Intel has signed a new deal with MLB that has "opened the floodgates" on the company's baseball TV ad spend and will see the tech giant participate in the All-Star Game broadcast, according to Anthony Crupi of AD AGE. Intel became an official MLB sponsor last Friday, and shortly after the contract was signed "invested $246,855 in live MLB inventory." Prior to July 1, Intel this season "hadn't spent a dime on baseball broadcasts." The company's renewed interest in MLB comes as "many of the top tech/consumer electronics players have snapped up time" in next week's ASG. Fox Sports Exec VP/Sales Neil Mulcahy said that spots for Apple, Samsung, Dell and HP "will be aired throughout the broadcast, a techie land grab that's in stark contrast to last year's game when Cisco was the lone standard-bearer for the chipsets and computers category." The ASG also has a "new presenting sponsor in MasterCard, which succeeds T-Mobile as the broadcast's most visible backer." While MLB sponsors like Budweiser, Pepsi and Chevy "will be well represented during the broadcast, at least one officially vetted advertiser will be riding the pine in San Diego." After making its ASG debut last year, DraftKings is "sitting out this year's contest, a decision that is in keeping with the company's overall marketing strategy." While Fox generally sets aside a handful of spots for on-air promos, the show that "stands to garner the most attention during this year's All-Star Game is the baseball-themed fall drama 'Pitch.'" The drama debuts Sept. 22 on Fox. A clip from the pilot "will air during the pre-game show, and at some point during the ballgame, Fox cameras will cut to a shot of the actress watching the action from the stands" (ADAGE.com, 7/6).
