While Fox would have liked the Mets and Royals to have played a few more games, the extra revenue brought in by two long extra-inning games probably produced a profitable World Series for the network.
With New York represented in baseball’s Fall Classic, ratings were strong. The final game on Sunday, with the Royals winning the Commissioner’s Trophy in 12 innings, was the most-watched since 2003 and contributed to a five game series beating 2014’s seven-game edition. Normally, the longer a series goes, the higher the ratings as interest and suspense builds.
But from a financial point of view, the key was getting extra commercials—at about $500,000 a pop—in during extra innings and pitching changes.
In game 1, which was won by the Royals in 14 innings, Fox aired 125 spots, according to iSpotTV. In Games 2, 3 and 4, which all went the regulation nine innings, Fox got in 102, 90 and 105 spots, respectively. In Game 5, Fox was able to air 100 spots. That’s a total of 532 spots across 5 games, or considerably more than would normally air in a five game series.
At that rate, had the World Series gone six or seven games, Fox would have had a windfall.
The top advertisers in terms of spending during the World Series according to iSpot were Chevrolet, which aired 4 commercials 28 times; Geico which aired 5 spots 18 times; Samsung Mobile, which aired 4 spots 15 times; T-Mobile, which had 5 spots it aired 14 times; and Taco Bell, which aired 25 times.
With ratings up 21% from a year ago, those sponsors probably felt they got a pretty good deal.
The series also featured a number of new advertisers, including Esurance, IBM, MetLife, Edward Jones, and the Navy Federal Credit Union.
