Online sports coverage: a technology test bed
Taking a slightly different approach to theworldgame site, Sydney-based development company mbase has managed to sustain a community Web site which focuses on local youth leagues and amateur competitions, by using it as a technology test bed for other business interests.
Webmaster and site editor Martin Charlesworth launched the first version of the site in 1994, as a green screen application which provided results of all the local competition. As the technology changed, Charlesworth updated the technology to Access and continued to collect information regarding local competitions.
As was often the case in the early days of the Internet, Charlesworth's site has gathered a significant following despite a lack of commercial support.
-It started off as an association thing, just reporting on the scores from different matches. Then I started covering the youth league, because they didn't have a Web site at that stage, and from there developed into the national league," Charlesworth says. -But I don't provide any commentary, just the results and the forum lets people say what they feel, you have to be careful with what they say - the adults behave like children, and the children are more like subterrestrials at times."
The soccer site was sufficiently successful to attract the attention of the now defunct iSport, which bought the technology, then folded, unable to secure access to broadcast rights or attract major sponsors.
Mbase director Steve Atkins, says the company saw an opportunity and essentially repurchased the software from the iSport liquidators.
-We took the view that a paid for service would be more sustainable in the end," Atkins says. -So while we are not making a juge profit from the sites, we are providing sporting clubs with the framework through which to publish their content, and charging them according to their usage."
While Mbase is able to boost its income through advertising revenue, the business model in no way depends on it.
-It is really an opportunity to showcase what we can do in our core business, we provide the technical background, and the individual clubs provide their own content," Atkins says. -Then we use the same frameworks and functionality for our business customers."
