Covering all the bases: Major League Baseball™ and Zoom partnership expands the employee-fan experience

Major League Baseball™ is often synonymous with America’s favorite pastime, passionate fans, impressive athleticism, and must-have stadium fare. But you may not know MLB® is also a technology-driven organization, known for delivering innovative and exceptional customer experiences to its millions of fans worldwide.

“Everybody knows MLB® stands for Major League Baseball™. But I think sometimes people miss that we’re also a technology company at heart,” said Noah Garden, MLB® chief revenue officer.

Live events pose unique challenges that require reliable technology solutions

Broadcasting live sports brings several unique challenges not found in typical businesses, making it imperative that MLB® has reliable and effective technology. Outside of live games, the league hosts renowned events like the MLB Draft™, which also require seamless communications and collaboration to drive its success.

“Relative to other organizations, we have a live product that is running all year round,” said Neil Boland, MLB® chief information security officer. “Since we’re global, we have to be able to operate as an effective workforce in a variety of different capacities, locations, and contexts.”

Having used Zoom Meetings for video communications and Zoom Phone in much of its daily operations, the staff saw the value behind the Zoom platform and added Zoom Contact Center and the all-in-one events platform, Zoom Events, to expand its reputation for delivering innovative experiences.

“We looked at different technologies and one stood out far above the rest, and that was Zoom,” Noah said.

One-of-a-kind partnership upgrades the fan experience with new visibility

As part of the new partnership between the league and Zoom, MLB® transformed its replay operations center to provide greater transparency for fans. With new live look-in capabilities for game broadcasts, fans can watch previously unseen replay deliberations.

Powered by Zoom Contact Center, the Zoom Replay Operations Center provides viewers instant access to see and hear experts discuss decisions in real-time like never before.

“For the first time, we put cameras in the replay center and made it accessible virtually to fans in the ballpark, fans at home, and for people visiting the office,” Neil said.

“It gives viewers a lot of transparency in terms of what happens every time a replay goes back to (the Zoom Replay Operations Center) New York,” Neil said.

Behind the scenes, MLB.TV™ staff use Zoom Contact Center to swiftly and reliably facilitate customer billing and technical issues, which helps them reduce call waiting times and boost customer satisfaction.

“Under the old model, we had to make a request, put in a ticket, and ask for details on a particular interaction. Sometimes it took 12-24 hours or more to get that information back,” Neil said. “Now it’s all in real-time.”

MLB Draft™ chooses modern events solution to unite remote audiences with ease

This transparency isn’t just reserved for live games and replays. After learning about Zoom Events at Zoomtopia, Zoom’s annual user conference, Neil was excited about the idea of an all-in-one solution that could easily facilitate the 2023 MLB Draft™ with a familiar Zoom experience.

“If you think about the MLB Draft™ and how it works, it’s just an awesome production that needs to come together,” Neil said.

Zoom’s hybrid events platform enables organizations to host large-scale events that bring virtual and live audiences together with engaging, interactive tools and features. For the 2023 MLB Draft™, Zoom Events provided a seamless opportunity for the league’s clubs, scouts, and players to communicate effectively from anywhere and invite viewers to be part of a life-changing experience.

“Our fans were able to take glimpses into the lives of players that were just being drafted and watch their lives change forever right in front of them,” Noah said.

Technology remains the heart of the game

The MLB® and Zoom partnership isn’t just for live replays or bringing fans inside all the action; it represents the way in which we can work more effectively, feel more productive, and deliver better customer service. By leveraging the many collaboration solutions built directly inside the Zoom platform, MLB® remains a technology-first organization and can continue to create exceptional, innovative experiences for future fans and generations to come.

“Zoom has allowed us to continue a tradition of being a technology-focused company and making sure that we’re using cutting-edge technology not only to advance our business but also for our fans,” Noah said. “Zoom is reliable. It’s effective, and they’ve executed on their promise to deliver that technology to our fans.”

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