CARY, N.C., Dec. 19, 2005 -- Major League Baseball Advanced Media's pioneering use of advanced marketing technology has heightened baseball fans' enjoyment of the game and has improved customer loyalty - at the ballparks and online. MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, has extended last year's successful implementation of SAS(R) business intelligence solutions to the individual teams.

"We're creating new business benefits through more effective use of business intelligence," said Bob Bowman, CEO of MLBAM. "Truly effective marketing programs become much less problematic when you have holistic views of your customers, online and offline. That's why we decided to build on the success of our ongoing efforts with SAS."

In addition to extending last year's successfully implemented SAS Marketing Automation solution, MLBAM has deployed SAS Enterprise BI Server at its offices and to the individual MLB teams. These solutions will capture and analyze vital information that is generated in the stadiums, over the phone and via the Web, creating new business benefits through more effective use of business intelligence with customers.

As the leader in business intelligence, SAS was the logical choice for MLBAM, which manages the official league site, www.MLB.com, and each of the 30 individual club sites. Part baseball encyclopedia, part ticket line, MLB.com provided 10 billion page views to more than 1 billion visitors in 2004.

"Our goal is enabling the individual teams to benefit directly from all the business intelligence capabilities SAS provides so we can all generate a 360-degree view of our customers," said Bob DuPuy, president and COO of Major League Baseball and chairman of MLBAM. "Thanks to our relationship with SAS, each team now has the capability to share customer information gathered from online and offline sources, making it easier for them to develop and execute high-impact marketing campaigns with superior ROI."

For example, individual teams will be able to integrate and analyze customer information culled from multiple touch points; they can then develop online strategies that enhance and complement traditional "bricks and mortar" operations at the stadiums.

MLBAM's business intelligence partnership with SAS includes sophisticated reporting capabilities and the newest generation of predictive analytics. SAS' BI technology enables MLBAM to use state-of-the-art data management and data discovery capabilities, as well as predictive mining and campaign management capabilities.

SAS helps MLBAM learn more about the fans visiting MLB.com. Various types of customer information, from merchandising and ticket sales at the ballpark to everything MLB.com collects online, are collected and carefully analyzed. One of MLBAM's primary objectives is to determine how to target fans with the right offer at the right time and right place via the Web site, personalized e-mails, instant messages and SMS alerts. SAS also supports MLBAM's cross-selling and up-selling efforts, suggesting additional products by analyzing the contents of fans' shopping carts and their previous purchase histories.

"We're thrilled that MLBAM has expanded its use of SAS business intelligence," said Jim Davis, SAS senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "SAS Enterprise BI Server will give users at both MLBAM and the individual teams the ability to quickly and accurately generate clear reports from detailed customer data that create the ultimate experience for baseball fans everywhere."

"MLBAM strives to make life easier for all of our customers, both externally and internally," said Joe Choti, MLBAM's chief technology officer. "With SAS, we gain a deeper, more profound understanding of their needs. We develop projects and services that match those needs more precisely."

About MLB Advanced Media LP

Established in June 2000, following a unanimous vote by the 30 Major League Baseball club owners to centralize all of baseball's Internet operations, MLB Advanced Media LP (MLBAM) is the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball. MLBAM manages the official league site, www.MLB.com, and each of the 30 individual club sites to create the most comprehensive Major League Baseball resource on the Internet. MLB.com offers fans the most complete baseball information on the Web, including up-to-date statistics, game summaries, extensive historical information, and exclusive features about Major League Baseball events and programs. The site also includes online ticket sales, baseball merchandise, authenticated memorabilia and collectibles, fantasy games, live and archived radio broadcasts of every game, live and archived video Webcasts of entire games, pitch-by-pitch enactment of games, and hosted post-game video highlight shows.

About SAS

SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 40,000 sites - including 96 of the top 100 companies on the FORTUNE Global 500(R) - to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For nearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know(R). Visit us at www.sas.com.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. (R) indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright (C) 2005 SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved. Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of the applicable MLB entities. All rights reserved.

Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of the applicable MLB entities. All rights reserved.

SAS Institute
Mike Barlow, 203-259-8337
Mike.Barlow@sas.com
www.sas.com/presscenter
or
MLB Advanced Media
Jim Gallagher, 212-485-3182
jim.gallagher@mlb.com