Dodgers News: Game Programs Are Free This Year

We all like – nay, love – free stuff. Well, prepare for more of it. This season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be giving away their game programs for free. Yes, that’s right, free. And not just the chintzy scorecards, either. The whole shebang is free.

As we now enter the age of online content and everything being streamlined for us, the Dodgers are understanding just how everything runs. Because of that, the team is going to be giving away those precious 80-page game programs for free, and we all get to benefit.

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From Bill Shaikin over at the Los Angeles Times:

The Dodgers last year sold a program for $5 and handed out one copy of a smaller program as each car entered the Dodger Stadium parking lot. The team this year will hand out one copy of the larger program to each arriving car, with programs available within Dodger Stadium for fans using alternative transportation.

It’s hard to know just how many fans actually purchased programs on a game-by-game basis last season, so it’s even harder to say how much money the team is losing by handing them out for free. However, Jon Weisman, the Dodgers’ director of digital and print content, said the loss in revenue is “relatively minimal.”

The Dodgers recognize just how this media age is going, so giving away programs for free won’t really hurt their bottom line all that much considering they basically print their own money anyways. But other teams – namely the San Diego Padres – went the free program route before ending programs altogether.

Weisman probably had the most logical explanation regarding all of this:

“In 2016, not everyone wants to pay for that,” Weisman said. “People have become accustomed to getting content for free.”

It’s harsh to say, but this is true. People love free, and people have definitely gotten used to getting prime content for a fraction of the price, or even free. This leads to people not wanting to pay for things that they would have paid for in the past. It’s a vicious cycle.

But, just remember to get your free program as you enter Dodger Stadium this year. They’re wonderfully full of content so be on the lookout for them.