Update: Future of Orioles Hangout announcement next week

[clapdiddy]

Dear Mr. Bader,

Thanks for your note. Since you are reading, can you please let the powers to be know that after 14 years of losing, our patience has worn thin?

Thanks.

Diehard O's Fans

Ditto this. We're sick of this horrible product that's been put on the field for the last 14 years.

14 years...wow...I would have never thought this when I was a kid.

[NewMarketSean]

Ditto this. We're sick of this horrible product that's been put on the field for the last 14 years.

14 years...wow...I would have never thought this when I was a kid.

I agree with the sentiment, but this has nothing to do with what is being discussed between OH and the Orioles...at least what I am getting from it.

The Orioles should do all they can to keep the OH close, but this is a business decision.

[clapdiddy]

I agree with the sentiment, but this has nothing to do with what is being discussed between OH and the Orioles...at least what I am getting from it.

The Orioles should do all they can to keep the OH close, but this is a business decision.

Agreed, Sean. Just some frustration coming out to add to Dipper's response.

[Lance]

Dear Orioles Hangout Community:

For approximately ten seasons, the Orioles have been actively involved in advertising on Orioles Hangout ...

Greg Bader
Director, Communications
Baltimore Orioles

Hi Greg, thanks for posting that piece of information for us. Was there some sort of agreement in place between the Orioles and OH in exchange for the type of access granted to OH staff? Also, why the change in direction now regarding your advertising on OH - was there some sort of fracture in the Orioles relationship with Tony and OH that was more personal than business?

Thanks.

[srh523]

This is a confusing post... all businesses of this type rely on advertising dollars to make things run.(sponsors if you will) If the Orioles have been one of the major contributors in the past and are now deciding to cut some of that from their budget how can they expect the same level of service from a site? Tony has done a great job of keeping costs down to his plus members so that they stay here and remain members to one of the best boards I have ever been on. Basically sounds like they are not sure why Tony doesnt want to pass the costs onto his customers to maintain the site at the same level. Typical big business mentality and exactly why their are only 10K fans in the stands anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr Bader I hope you continue to read the postings on this site and perhaps learn something about what your diehard fans in Baltimore and the surrounding areas are feeling.

[Skeletor]

I agree with the sentiment, but this has nothing to do with what is being discussed between OH and the Orioles...at least what I am getting from it.

The Orioles should do all they can to keep the OH close, but this is a business decision.

Whenever anyone from the organization is listening is always a good time to voice frustration. Their product sucks.

[bengraver]

And yet they paid Justin Duchscherer $700,000 to simply rehab last year.

[JDubs]

Thanks, Greg. I am glad to hear the Orioles side of the story.

I hope your post will lead to some legitimate progress (although I expect mostly blowback).

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

I agree with the sentiment, but this has nothing to do with what is being discussed between OH and the Orioles...at least what I am getting from it.

The Orioles should do all they can to keep the OH close, but this is a business decision.

Agree with NMS. This isn't an argument about how horrible the Orioles have been. The Orioles had set a precedence for which they feel they're unable to maintain or isn't giving them justifiable payback. I agree it's a tough message to swallow given the dismal state of the fan base, but i appreciate Greg taking the time to post his half of the story.

[square634]

I can see why they would think this is a smart business decision. They know they don't need to advertise on this site, because the user-base is already the most likely demographic to buy tickets and spend money on the Orioles in the first place.

On the other hand, for some of us, they may be underestimating how inextricably linked this site is with our level of fandom. If it weren't for the community on this site and message board, I probably would have lost interest years ago -- there certainly hasn't been anything on the field to keep it since I was in 3rd grade. I currently live less than two blocks from Camden Yards, and yet I find myself less and less excited about going to games as the season approaches. We'll see exactly what the changes to the Hangout entail, but I could definitely see myself spending zero dollars on the Orioles this year for the first time in my life.

[Miller192]

Dear Orioles Hangout Community:

For approximately ten seasons, the Orioles have been actively involved in advertising on Orioles Hangout and in providing tickets and access to tickets for Hangout members through various ?Hangout Nights,? spending more than $50,000 cash and providing additional thousands of dollars in tickets over that period of time. It was made clear to us that our investment would not buy us any sort of positive coverage or kid-glove treatment, and we certainly didn?t expect or want that in return. We just wanted to support what we feel is a good outlet for Orioles fans to talk about the team.

This offseason, as standard business practice for our company, we reevaluated all of our advertising spending to determine whether our investments were still appropriate for the 2012 season. We communicated this to Tony Pente, ultimately telling him we were likely not going to make as significant an investment in the Orioles Hangout site this season as we have in the past, although we affirmed our interest in remaining involved in the site and the Orioles Hangout community.

