Overview
- On Wednesday, Dodgers outfielder Alex Call quoted a viral X post and called on MLB and its broadcast partners to remove what he called “soft porn” commercials from postseason games so children can watch without exposure to near-nude imagery.
- Viewers and players singled out specific spots that have run in recent playoff telecasts, including Novig ads starring Sydney Sweeney, a Megan Fox ad for an erectile-dysfunction product, and graphic horror trailers that parents said are unsuitable for kids.
- Broadcast networks and advertisers sell and place most commercials, which limits MLB’s day-to-day control over ad inventory even though league rules reportedly let MLB reject ads that could reflect negatively on the sport.
- The exchange revived earlier criticism from female athletes of the Sweeney-Novig campaign, drew amplification from figures such as Dale Murphy and Taylor Murphy, and so far produced no public response from MLB while the contested ads remained on air.
- The debate underscores a clash between lucrative playoff ad sales—particularly gambling marketing—and family-friendly broadcasting, with limited FCC remedies and growing public pressure likely to determine whether networks or the league change ad placement policies.