ABOUT THIS ENTRY

As part of a collaborative partnership with TikTok and Major League Baseball’s Creator Class, Ben Verlander - MLB contributor and host of the FOX Sports podcast “Flippin’ Bats” - was the face of @MLBonFOX TikTok and produced features that included local and live coverage with the sights, sounds and tastes of Truist Park, and a first-of-its-kind attempt at catching batting practice home runs from the outfield train at Minute Maid Park.

How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

Driven by its World Series content, October 2021 was the second most viewed month ever for @MLBonFOX, amassing 102 million views.

This creative and innovative strategy resulted in the most sponsorships ever for @MLBonFOX during a World Series, including Taco Bell, Hyundai, Coupa, Ally Bank and the partnership with TikTok.

2022 Sports Cynopisis Finalst - Live Stream Presentation

Objective: As part of a collaborative partnership with TikTok and Major League Baseball’s Creator Class, a team of 12 young creators generating content year-round to support MLB marketing initiatives, @MLBonFOX spearheaded a content series for the platform that elevated FOX Sports’ broadcasts, exposed MLB viewers to TikTok videos and introduced TikTok users to sports-related content offerings.

@MLBonFOX set the standard for social media creativity and innovation in 2021 with its performance throughout the 2021 MLB World Series on FOX, touching all the bases with innovative new initiatives, record-breaking streaming viewership and the most sponsorships and integrations in FOX Sports history.

Strategy & Execution: Ben Verlander, MLB contributor and host of the FOX Sports podcast “Flippin’ Bats” was the face of @MLBonFOX TikTok and produced features that included coverage of local businesses using the platform to promote their products and services, the sights, sounds and tastes of Truist Park, and a first-of-its-kind attempt at catching batting practice home runs from the outfield train at Minute Maid Park. Each piece in the content series was featured in FOX linear broadcasts, marking a historic first for TikTok content shared as in-game features.

The videos were a resounding success for TikTok, MLB viewers and @MLBonFOX reaching approximately one million organic viewers across platforms. Following the last out from every game, the linear MLB on FOX Postgame Show tossed the ball to Verlander who hosted the first ever live digital recap shows in FOX Sports history. He was joined on the field by players to break down each matchup.

Results: The presence of @MLBonFOX throughout the 2021 MLB World Series played an invaluable role in driving viewers to streams of each game, resulting in an all-time high per-game average minute audience of 179,000 viewers across FOX Sports properties, up +50% over the 2020 MLB World Series (119,000 AMA).

Taco Bell was the presenting sponsor of Verlander’s live on-site postgame digital recap show and Verlander hosted Hyundai’s Lift of the Game which presented video coverage of key home runs and big moments throughout the fall classic. Coupa and Ally Bank sponsored stat-based and game-related motion graphics for @MLBonFOX.

Production

FOX Sports

Credits

Ben Verlander
Host
FOX Sports

Conrad Company
Sr. Associate Producer, Digital Talent Production & Storytelling     
FOX Sports

Michael Bucklin
SVP, Digital Content 
FOX Sports

Nick Rago
Executive Director, Digital & Social Production
FOX Sports

Michael Jankolovits
Sr. Director, Video
FOX Sports

Ricardo Perez-Selsky
Director Technical Operations
FOX Sports

John Marcus
Manager, Streaming Operations  
FOX Sports

Lorrie Reyes
Sr. Associate Producer  
FOX Sports

Jeremy Benbow
Associate Producer, Production & Cinematography
FOX Sports

Erin Schechter
Associate Manager, Production Operations
FOX Sports

Niles Owens
Associate Manager, Operations
FOX Sports