The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced the launch of Base, a new commercial and marketing entity with offices in London, Miami and Tokyo.
Taking immediate effect, Base will oversee the media and sponsorship rights distribution of WBSC’s available portfolio of properties, including the new five-on-five street game Baseball5™, the WBSC Baseball World Cup® (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women’s), the WBSC Softball World Cup™ (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23, and Men’s/Women’s) and the WBSC World Rankings.
WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said: “The timely launch of this dedicated new commercial arm will allow WBSC to expand and meet the growing needs of our global sport and be in the most favourable position to best leverage and distribute our assets moving forward. The launch of Base will allow WBSC to focus efforts on the delivery and operation of our World Cups, further elevating our brand, while at the same time dedicating more resources to boost the development and exposure of baseball/softball in high-potential growth markets like Africa and Europe.”
Miguel Pazcabrales, Marketing Manager for Base’s Business Development out of the Americas HQ in Miami, said: “National Team baseball and softball properties are continuing to rise dramatically in value and global appeal, particularly ahead the sport’s historic Olympic return in 2020. With baseball/softball’s global footprint of more than 140 countries, Base will focus on activation in new and emerging markets like Europe and Africa, while realising deeper penetration and returns within existing markets. I’m very proud and excited to be a part of this acceleration that Base will stimulate for the WBSC.”
WBSC media partner MP & Silva will continue to lead media and broadcast sales for the top-tier WBSC Premier12® 2019 global flagship baseball tournament.
The new marketing agency’s brief includes increasing WBSC’s commercial revenue, which can then be redistributed to accelerate the development and launch of new tournaments in its high-potential growth markets.
Base’s objectives will be in coordination with and supplement WBSC’s current long-term campaign of building a major global sport with over a billion players and fans over the next decade.
Base will be tasked with further broadening engagement with existing and new fans around the globe through new broadcast and digital streaming partnerships.
