When Barry Bonds broke the all-time homerun record last night, there’s no question that it was a historic moment in the world of sports. What you may not have realized — or perhaps may have taken for granted — is that it was an important moment for online video as well. Never before had such a significant one-minute sports clip been so readily accessible — and in demand — online. Just about every American had heard about Bonds’ chase for the record-breaking homerun. It was likely the biggest sports moment to capture the attention of the entire nation in the post-online video explosion era.
Yahoo! partnered with MLB Advanced Media in order to make the video of the record-breaking homerun accessible, almost immediately following the event. For weeks, the Yahoo! Sports team anxiously followed Bonds’ every play and our video team was on high-alert waiting for the magical number 756 so they could make the historic moment available to Yahoo! users.
It’s another example of what Yahoo! does best — partner with leading content providers to offer the widest selection of relevant videos to our users. Yahoo! Sports is no exception, and in addition to our partnership with MLB.com, we also offer video from every major sports league, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and NASCAR. The event also gave us the opportunity to show off the new video player on our home page, which allows you to watch videos in an expanded window without leaving the page, and email or IM the video to your friends.
And you sure did want to find out more about the Barry Bonds news! Click-through percentages on our home page were significantly greater than average, and the video of the record-breaking homerun on Yahoo! Sports, My Yahoo!, and the Yahoo! home page has already been viewed more than one million times.
Last night’s homerun was an important milestone for online sports, but there are sure to be many more. And please stay tuned — if something happens in the world of sports (or in the world in general), count on us to bring it to you.
Jimmy Pitaro
GM, Yahoo! Sports
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