MLB All-Star Game Sees Record Ad Rates, Tremendous Attention

Fox for tonight's MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium has received "record TV ad prices, [MLB] sponsors have spent millions on promotions and fans are paying [$150-725] for seats, the highest prices in the sport's 79-game history," according to Theresa Howard of USA TODAY. Fox said that a 30-second spot during its game coverage tonight sold for $525,000-550,000, up from $425,000 for last year's game at AT&T Park. MLB's 19 "major sponsors are spending more than $100[M] on promotions," and MLB today is hosting its first All-Star Game parade, as MLB All-Stars and Baseball HOFers are scheduled to march on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Highlights of the parade will be shown during Fox' hour-long, pregame special (USA TODAY, 7/15). In Minneapolis, Judd Zulgad wrote Fox will have an "interesting balancing act to perform." While there "will be a focus on Yankee Stadium" some viewers "will be tuning in simply to watch the game." Fox Sports President Ed Goren said that the net's coverage of the parade during the pregame show "will help address part of the equation." Goren: "The history will carry through the pregame ceremonies and then you get into the balancing act. This is a tough broadcast because at times you're chasing to come out of commercial and there's a new pitcher, there's a pinch hitter and there are two or three position changes in the field. It has to be balanced" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/11).

Yankee Stadium Likely To Be Main Storyline Of Tonight's All-Star Telecast On Fox

ALL-STAR COVERAGE: In San Diego, Jay Posner wrote with Yankee Stadium set to close at the end of this season, Fox and MLB are "pushing the nostalgia angle for the All-Star Game." Goren: "You will get a feel from the very first seconds (of the telecast) of Yankee Stadium and the history there" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/11). In N.Y., Jack Curry writes, "Despite this galaxy of stars, much of the focus will be" on the ballpark (N.Y. TIMES, 7/15). In DC, Dave Sheinin writes with "little evidence and no assurances that the third-place Yankees have it in them to rally in the season's second half -- thus bringing the postseason back to this 85-year-old cathedral in the Bronx -- the All-Star Game ... will be like a public memorial" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15). On Long Island, Mark Herrmann wrote during tonight's game, "for maybe the first time, the site is going to trump the players" (NEWSDAY, 7/13). Goren: "One of the most memorable All-Star Games or events on Fox Sports was in Boston (in 1999), honoring [Baseball HOFer] Ted Williams. I believe this will outdo that." In California, John Maffei noted there will be 21 cameras and 80 microphones around Yankee Stadium, and "you can bet Fox will use every whoosh and shoosh in its bag of tricks." Fox' "arsenal of cameras will include 'Diamond Cams' planted in front of home plate and at first base." There also will be a "number of super-slo mo cameras" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 7/11). In Denver, Dusty Saunders wrote, "Look for a tribute" during the telecast to late Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer, who died Saturday (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 7/14).

MEASURING THE FAN INTEREST: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Paul Gough wrote for the All-Star Game, "one of the signature TV events of the summer, the ratings losses are particularly stark. Blame the TV landscape, interleague play, the fact there's plenty more baseball on TV and cable these days or even the fact that many of the recent games have been blowouts by the AL." Horizon Media researcher Brad Adgate: "The All-Star Game used to be one of the highlights of television in the summer. I don't think you can necessarily make that claim anymore." But Goren said, "The viewership for this All-Star Game is going to be sensational." Fox VP/Programming & Research Mike Mulvihill: "Compared to the three-network primetime average, the All-Star Game holds up as well today in relative terms as it did 20, 30, 40 years ago. Relative to the environment, it's just as strong today as it has ever been" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/14). MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, in a Q&A with NEWSDAY's Ken Davidoff, said of changing the game's format so that the winning league receives home-field advantage in the World Series, "I didn't do it for the TV ratings. I did it to restore the intensity of the game" (NEWSDAY, 7/15). MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy added since changing the format in '03, "we’ve held share, and you look at some of the other products and some of the other productions which have lost share during that period of time. It is increasingly difficult to maintain your share given the wealth of other entertainment opportunities. So who knows what would have happened if we hadn’t done it” (“Mike & the Mad Dog,” YES, 7/14).

IS IT TOO MUCH? NEWSDAY's Herrmann wrote under the header, "All-Star Game Has Become Super Bowl-Like Event." The game is a "big show, and getting bigger by the year." The All-Star Game, along with the MLB FanFest and the Home Run Derby, "has taken on some of the flavor of a Super Bowl and NBA Slam Dunk competition" (NEWSDAY, 7/13). In Detroit, Ernie Harwell wrote the MLB All-Star Game is "the best of all the sports," and is the "only one that displays any true competition." But the game "has lost some its charm. When the game started, watching players of the other league was a novelty." But interleague play and free agency have "dulled the brilliance of the game." Harwell: "This year, watch for New York and Yankee Stadium overkill in the All-Star coverage" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/14).

Braun One Of 25 First-Time All- Stars Playing In Tonight's Game

TIMES ARE A-CHANGIN': In L.A., Bill Shaikin notes the rosters for tonight's game include 25 first-time All-Stars, and Astros SS Miguel Tejada is the only one of 21 active MLBers named in the Mitchell Report chosen to play. Braves 3B Chipper Jones: "With the influx of good young players, it's kind of a renaissance." Shaikin notes last year's All-Star Game "had the air of the end of an era, not the beginning of one" (L.A. TIMES, 7/15). In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes the "story of steroids and other performance enhancers" is "always an issue." Fox' Joe Buck said of the broadcast, "You can't avoid the obvious. You can't not talk about something that's being talked about on a daily basis. You have to pick your spot. You're compelled to move on because there's so much going on. You don't dismiss it, but you have to really be careful to pull open the lid on something and not be able to get it closed again" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/15). Meanwhile, Selig, in the Q&A with NEWSDAY's Davidoff, said of his future goals for MLB, "Just keep us going. We just hit 40 million in attendance [Sunday] night. Pick up the pace on internationalization. To keep the game at the pace it's on now. To continue to have labor peace. We spent many decades off the tracks with that, but we've been getting along pretty well lately" (NEWSDAY, 7/15).

COLLECTOR'S ITEM: Nikco Sports currently is offering a 2-ball baseball set to raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The set will include a "commemorative All-Star Game baseball licensed by MLB that will contain the printed names of the starting lineups" for tonight's AL and NL teams, along with the official MLB All-Star Game logo. The ball also will have the date, final score and MVP of tonight's game on one of the panels. The second ball is autographed by Baseball HOFer Don Larsen. There are 2,008 sets of the collection, priced at $129.95 each (N.Y. POST, 7/13).