Lake Country DockHounds to get regional exposure through 3-game TV deal with My24

OCONOMOWOC - The Lake Country DockHounds will take a swing at free regional TV broadcasts this summer.

The American Association of Professional Baseball team will be included in a package of three summer games, each billed as a Game of the Month, broadcast from their home park, under a partnership agreement with My24 Milwaukee, an area television station. The televised games are June 1, July 13 and Aug. 10, each beginning at 6 p.m. at WBC Park, 1011 Blue Ribbon Circle North.

My24, aka WVTV DT2, and the team announced the partnership in early April, lauding a joint initiative that adds to My24's list of broadcasted sports and provides the DockHounds with more exposure regionally.

Top officials all see benefits in Milwaukee region marketing

Bryan Giese, the DockHounds' director of marketing, said the partnership represents another way "to grow our brand" in a manner that can reach more people in the region, and even those closer to home.

"This is extremely important for us as an organization and as a league to be able to give our fans an opportunity to engage with us, to be able to see us when they are not able to attend a game, and to see all the excitement and entertainment that DockHound baseball provides to the community," Giese said in an April 10 news conference.

Giese noted that the games also help My24 and its growing sports programming. Rocky Wagonhurst, vice president and general manager of CW18 & My24 Milwaukee, concurred, emphasizing how both companies benefit.

"We are excited to add the Lake Country DockHounds to our growing roster of local sports programming,” Wagonhurst said in a news release. "Our broadcasts reflect our community and providing access to the DockHounds for free over the-the-air is another example of our commitment to serving the Milwaukee area."

In the news conference, Wagonhurst said My24 will make a "grassroots" effort to market the Game of the Month series, including social media strategies to spread the word in a viewership area that includes a million households.

"We don't deal with the big pro sports, but, man, we have a great shot at local community events and local sports," he said. "That's really what we focus on."

American Association baseball league also gains exposure

The deal also continues a trend for the 12-team American Association of Professional Baseball league.

League commissioner Josh Schaub said the DockHounds will become the third American Association team to gain broadcast exposure, both locally and nationally. It's a trend that personally excites him as the league works to build a broader fan base, including in the Milwaukee suburban market.

"The agreement between My24 and the DockHounds is great news to baseball fans in the region and we are excited to have American Association baseball available to households in a premier market loaded with baseball fans," Schaub said.

Giese added he hopes the broadcasts help the league's players show off their "skill levels," including those on the DockHounds.

DockHounds and WBC Park find other ways to market themselves

Schaub also noted how the broadcast helps showcase the DockHounds and as well as WBC Park, the stadium now in its third season. Team officials concur.

For the Oconomowoc-based team, it's the latest push to market the ballclub and their home field as a regional attraction, including its craft-brewing business tied to Wisconsin Brewing Company that goes beyond the baseball season.

Last fall, Lake Country Live, which operates the team and the stadium complex, and the Verona-based brewery, which has onsite facilities at the Oconomowoc venue, unveiled a new taproom, an attraction meant to make the ballpark an all-season attraction.

"It's unique," Tom Kelenic, owner and managing partner of Lake Country Live, said in October ahead of the taproom's grand opening. "Obviously, there's not a footprint to go by, so we're just blazing our own trail here to see what the public is looking for."

Kelenic had previously pointed to other elements that make the team and stadium part of the community, including Oconomowoc events elsewhere in the city and surrounding areas.

Then there was the return of the Albanese family's fish fry, by way of WBC Park, last October, six months after the family restaurant in Waukesha closed.

But baseball is still the focus, including the natural Eastern Division rivalry with the region's other American Association team, the Milwaukee Milkmen in Franklin. The Milkmen and DockHounds will again face each other May 20-23 at WBC Park.

And the team announced Friday that former Milwaukee Brewer and Hall of Famer Robin Yount will serve a day as an honorary coach during “Robin Yount Day” on Aug. 19

At the April 10 news conference, Schaub praised the DockHounds' overall efforts, "for not only creating a phenomenal product in a matter of few short years, but also delivering a stadium on time and creating a product that most importantly is so ingrained in the community. And now, with My24 onboard, just accelerating that."

Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lake Country DockHounds get regional TV deal for 3 games on My24