Advertiser demand for the Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game has been so intense, even the commercials that might never air are getting snapped up.
Fox expects to run close to 80 commercials across its July 15th broadcast of the Midsummer Classic, scheduled to take place this year in Atlanta, but many ads tied to game elements that can’t be predicted, like pitcher changes or extra innings, are also spoken for, says Mark Evans, executive vice president of ad sales for Fox Sports, during a recent interview.
“Sell-out is usually right before the game in July,” he says. “We were sold out in the beginning of June – a full month earlier.” He predicts this year’s All-Star Game will sport a record number of commercials, sold at some of the event’s highest prices and generating some of the largest revenue Fox has seen for the baseball spectacular.
The All-Star Game is, like many traditional sports broadcasts, getting a bump in the streaming era. While other TV mainstays like primetime dramas and comedies, are fighting to command Madison Avenue’s attention, top sporting events in some cases are selling faster and more furiously than expected. NBC, for example, has seen heavy response to its coming 2026 Super Bowl broadcast, and both NBC and Amazon have struck early deals for their new NBA games coming with the league’s next season.
Fox has been seeking between $750,000 and $800,000 for a 30-second commercial in the All-Star Game, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Viewers will see a coterie of the usual MLB advertisers, including MasterCard, but may notice heavier-than-expected showings from restaurants, retailers and pharmaceutical marketers. Fox’s Evans says interest in capturing summer dollars and back-to-school spending may be spurring the first two categories to attach themselves to the game.
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