competitive. This is because a team like the Yankees generates millions of dollars more in local media contra...