Manchester United has created a digital division as it gears up to
charge consumers online for the first time.
The Premiership football club has created a unit called Manchester
United Interactive to oversee its new-media activities. It is ramping up
its digital presence with a major overhaul of its web site (www.manutd.
com) for the first time in three years, due to go live in January next
year.
Business development director Ben Hatton will head the team overseeing
digital activity, such as the web and wireless opportunities, including
projects with partner Vodafone.
Manchester United is also about to launch an online subscription
service, charged at £3.99 per month or £25 per year,
offering premium content such as an archive of games since 1992, as well
as footage from its TV channel MUTV.
"The internet is crucial for us to reach our very large global fan base
and this is part of our strategy of converting fans to customers," said
a spokesman for the club. MUTV is a joint venture with BSkyB and
Granada.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
