These days the officials of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation do not have much free time, with less than two months until the Caribbean Series, they are working hard to finalize the last details.
Despite his daily hustle and bustle, the Confederation’s brand director, Ramón Ruiz, gave us an update on the situation in Cuba and a possible return for 2025. He also told us about the new television agreement they reached with the Marlins.
With the past failures of the Caribbean Series in Miami, this tournament is a pivotal one for the competition’s future in the city. With the exclusion of Cuba for this edition in arguably the capital for Cubans in the United States the CPBC wants to continue its recent momentum of exceptional events over the past five years.
¡OFICIALMENTE! 😱
Curazao y Nicaragua estarán de invitados en Serie del Caribe 2024 🇩🇴🇵🇷🇻🇪🇲🇽🇨🇼🇳🇮
➡️ Más información visita https://t.co/Qd1eEhhfTE o https://t.co/sk6tMYrSZH#SerieDelCaribe #Miami2024🌴 pic.twitter.com/1WQyUqMgv4
— Serie del Caribe (@beisboldecaribe) April 24, 2023
Can the Liga Elite give Cuba more chances to be a full member of the Confederation?
The Liga Élite (LE) has a format more similar to that of a professional league and in any case, it could to prepare a possible integration of Cuba into the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The truth is that it is more feasible and has more possibilities for integration with the Liga Élite format.
What would be the requirements for the LE to be professional?
To approve a league according to our regulations, it must have proven 4 years of uninterrupted operations; then, it must demonstrate the structure of the organization and resources. For now we know that the LE has work left to do but it is on the right path.
In what position is Cuba to return to the Caribbean Series (SC) in 2025?
The return of Cuba to the SC has nothing written regarding Mexicali 2025 edition. We will have to see if the return of Cuba is feasible at that time, for now, there is nothing that prevents it, but, first we must see the structure of guests that this edition will have. The great challenge in that case is that until now it is written that there will be 6 teams, that is, four full members and two guests, in that case, a decision would be complicated for us because Cuba, Curacao, Panama, Colombia and Nicaragua would be fighting for those spots.
However, if the competition committee decides to increase the number it will be better for everyone. It is also good to highlight that by 2026 the visa issue with Puerto Rico is a challenge for Cuba; in 2026, a more real possibility will be enabled for them in Hermosillo. Likewise, the possibility of Cuba returning is completely open, there is nothing that prevents it. We will have a clearer idea between February and April of next year, at that time, we will meet with the Mexicali 2025 Committee to see the structure of the guests, then, then we would go out to talk with Cuba.
Tell us about the recent agreement with the Marlins for broadcasting rights?
Regarding the agreement with the Marlins for the five years of broadcasting rights, the first thing is that we were brave not to re-negotiate with the previous provider (Media Pro) when we understood that it did not generate what we intended for the future years of the organization, so we decided to go out and explore. We saw several proposals even from Media Pro.
But to be honest, the Marlins’ option to market the international rights outside the territories of the member leagues for the next five events has more to do with the economic than with the strategic. We found it interesting to partner with an MLB team to ensure that we could reach the North American market. One of the things we ensure in that contract is that we will have broadcasts in English and with that, we can also be on a platform like MLB AT BAT.
What changes will there be in the broadcasts and how did they make the agreement knowing that the Marlins’ television provider is bankrupt?
The Marlins can help us grow on that front and even improve our broadcasts with the technology they regularly use. We were aware of the bankruptcy of Bally Sports and as you say. The Marlins are one of the teams that depends on Bally, but if they had the confidence to put a great proposal for us on the table, it means that they must prioritize the transmissions. Finally, something that we liked about the negotiation with the Marlins is that we committed to not abandon the countries that watch us and that are not members of the CBPC.