ADWEEK

⚾️ The March issue of ADWEEK is here. ⚾️ Major League Baseball enters its 2025 season with the winds of change firmly at its back after two straight years of increased attendance, TV viewership, and media visibility. More than 71.3 million fans went to MLB games in 2024, an 11% increase over 2022. Viewership at home is way up as well: Fox’s 2024 World Series broadcast averaged 15.8 million viewers, the highest since 2017. The 2025 season will start with a two-game Tokyo Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs on March 18-19. It will be the biggest standalone international event the league has ever put on, and mark MLB’s return to Japan after six years with several home-grown superstars on both teams. And if you really want proof that it’s a new era in baseball, New York Yankees players are finally allowed to have facial hair again for the 2025 season after a 49-year ban. Read more — https://adweek.it/43zaC07

The most effective leaders today share key traits: emotional intelligence, adaptability, and a commitment to lifting others up. SiriusXM Media’s senior director, B2B content and digital marketing Jocelyn Hudak shares insights from top women in media, highlighting a leadership style that fosters collaboration and results. #sponsored https://adweek.it/3FN2XkV

Benjamin Hall's own story is forever connected to Ukraine. That gives him a distinct perspective on President Zelenskyy's visit to the Oval Office last month, as well as the war-torn country's future. For ADWEEK, I had an expansive conversation with Fox News' senior correspondent ahead of the release of his new book, Resolute. https://lnkd.in/e7Xgddhx

If Pedro Pascal is sad, the whole world is sad. And dreary, and frigid, and hopeless.But the beloved internet daddy doesn’t stay blue for long, according to a new Apple ad. The visually stunning, cinematic long-form ad reunites Apple with Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze, who directed the brand’s lauded “Welcome Home” in 2018 with FKA Twigs. Like its predecessor, the new work—called “Someday”—leans heavily on inventive choreography, catchy music, and lavish sets. https://adweek.it/3DKp5vV

Cross-platform distribution led to another record-breaking viewership event in February. This year’s Super Bowl Sunday, which culminated in the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy, saw Fox Sports earn 127.7 million viewers, with some watching Super Bowl LIX on Fox’s free ad-supported streaming service, Tubi. https://adweek.it/3DPQegO

Women’s lifestyle publisher Refinery29 is relaunching its experiential franchise 29Rooms next month. This marks the return of the event series for the first time since 2019 and its first iteration under new ownership. 29Rooms will return this time as a pop-up series, with plans to activate against at least four major cultural touchstones this year. https://adweek.it/4bXrmAo

H&M has finally paid non-profit Buy From A Black Woman (BFABW) the $83,000 it owed the organization nearly a month past its due date, ADWEEK has learned. After the partnership between H&M and the nonprofit organization had recently ended due to what BFABW claimed was a breach of contract, founder Nikki Porcher received an overnighted check from the retailer on March 14 for $83,333.33, per a video obtained by ADWEEK. https://adweek.it/4kPCsvk

NEW: H&M finally paid the $83k debt it owed to DEI nonprofit Buy From A Black Woman nearly a month past-due. Last week, the pair abruptly ended its partnership after four years, due to what BFABW founder Nikki Porcher and her legal team discovered was a breach of contract because of the late payment. check out my coverage for ADWEEK below ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/ePJB4kjR

In an interview with TVNewser, journalist Benjamin Hall discusses the process of writing his new book "Resolute" and looks ahead to the kinds of questions he wants to ask—and the kinds of stories he hopes to tell—as his journalistic career enters its next act. https://adweek.it/3Fx6UdI

JUST IN | Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group (IPG) shareholders have voted to approve the combination of the two rival holding companies. The stockholders voted on Omnicom’s proposed takeover of IPG during a meeting held today (March 18). Shareholder approval marks a significant milestone in the process of combining the two companies, which would create the world’s largest advertising network by revenues, overtaking rivals Publicis Groupe and WPP. https://adweek.it/3FBWNUU