The NBA is one of the world’s most-successful sports
leagues, with a fan base that virtually stretches to all corners of the
globe. Everyday, fans search for the
latest news, videos, and other information about their favorite players and the
teams they play on. And with the
constant hunger for all things NBA, the league requires a network capable of
giving them what they want, without overloading the network or causing
slowdowns and delays due to distance. The
NBA has chosen Akamai, as they felt what they had to offer would help provide
fans with what they need in the most-efficient way ever, using a proprietary
network of over 95,000 servers worldwide, delivering content to fans from a
server nearest to them.
Porter’s competitive forces model and the NBA
The NBA’s market situation is a prime example of Porter’s
competitive forces model, which fits in each of the five categories: (Laudon
& Laudon, 2014)
Traditional Competitors:
Akamai is not the only IT network service available to the NBA, but was
chosen by them, as they offered the infrastructure that would provide media and
information to the NBA’s fans in a timely and reliable manner.New Market Entrants: Akamai was founded by a group of students and teachers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a prestigious educational institution that focuses on technology and science.(Akamai, History) At least millions of dollars of money is invested in its servers worldwide. In light of this, the entry barrier into the same field as Akamai is very high, due to the expertise and finances required, thus limiting the number of competing companies.
Substitute Products and Services: The NBA could have done what most businesses do – have its website, NBA.com, served by a single server (or bank of servers) in a single city. However, this normal method of distribution is incapable of handling the traffic and the needs of the fans of one of the world’s most popular sports leagues. The NBA turned to Akamai, as their infrastructure consists of tens of thousands of servers that can be tied to the NBA.com domain, thus having the capability of being easily reached anywhere in the world without lag problems. (Akamai, NBA) In terms of content, other media such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated may offer interviews and news about the NBA, but some fans prefer getting their information “straight from the horse’s mouth”, giving the NBA their own advantage by reporting their own news. Furthermore, only the NBA itself has the right to stream games online – something that not even the teams’ radio network affiliates are allowed to do. As the NBA, like most leagues, tightly control their media assets, the availability of substitutions for audio and video is rather limited, and the availability of play-by-play from legal sources is nil. (Porter, 2008)
Customers: The NBA’s
fan base doubles as its customers; NBA.com as a whole can be viewed as a
promotional tool for the league, “advertising” the league’s teams and players,
as well as the sport of basketball itself.
As it is a promotional tool of sorts, NBA.com may feature advertisements
publicizing league merchandise and events, from the NBA itself and its
partners. The website also includes a
subscription component, where for a monthly fee, fans can access special
features, as well as watch or listen to games live as it happens.
Suppliers: As
mentioned above, NBA.com provides an important advertising opportunity for its
partners, in which fans who see one of their ads on NBA.com might buy the
product if it seems enticing enough for them.The Same Experience
NBA fans all across the globe want the latest information for their sport, and deserved to be treated equally, rather than the home country first, other major countries second, and all minor companies last. Akamai provides the multiple server location solution, as a method to provide the NBA’s digital assets to its fans at the same speed in the same length of time, regardless of where they are. Providing games and other events live worldwide also requires infrastructure that enables them to transmit the live coverage with as little lag as possible.
Franchises and NBA.com
In most leagues, it is commonplace for all teams to have their website at a central source. It is a similar case with NBA.com. By having all of a team’s official news and media on NBA.com, it would be easier for a fan of a particular team to get their information, as well as find information about their opponents. Along that same token, videos and news from one team’s section can be easily ported to another team’s section, in situations such as a matchup between two opposing teams, or if a particular player is switching teams.
For more information:
References:
Laudon, K. C., &
Laudon, J. P. (2014). Management information systems: Managing the digital
firm. (13th ed., pp 94-95). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Porter, M. E.
(2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business
Review, 86(1), 78-93. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.db24.linccweb.org/ehost/detail?sid=f9969998-c37e-4df0-82a8-ce35429c947d@sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==
Akamai. (n.d.). Akamai:
Company history. Retrieved from http://www.akamai.com/html/about/company_history.html
Akamai. (n.d.).
Akamai: Michael glideman, sr. vp & cio, nba. Retrieved from
http://www.akamai.com/html/customers/testimonials/nba.html
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