• Mediaweek, Monday, September 17, 2007 10:30 AM

With a solid season of ratings on broadcast and cable, Major League Baseball is still a big draw for advertisers.Fox is about 85% percent sold out of its American League Championship and World Series inventory, while TBS has little time left for its Divisional Series games and the National League Championship Series.

"Sports on television is generally hot right now, but baseball's popularity continues to rise," says Harry Keeshan, executive VP for national broadcast at PHD. "We used to be able to buy postseason baseball ad inventory for a steal. No more." Fox is charging about $200,000 for a 30-second spot in prime-time ALCS games, a figure that jumps to between $365,000 and $415,000 for the World Series, buyers say, although it would not comment on pricing.

TBS is carrying postseason baseball for the first time and has exclusive coverage of Divisional Championship games under a new TV rights deal with Chevrolet as the sponsor of pregame shows. But the hottest ad categories for the Fox postseason, insiders say, are automotive, beer and telecom.

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