The Game: Baseball TV Spots Are In Play; MLB Fans Are 'Cutting Edge'

The Game: Baseball TV Spots Are In Play; MLB Fans Are 'Cutting Edge': "IT'S an oxymoronic fact of sports marketing that companies spend a lot of money to advertise during TV sports events, but that teams themselves spend very little on media to get their word out to the public.

Anheuser-Busch spent more than $220 million on ads during sports programming in 2005, and six other marketers each spent more than $90 million, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. By comparison, only four pro teams had ad budgets last season that topped $3 million (Chicago White Sox, New York Jets, Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls), and only another 10 managed to top $2 million. That means teams have to act proficiently and efficiently in planning for ROI."