POSTED: Wednesday July 15th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

80TH MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME

All-Star Game Reaches Largest Total Audience in 10 Years

MLB All-Star FanFest Attendance Records 19 Year High and 2 Millionth Fan

MLB Network Scores Interview with U.S. President Barack Obama

The 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game in St. Louis achieved record results with strong television viewership, Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest attendance, extensive sponsorship activity, and a Presidential visit.  The All-Star Game featured a pre-game ceremony honoring 30 PEOPLE All-Stars Among Us, paid tribute to the six living Cardinals Hall of Famers (Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Red Schoendienst, Ozzie Smith, and Bruce Sutter), and featured U.S. President Barack Obama throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

All-Star Game Viewership

The All-Star Game on FOX was seen by a total audience of 33.6 million viewers (those who saw all or part of the broadcast) marking the largest audience for an All-Star Game on that measure since 1999, according to Nielsen Media Research.  In terms of average viewership, the game drew 14.61 million viewers, which marks the largest audience for the game since the 2002 MLB All-Star Game.

Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest

Major League Baseball shattered its all-time attendance record for MLB All-Star FanFest with a total of 150,804, thanks to the expansive reach of Cardinals nation.  This year’s total increased by 17%, eclipsing last year’s record of 129,021 in New York City.  In addition, Major League Baseball honored the 2 millionth fan to attend MLB All-Star FanFest during the event’s 19-year history.

Sponsorship

Major League Baseball scored two new All-Star sponsors with Disney’s new family theatrical release “G-Force” and Puerto Bani, a residential ballpark community in the Dominican Republic.  Five MLB sponsors launched new creative during the All-Star Game including Holiday Inn, State Farm, Disney, Puerto Bani, and Taco Bell’s first-ever two-minute ad called the “Roosevelts.”

MLB Network

MLB Network’s Bob Costas landed an interview with U.S. President Barack Obama that aired immediately after the All-Star Game and is re-running on the Network in the following days.  MLB Network provided extensive coverage of its first Major League Baseball jewel event featuring interviews with managers and coaches, 38 All-Stars, LL Cool J, and Sheryl Crow during the MLB All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Chevy, the MLB Tonight: All-Star Batting Practice presented by Budweiser and other programming.

International Television

President Obama recorded a special message to the thousands of U.S. troops watching the game through the Armed Forces Network.  The All-Star Game was seen in 230 countries in 17 languages.

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Keywords · All-Star Game · Barack Obama · MLB

Name: Richard Levin
Organization: MLB Major League Baseball
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