By ProSports
As the days grow shorter and cooler and the leaves start to change color, the baseball season has raced to its grand climax – the World Series featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
The games offer the potential to generate significant revenue for Major League Baseball (MLB) and deliver the viewership that sponsors and advertisers find appealing.
Why Do Companies Sponsor Sporting Events?
Sports is one of the few remaining television events that viewers watch live.
Few, if any, DVR sporting events. That means that viewers are not fast-forwarding through the commercials. Live sports delivers a large, live audience. Additionally, sports sponsorships offer the potential to build brand awareness and loyalty, create a positive brand image and ultimately generate increased sales.
So, how does the World Series deliver?
Attractive Viewership Statistics
According to Sports Media Watch, 2017 was the third highest rated World Series since 2005[1]. The seven-game series averaged a 10.7 rating and 18.9 million viewers on FOX, down 18% in ratings and 19% in viewership from Cubs-Indians last year (13.1, 23.4M) but up 23% and 29% respectively from the five-game Mets-Royals series in 2015 (8.7, 14.7M). It is also of note that two of the highest rated World Series have been in the last two years. This illustrates that baseball has the potential to deliver the viewership that sponsors may find attractive.
