Game of Thrones and Baseball are now a Thing
A pairing that definitely makes sense
HBO has always gone above and beyond when it comes to promoting Game of Thrones, by far its hottest property. That makes sense, as Game of Thrones is possibly the most popular drama in the world. And no, we don’t feel that’s a hyperbolic statement. It looks like HBO is going to ramp things up a bit when it comes to promoting season 7, the penultimate season of the series. It’s a bit of an odd one, though.
More from HBO
- HBO expects House of the Dragon season 2 release in summer 2024
- HBO delays three hit shows to 2025 but one big show is still coming in 2024
- Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty will end its run on HBO
- Winning Time season 2, episode 7 recap: “What Is and What Should Never Be”
- Winning Time season 2, episode 6 recap: “Beat L.A.”
According to Deadline, Game of Thrones and MLB are joining forces for advertising purposes. There’s nothing that says Game of Thrones like baseball, right? Not really, but that’s not important. This is a bit of a powerhouse deal, and will come in many forms over the course of the summer. According to MLB’s EVP of Business, Noah Garden, there will be a “tremendous amount of tie-ins.” So if you love being marketed to, get ready to get smacked across the face with Game of Thrones while watching baseball.
It’s obvious what HBO gets out of this little deal, but the more interesting part is what MLB stands to potentially gain. Apparently millennials aren’t as into baseball as the older generations are, and MLB is hoping that this deal brings greater attention to the sport. Because, you know, it’s Game of Thrones. There are no specifics as to what form these tie-ins are ads are going to take, but there’s a very fine line of cringe when it comes to deals like this.
While we’re interesting in what they’re going to come up with, this is definitely a little head-scrathing. Major deals like this aren’t unheard of, but it feels a little odd for Game of Thrones to be used this way.
Next: Westworld POP figures are coming this spring.
If you’re both a baseball and Game of Thrones fan, does this sound exciting? We’ll see how it turns out later this summer when the campaign kicks off.