Fox Sports reported last week that it had only one commercial unit left for its July 15 All-Star Game broadcast, and it expected to sell out the game earlier than at any point in its history.
Ads ranged from about $300,000 to $325,000 per unit, network and agency sources said.
Fox posted the lowest rating in nearly 50 years for an MLB All-Star Game last year with a 9.5. But advertisers still view it as a unique television event.
"It's still a high-rated third quarter special event," said Ray Warren, managing director at the media buying firm OMD. "There's an appetite for that no matter what. I think people will assume last year was a little strange and it will be resilient."
Fox successfully lobbied the league to bring higher stakes to the game by putting home-field advantage in the World Series on the line. The representative from whichever league wins the game this year in Chicago will get a potential four home games in this year's World Series.
In keeping with the more competitive nature of this year's Summer Classic, the Fox broadcast will take on a more serious tone, moving away from the light-hearted features that have laced previous broadcasts.
There will be no on-field ceremony prior to the game, moving up the first pitch by about 20 minutes.
Fox will enhance its on-field audio package, adding microphones to the field and picking up conversations around home plate through parabolic direction microphones. But gone will be conversations between players and announcers during the game.
