Game Time Down, Attendance, TV, Sponsorships Up: MLB Deals Top $1.5B
Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 06:58PM By Barry Janoff
October 19, 2023: Entering the 2023 season, MLB received pro and con feedback regarding its rule changes, including a batter and pitcher time clock and larger bases.
When MLB earlier this month released its game times and attendance numbers for the 2023 regular season, the message was clear: The average time of a nine-inning game was just under 2 hours and 40 minutes, the league's fastest time-of-game in nearly 40 years and down an average of 24 minutes versus 2022 and 30 minutes versus 2021.
In addition, MLB said it finished the regular season with a total attendance of 70,747,365, the first time MLB's paid attendance has broken the 70 million mark since 2017.
Now comes additional support that MLB made the right decision.
“The rule changes have attracted new fans and amplified the prominence of sponsorship assets, culminating in a net increase of 135 sponsorship deals leaguewide over last season,” according to the just-released MLB Marketing Partnerships Report 2023 from SponsorUnited.
“MLB teams' sponsorship revenue surged 23% to more than $1.5 billion this season, driven by over 500 new sponsors spanning 30 categories.”
By comparison, NFL league and team sponsorship deals last season were $2.7 billion; and the NBA was $1.64 billion, NHL $753 million and MLS $677 million, according to sponsorship insights, intelligence and consulting firm IEG, Chicago.
Also key to MLB's new rules emphasizing shorter games and more on-field action: “Viewership in the league's 25 core markets has exceeded that of those markets' top primetime shows by a whopping 125%,” according to SponsorUnited.
Another major factor in sponsorship growth regarding TV viewership: “As a growing number of regional sports networks (RSNs) face bankruptcy and other challenges, teams are looking to sponsorships to recover lost revenue.
“Medium- and small-market teams averaged increases of 9.5 and 6.5 deals this season, respectively–consistently outpacing their big-market counterparts, whose sponsorship volume declined over the past year.”
“MLB's strategic rule adjustments have not only reinvigorated the spirit of the game, but they've also bolstered its marketability," Bob Lynch, SponsorUnited founder and CEO, said via the global sports and entertainment intelligence platform.
"As evident by the impressive surge in sponsorships, brands recognize the newfound energy and widespread appeal of the faster-paced, action-packed games. This transformative approach has positioned MLB as a premier platform for sponsors, uniting past traditions with future opportunities."
The MLB Marketing Partnerships Report 2023 targeted some of the newer ways brands are able to partner with the league.
They included the “recent rise of dugout digital signage (bought by 67 brands this season, making it the league's most purchased new asset of 2023), jersey patches (18 new deals this season) and sponsoring rounds of the post-season.”
“MLB's transition to dynamic digital dugout signage exemplifies its modern marketing approach, and unlocks innovative ad opportunities reminiscent of the NHL's digitally enhanced dasherboards (DEDs),” per SponsorUnited.
In July, the New York Yankees unveiled a multi-platform alliance naming Starr Insurance the team’s “signature partner,” which includes the first jersey sleeve sponsor patch in team history. The exclusive deal, which builds on the alliance they have had since 2018, extends through the 2031 season.
Financial terms of the pact were not shared, but were put at $20-$25 million annually over the course of the alliance by industry analysts, which could reach $200 million.
During the 2023 post-season, lead presenting partners include Hankook (Wild Card), Booking.com (ALDS, NLDS), LoanDepot (ALCS, NLCS) and Capital One (World Series).
Sponsorship revenue was led by the Financial category, which reached $200 million and was up 38% versus 2022.
It was followed b Beverage-Alcohol (appx. $140 million, up 7%), Insurance (appx. $125 million, up 24%), Healthcare (appx. $100 million, up 9%), Automotive, Technology, Gaming, Beverage-Non-Alcoholic, Retail and Telecom.
Although the Beverage-Alcohol showed an increase over 2022 — and "while beer sponsorships in MLB have steadily increased over the last five years — brewers' days of dominating the league's alcohol sponsorships may be over,” according to SponsorUnited.
“As consumer tastes continue to broaden, beer deals slipped 10% (to a 45% share) this season, equal to Ready-to-Drink (RTD) and spirits sponsorships combined. This year marked the first that spirits outsold beer in the U.S,, while sales of RTD cocktails are also soaring, spiking nearly 36% in 2022.”
Among brands, New Era was No. 1 among team sponsorship deals, followed by Topps, State Farm, Coca-Cola, Hankook, Budweiser, Gatorade, Progressive Insurance, Coca-Cola Zero and Chick-fil-A.
“Topps’ growth is especially impressive,” according to SponsorUnited. “Despite losing its 70-year MLB partnership in August 2021 prior to its purchase by Fanatics last year, the collectibles maker has demonstrated remarkable resilience in maintaining its league presence at the team level, adding nine new deals this season.”
Newcomers with official MLB deals included Booking.com (official travel partner), CasAmigos Tequila, FanDuel, Sage (official business software partner), SeatGeek and Zoom (official video communications partner).
Calling it the company’s “biggest deal with MLB to date,” T-Mobile in April unveiled a six-year extension with MLB and Little League Baseball and Softball plus a new deal with MiLB that includes “testing the automated ball-strike (ABS) system at select MiLB games this season.”
With the new pact, T-Mobile, which has been a partner of MLB since 2013, remains the “official wireless partner of Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and Little League Baseball and Softball” through 2028.
Among players, Julio Rodriguez, of the Seattle Mariners, in his second year in the league, “dethroned Shohei Ohtani as having the most active endorsements in the MLB, with 20 brand deals in the past 12 months vs. Ohtani's 17 last year,” according to SponsorUnited.
Rodriguez's newest brand partnerships include Alaska Airlines, Gatorade, Oakley, Wells Fargo and adidas.
However, “Ohtani is still a force to be reckoned with on social media, gaining an astounding four million followers on social media over the past year, more than the top five MLB teams and the next 11 baseball players combined.”
See the full report here.
MLB Will Be On The Clock In 2023
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