• Loading stock data...
Sunday, July 6, 2025

MLB Opening Day Arrives With New Virtual and On-Field Advertisements

  • MLB and ESPN disclose virtual advertising plans for when games begin July 23.
  • MLB games on ESPN will also feature low levels of artificial fan noise provided by individual clubs.
Photo Credit: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com

MLB has explored several make good options for league and team sponsors in recent months, expecting that baseball games in 2020 are likely to be played without fans in attendance.

One of the rumored make good options for marketers has been virtual ads in stadiums and on the field play, with signage around the first and third baselines and behind the pitcher’s mound considered prime real estate

MLB this week said that all prime real estate would be available for advertisers in addition to the on-deck circle and batter’s eye. Individual teams will decide on whether logos are physically or virtually displayed to fans on TV broadcasts.

When MLS returned to play on July 8, the league sent social media into a frenzy over the number of virtual ads displayed. The opening match of its MLS is Back tournament between Orlando City and Inter Miami aired on ESPN featured several logos around the field, including a digitized Adidas logo right on the center kickoff circle. Adidas is MLS’s biggest sponsor, having signed a seven-year, $700 million extension with the league in 2017 to remain its official apparel partner.

Mark Gross, ESPN’s senior vice president of production and remote events, said digital advertising efforts for MLB on ESPN this season will be fairly similar to past productions of Sunday Night Baseball even with additional ads. 

“As we sit here today, there are plans to have some virtual advertising – though not necessarily in the seats,” Gross said on a conference call with reporters last Thursday. MLB has also looked into seat tarps for extra advertising opportunities for sponsors, Front Office Sports reported in May.

Unlike the MLS is Back tournament matches on ESPN, MLB games on the network will feature artificial crowd noise supplied by individual clubs, Gross said. No virtual integration of fans has been discussed with ESPN at this point, but cardboard cutouts of fans will likely be displayed. 

READ MORE: Teams Embrace New Type of Fan Amid Pandemic: Cardboard Cutouts

“Right now, it looks like all of the stadiums will have crowd noise, will have their organists, and potentially their PA announcer,” Gross said. “We are not looking to fool anybody. We realize there are no fans there, but having a little crowd nat sound below the announcers just seems to make it work, and it doesn’t sound quite so hollow when we are doing the games.”

ESPN learned this lesson from the network’s telecasts of the KBO League – South Korea’s professional baseball league – which began in May. For those productions, ESPN staff worked from home. But for MLB broadcasts, both play-by-play announcers will work on ESPN’s campus in Bristol with reporters either in-stadium or at home. 

All stadium feeds will also be brought into a control room in Bristol, with fans occasionally seeing commentators such as Alex Rodriguez and Matt Vasgersian as they usually would during nationally broadcasted games, Gross added. 

Rodriguez, who is currently bidding to buy the New York Mets, will likely not call Mets games this season. The Mets and Atlanta Braves play on Sunday Night Baseball on July 26. 

For non-exclusive games aired on ESPN, such as a triple-header on July 24, the home MLB team’s regional sports network will provide a feed to the network, which will augment with K-Zone, graphics, and other features. 

READ MORE: MLS is Back Tournament Promises New and Costly Look at Pro Soccer

“I know a lot of regional guys who have been calling the intrasquad scrimmages for their rights-holders, and each of them has said the same thing; that it’s just so strange to call a game with nobody there,” Vasgersian said. “We are in a studio, so we are removed from the strangeness of the atmosphere.”

Without much crowd noise, fans will experience some of the on-the-field chatter and strategy on ESPN’s broadcasts, Rodriguez said. Not to mention, the natural sounds that the game of baseball offers. 

“We are going to have an opening day with [Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole] rushing it up there about 100 miles an hour,” Rodriguez said. “You only hear that sound in Arizona or in Florida in February and March. You know, plus the crack of the wood.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
Jul 2, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) heads to the dugout prior to the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium.

MLB Changes Are ‘Showing Great Results’: Former CFO

Big stars playing in major markets “make a real difference.”

Hot Dog Maven George Shea on Chestnut Comeback and Investor Interest

George Shea runs a real estate PR firm and Major League Eating.
Jun 9, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz (45) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Progressive Field.

Guardians Pitcher Luis Ortiz Put on Paid Leave Amid MLB Probe

Reports say the investigation is tied to gambling.

Featured Today

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 4, 2025

3,000 Hot Dogs, $20K in Prizes: Behind the Nathan’s Eating Contest

Nathan’s serves up thousands of hot dogs and $20,000 in prize money.
July 3, 2025

Geoffrey Esper Can’t Catch a Break at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

“Hot dogs is not one of my favorite competitions of the year.”
June 29, 2025

The Battle Over Wimbledon’s Ambitious Expansion Plan

A classic NIMBY standoff on one of the most hallowed grounds in sports.

How Rolex Paved the Way for Luxury’s Love Affair With Tennis

“It’s almost impossible to think about tennis without thinking about Rolex.”
Athlos
May 4, 2025

Nike Wants to Pull Off the First Women’s Sub-4:00 Mile

Experts speak on whether Nike’s “moonshot” is realistic or a gimmick.
Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., United States; Sheryl Swoopes hosts a WBNA All-Star brunch in honor of her former teammate, Nikki McCray Penson, at Thea in Phoenix on July 19, 2024
May 12, 2025

Sheryl Swoopes: A’ja Wilson Shoe Campaign Shows Nike Sea Change

Nike released the Air Swoopes in 1995.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
Apr 12, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; MLB umpire Ron Kulpa (46) calls a third strike during a game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field
May 4, 2025

Pro Refs Get Offered Free Lasik for Better Calls. Some Took It

Some pro officials have sprung for the offer for free corrective surgery.
January 15, 2025

State Farm Cancels Planned Super Bowl Ad Amid California Fires Controversy

State Farm’s Super Bowl ad last year featured Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; From left: Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, Jason Kelce and Marcus Spears on the ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown set before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
December 17, 2024

A ‘Wave’ of Sports Content Is Coming to TikTok

The next generation is consuming sports in a different way.
Apr 7, 2022; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Rory McIlroy (left) and Brooks Koepka set up to putt on no. 9 during the first round of The Masters golf tournament.
November 27, 2024

PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf TV ‘Showdown’ Will Pay Out $10M Crypto..

Two golfers from each tour will face off in Las Vegas.