The World Series begins Oct. 24 on Fox when the Houston Astros take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros are out to win their first World Series; the Dodgers have won the title six times, most recently in 1988.

The World Series draws a deep bench of major league advertisers pitching cars, telecom services, car insurance, food and beer. But its biggest spender over the past five years has been General Motors. GM's Chevrolet has played America's pastime for decades (think 1970s' iconic "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet") and sponsors the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player award. Last fall's matchup between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians scored a record $460 million in TV ad spending.

Five Biggest Advertisers

World Series measured-media TV spending. Dollars in millions.

2012 – Length of series: 4 games

San Francisco Giants: 4
Detroit Tigers: 0

General Motors (Chevrolet)	$11
AT&T (AT&T, DirecTV)	9
Verizon	9
Microsoft	7
Yum Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC)	7
Top five	$43
World Series total TV ad spending	$175

2013 – Length of series: 6 games

Boston Red Sox: 4
St. Louis Cardinals: 2

General Motors (Chevrolet)	$17
Yum Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC)	13
AT&T (DirecTV, AT&T)	12
Anheuser-Busch InBev	12
Berkshire Hathaway (Geico)	10
Top five	$64
World Series total TV ad spending	$277

2014 – Length of series: 7 games

San Francisco Giants: 4
Kansas City Royals: 3

General Motors (Chevrolet)	$18
Berkshire Hathaway (Geico)	16
AT&T (DirecTV, AT&T)	16
Yum Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC)	11
Verizon	10
Top five	$71
World Series total TV ad spending	$284

2015 – Length of series: 5 games

Kansas City Royals: 4
New York Mets: 1

General Motors (Chevrolet)	$16
AT&T (DirecTV, AT&T)	14
Berkshire Hathaway (Geico)	11
T-Mobile	10
Yum Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC)	9
Top five	$60
World Series total TV ad spending	$266

2016 – Length of series: 7 games

Chicago Cubs: 4
Cleveland Indians: 3

Ford (Lincoln, Ford)	$19
Berkshire Hathaway (Duracell, Geico)	16
General Motors (Chevrolet)	15
Procter & Gamble	15
Verizon	14
Top five	$78
World Series total TV ad spending	$460

Five-year Total

Chicago Cubs: 4
Cleveland Indians: 3

 

General Motors (Chevrolet)	$76
AT&T (DirecTV, AT&T)	64
Berkshire Hathaway (Geico)	59
Yum Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC)	51
Verizon	49
Top five	$299
World Series total TV ad spending	$1,461

Spending includes broadcast network TV (Fox), cable TV networks (Fox Deportes) and spot TV. Figures include pre-game, in-game and post-game spending. World Series total TV ad spending includes top five and all other advertisers. Numbers rounded. Spending is pro forma, factoring in acquisitions and divestitures.
Source: Ad Age Datacenter analysis of measured-media spending data from Kantar Media.
More info: kantarmedia.com.

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