A Major League Baseball player asked networks to pull “soft porn” playoff ads so he can watch ballgames with his young son without grabbing the remote.
Story Snapshot
- Dodgers outfielder Alex Call publicly urged Major League Baseball and its TV partners to drop sexualized playoff ads.
- Call cited watching games with his son and called the spots “soft porn,” saying parents should not worry.
- Coverage linked his complaint to Sydney Sweeney’s Novig “Just Sports” campaign and a Megan Fox erectile-dysfunction ad.
- Networks did not issue a detailed response in the cited reports; responsibility for ad placement remains shared and complex.
A Player Dad Puts Family Viewing On The Spot
Alex Call posted on X on October 14 that playoff broadcasts carried “soft porn” ads and asked Major League Baseball, TBS, Fox, and NBC to remove them. He wrote that his son wants to watch baseball with “Dada,” but he cannot justify it if “a half-naked woman” might appear during breaks. He framed the gripe as a parent’s line in the sand. He did not aim only at one network. He tagged the league and multiple broadcasters to press for action.
Reports tied the outrage to a Novig “Just Sports” campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney using sports gear to cover her body. Outlets also mentioned a Megan Fox erectile-dysfunction commercial and trailers for R-rated movies during playoff games. News accounts said the Novig spots aired during League Championship Series coverage, including the October 13 Guardians–Rays game. The phrase “soft porn” is Call’s label. No cited standard or ruling classified the ads that way.
Who Decides What Runs During The Game
Postseason airtime draws national brands, high rates, and tight inventory. That mix pushes edgier creative into big moments. The league sells rights, but networks control most ad slots. Affiliates and programmatic buys add more hands on the wheel. Reports did not provide full ad logs or the decision chain. They did show Call’s direct plea to all parties. That spread of control often blurs who can yank a spot fast without breaching contracts or sparking refunds.
Major League Baseball’s published advertising rules say the league must approve ads that involve sexual or sex-related content. That policy covers league-controlled inventory and placements under its scope. National telecasts often include network-managed pods. Those pods follow network standards and federal law. This split matters. Fans see one broadcast and one brand. Behind the screen, several rulebooks and lawyers decide what stays or goes when controversy hits.
The Family Expectation Versus The Ad Market
Parents expect October baseball to be a safe, shared evening. Advertisers expect October baseball to deliver attention from millions of adults. Both are true. Sexualized ads in sports are not new. A review of the 2015 Super Bowl found sexual content in about 13 percent of commercials, showing the pattern is recurring in premium sports windows. That benchmark does not prove rates for this postseason. It shows why the clash returns every few years when a campaign crosses a line for viewers at home.
Call’s post struck a nerve because it is concrete. A dad, a kid, a playoff game, and an awkward break cut. That image travels faster than policy memos. It also resonates with conservative values: protect kids, keep sports clean, and make live TV safe for families after dinner. That does not mean every complaint should set standards. It does mean leagues and networks win trust when they match their “family” brand voice with their ad blocks on the biggest stages.
What Accountability Could Look Like Next
Leagues and broadcasters can address this without a culture war. First, they can map which pods run during early evening innings and reserve them for broadly family-safe ads. Second, they can offer a clean-stream alternate feed on every game, not buried in menus. Third, they can publish simple ad standards for postseason windows and name a point of contact for rapid takedowns. These steps do not ban an advertiser. They stage the right ad at the right hour.
Dodgers OF Alex Call is calling out MLB, TBS, Fox & NBC for airing “soft porn” ads during the playoffs.
He says his young son wants to watch baseball with him, but doesn’t know how to explain when a half-naked woman (Sydney Sweeney for Novig) pops up on screen.
“This is… https://t.co/BNXV6KS3lr
— Article Bazar (@articlebazar) October 15, 2026
Advertisers also gain by reading the room. Research shows sex and violence can grab attention but can hurt brand recall and favorability when viewers feel ambushed. A memorable moment is not always a positive one. Sydney Sweeney and Megan Fox drive buzz. But buzz inside a family living room can turn into a brand problem if dad dives for the remote. Creative that delivers wit, product, and respect wins more often in October than shock and skin.
Sources:
usatoday.com, marca.com, sports.yahoo.com, themirror.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com, rcfp.org
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