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| The Preferred "Pitch" For The NOG |
If you've ever wondered why the New Ownership Group (NOG) is so interested in foreign soccer teams, all you have to do is look at the balance sheet.
In an enlightening article in Bloomberg Businessweek, it becomes painfully clear why baseball is now almost a dalliance for Henry, Werner & Lucchino. Listen to Tom Werner:
“Someone mentioned Liverpool’s games against Manchester United draw an estimated 500 million global television audience. Coming from MLB, we simply could not relate to that number....In baseball, when you acquire a franchise, you are one- thirtieth of an industry. If we sell a Liverpool jersey to a supporter in Jakarta, we keep 100 percent of that.” So, when they acquired the Liverpool soccer team (on the cheap, by the way), they got
the eighth most highly valued sports franchise in the world (according for Forbes). The Red Sox? They are
way down the list at #24. Who would
you pay more attention to?
