One of the most galvanizing topics in Major League Baseball these days is pace of play. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s effort has drawn cries from a percentage of fans who consider the idea of things such as limited mound visits, a field clock, and more as unwarranted. “Leave the game alone” is often the refrain.
In March, just before the season started, I spoke to Manfred about the pace of play and asked him about an area that seemed an easy target to pick up the pace, but didn’t do anything that might have an impact on the match. I suggested that as game broadcasts had increased regionally and nationally, commercial breaks between innings or during pitching changes had been a large part of the problem. Could MLB consider shortening commercial breaks?
I expected the answer to be no. Manfred would say the revenue was too high for the clubs.
To my surprise, I was wrong.
Manfred said that indeed, league should consider shorter commercial breaks with the aim of eliminating lulls.
“I completely agree with the idea of looking at our commercial load in our shows and it’s something we should do,” Manfred said at the time. “There are contractual limits on when we can do this; we have existing commitments. But that should definitely be a question we look at as well.
So when Manfred said that, I remembered how Rogers SportsNet got started make advertising graphics on the field of play in the foul zones and in the batter’s eyes years ago.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that the league-owned MLB Network experimented with using graphic overlays for title sponsor Chevrolet as part of Tuesday night’s MLB Network Showcase game between the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals. .
Although the ads weren’t completely removed, they were shorter. Upon returning to the game, the camera behind home plate pulled back to show the entire playing field, with the Chevrolet logo placed in the 1st and 3rd base foul zones, as well as over the batter’s eye.
In another round of publicity, they covered what appeared to be towers atop Busch Stadium with a banner emblazoned with the Chevrolet logo. Sure, they were just graphics, but they looked like they were installed on top of the stadium.
It’s hard to say how regional sports networks or other national broadcasts might receive this type of sponsor placement. But it creates some flexibility for owners, allowing them to allow shorter breaks without losing advertising revenue.
Overall, fans at the game would never see it unless the game was broadcast on the stadium TVs. At home, the question is: will fans be willing to have corporate logos placed in and around playing areas? There are already advertisements on the boards behind home plate. There needs to be a balance. But if fans are willing to swap graphic placements to allow for shorter commercial breaks, that gives MLB the opportunity to address an aspect related to pace of play, without actually affecting the game.