Surprisingly, our decision to adjust the way in which we were going to participate this year was met with significant resistance. It was made clear to us that the Orioles? investment was going to make or break whether the Hangout continued, and we asked that not be the case. Our position was that the operators of Orioles Hangout should make a decision independent of the Orioles? advertising contribution as to whether they wished to continue to operate the site. We requested to know the fate of the site before making a decision on how we would participate. Since the Orioles do not control or operate Orioles Hangout, our investment level should not be the final decision-making factor as to whether the site continues to exist in its current form. The site should be financially viable to operate on its own, and if it was not, we were not prepared to subsidize the site?s operation. We expressed to Tony that we would certainly understand if changes needed to be made and that we would fully support?and not in any way criticize or attempt to influence?those decisions. Our choice on whether to participate as an active advertiser would not have affected our decision to continue to allow our marks to be used, to continue to support the site at a reduced compensation level and to hold Hangout Nights.

We believe that Orioles Hangout is a great resource for Orioles fans. In particular, the message boards allow some of our very best fans to express their excitement or concern about the direction of the team both on and off the field. We clearly indicated on multiple occasions to Tony our desire to remain involved, even if the direction of the site became less Orioles-centric and more Baltimore sports-centric. We indicated that either way, some level of contribution was likely and we would want to continue Hangout Nights in some fashion. Those requests were largely ignored, and we were told that unless we matched or came close to matching last year?s level of commitment, the site would be changed, the operators would no longer work with us to squelch rumors that were patently false, and the days of the club being presented in a fair manner would be over? that essentially communication would be cut off between the site and the club.

It is extremely disappointing to us that this is the approach that was chosen in response to a purely business decision. The Orioles have provided unprecedented access for this online community over the years and, in addition to financial support and allowing a Hangout writer to receive full media access at each home game, we have defended the site against potential Major League Baseball licensing concerns with the site?s logos and marks. We fully support the Hangout in whatever form it takes, and we hope to be a more active participant in the message boards (assuming we are permitted), especially if the staff at Hangout refuses to communicate information we provide them regarding inaccurate information being disseminated.

Greg Bader
Director, Communications
Baltimore Orioles

I'm sure the bolded just isn't true. I won't speak for Tony but I'd very surprised if that were the case.

However, it sounds as those the Orioles have been pretty supportive of the OH. They probably should be commended for that.

[Nigel Tufnel]

It's sort of ironic that the 14 years of losing has reduced interest in the O's - along with potential OH Plus Memberships - to the point where O's advertising probably does make up a crucial part of the Hangout's revenue. So I think it's kind of disingenuous for Greg to say that he and the O's were shocked that pulling their advertising was met with resistance.

I don't know how other people do business, but where I work, if we were about to lose our biggest client / source of revenue, we'd probably try to get them to change their minds.

[Sports Guy]

So, the Orioles have decided that its not in their best interest anymore to help financially support the Hangout? Why is this an issue with anyone? I mean, isn't that their right to say, this is or isn't working out for us?

[GBader]

Thanks for allowing me to jump in to the discussion. I will warn you however that I may not be able to keep up with all of the discourse on a real-time basis, but to those of you who have responded so far....

Pedro Cerrano... we have spent in excess of $50,000 over the course of the past several years and were poised to again spend some dollars advertising (as well as including tickets for Hangout Nights); however, it was not going to be at the level of last season.

Lance... this is entirely a business decision and nothing personal in the least. Until late last week, I would have classified our organization's relationship with the Hangout as strong and my personal relationship with Tony and the site as positive. I am not so sure what to make of it now, but I sure hope that we are permitted to continue to participate. But this was 100 percent a business decision to not subsidize a website we don't operate or control. If the site continues, we still want to play a role. If the site changes, depending on the content, we likely would still want to play a role.

And for those of you expressing dissatisfaction and frustration with the team's performance over the past 14 years... we hear you and feel exactly the same way. The performance is not acceptable to anyone in the organization from ownership on down. And know that many of us do check out this site on a semi-regular or regular basis to see what you are speaking about and are concerned with. Your comments and thoughts do not fall on deaf ears.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Thanks for allowing me to jump in to the discussion. I will warn you however that I may not be able to keep up with all of the discourse on a real-time basis, but to those of you who have responded so far....

Pedro Cerrano... we have spent in excess of $50,000 over the course of the past several years and were poised to again spend some dollars advertising (as well as including tickets for Hangout Nights); however, it was not going to be at the level of last season.

Lance... this is entirely a business decision and nothing personal in the least. Until late last week, I would have classified our organization's relationship with the Hangout as strong and my personal relationship with Tony and the site as positive. I am not so sure what to make of it now, but I sure hope that we are permitted to continue to participate. But this was 100 percent a business decision to not subsidize a website we don't operate or control. If the site continues, we still want to play a role. If the site changes, depending on the content, we likely would still want to play a role.

And for those of you expressing dissatisfaction and frustration with the team's performance over the past 14 years... we hear you and feel exactly the same way. The performance is not acceptable to anyone in the organization from ownership on down. And know that many of us do check out this site on a semi-regular or regular basis to see what you are speaking about and are concerned with. Your comments and thoughts do not fall on deaf ears.

Obviously I'll wait to hear Tony's responses but, on the surface, nothing you write here seems entirely unreasonable. If the Orioles want to reduce their amount of advertising on the site that is your prerogative. I was certain that Hangout Nights were going to be withdrawn (which would have been, putting it nicely, lousy), but that does not appear to be the case.