Dreams could be turning to nightmares for Fox Sports advertising executives.
As the New York Yankees stare down the barrel of a World Series sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fox is coming to terms with the nine-figures of potential ad revenue lost if the series ends in four games.
Per a report by Anthony Crupi in Sportico on Tuesday, Fox could lose out on nearly $150 million in unrealized ad revenue should the Dodgers take care of business in Game 4. Now, that figure indicates the potential windfall of a seven game series. In reality, Fox budgets on the conservative side for five games.
Nevertheless, given just how highly anticipated this World Series was, a sweep would be borderline devastating — at least from an emotional perspective — for Fox. Even if the network won’t actually be hurting from a financial standpoint, the potential audience (and revenue) gain from a Game 6 or 7 would be monstrous.
According to Crupi, Fox’s first five World Series games will make in the ballpark of $44.3 million per contest. That figure comes from a 30-second ad rate of between $465,000 and $520,000. Those rates, just like the audience, would increase substantially in the event of a Game 6 or 7. A 30-second spot in a hypothetical Game 7 could garner around $625,000 for Fox.
Overall, a sweep would cost Fox around $150 million versus a hypothetical seven game series and around $90 million versus a hypothetical six game series.
Demand for advertising during this World Series was predictably high, as one could expect for a matchup of baseball’s biggest stars and most historic franchises. Per a report in Variety in the lead up to the Fall Classic, ad spots for the first two games had been completely sold out, with the only inventory available being those that surround a pitching change, extra innings, or other unforeseen circumstances.
It should be noted that any lost revenue Fox may experience at the hand of a Dodgers sweep pales in comparison to the ad rates the network can command for its other marquee events like Super Bowl LIX or its Thanksgiving Day NFL game later this year. A 30-second spot in the Super Bowl will cost advertisers around $7 million this year, and inventory is already sold out.
Still, it’s notable that the financial success of a network can partly hang in the balance of two baseball teams. And you can bet that Fox will be rooting extra hard for the Bronx Bombers to cash some additional advertising checks in Game 4 and beyond.
[Sportico]
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.