Advertising inventory is depleted, according to Seth Winter, Fox’s head of sports sales, and that includes a fourth game of “night drink” airing at 9 p.m.
The spread of the Covid-19 virus and the suspension of live sports in March shook the advertising market and prompted many dire predictions. But the advertisers’ response to the return of the games is proving to be their own surprise, according to Winter.
In the past, baseball ad spend was spread over months, with just 60% of inventory at the start of the season.
Baseball, which returns Thursday night with a 60-game season, could benefit from pent-up demand from sports fans who have been stuck at home with little to do but watch television.
According to Home Team Sports, a division of Fox. that sells ads on those networks. Some seats in the empty stadiums were filled with fan cardboard cutouts paid for by baseball fans.
The national baseball ad market totaled $ 584 million last year, according to Kantar Media. Fox is the biggest player thanks to a lineup that includes a league championship and the World Series.
Sticking Around
The network convinced most of its sponsors to stick with their spending plans after sports went out of business. Some advertisers who asked for their money back have returned, Winter said. Newcomers are paying about 10% more than they would have bought before.
The network is seeing increased spending from tech companies, including manufacturers of children’s products who will attend online school in the fall. Spending by mortgage companies has also increased, as Americans take advantage of low interest rates.
Due to the short season, fans will be able to watch more games at convenient local times and more classic rivalries, such as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, according to Michael Mulvihill, chief strategy officer at Fox Sports.
Still, the station had to adjust its programming. Last month, the company sold its broadcast rights to the American Golf Association at a loss to Comcast Corp.’s NBC, in part because rescheduled tournaments collided with soccer in the fall.
Soccer, a big business for Fox, is still a problem. The National Football League could cancel its preseason games, and it’s still up in the air if the college matchups return. Some college conferences have already canceled games.
“We know that we are going to have football, we know that we are going to have a season, what seems like remains to be seen,” Winter said. “I hope football tickets sell out regardless of the breadth and scope of the season.”
