The first game of the World Series is tonight! Here’s a look at how Major League Baseball is helping kids brands reach more families. This story originally appeared in Kidscreen’s Q4 2025 magazine issue. 

Whether it’s a bases-loaded homer, a game-saving catch or a last-second RBI, the roar of the crowd is part of what makes live baseball a memorable experience for kids and parents alike. Families gather at the stadium—or around the TV at home—to cheer on their favorite teams and share in the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

With that kind of passion on display, it’s no surprise that kids brand owners are eager to get their characters onto the field. And while activations are happening across many sports, baseball is leading the way as the most important stage for reaching families. 

“MLB is the best option for these types of activations with families because baseball games are slower-paced compared to other sports,” says Katie Huber, senior director of licensing for Fred Rogers Productions. And short breaks between innings give kids more opportunities to do things like engage with Jumbotron content, enjoy branded activities and shop for merch.

Intrinsic advantages aside, MLB has also implemented several new initiatives this season that are helping the cause, such as rule changes designed to speed up play, expanded international games in emerging markets, and perhaps most notably, a slate of branded sponsorships aimed at improving the ballpark experience so more families will pony up for season passes.

Three months in, broadcasters reported double-digit gains in viewership compared to last year—with ESPN up 22%, TBS up 16% and FOX up 10%—putting this season on track to be MLB’s most-watched in eight years.

First-round draft pick
Two-year-old Hidden Pigeon Company (HPC) may be a rookie in the kids space, but it has already executed five MLB game days for Mo Willems’ beloved picture book franchises, which each come to play with a full mix of content and consumer products. HPC launched its first activation last year with the New York Yankees, with Willems and his iconic character The Pigeon taking the mound for the ceremonial first pitch and appearing throughout the game as the team’s honorary mascots.

“Our connection with the New York Yankees had formed before HPC was even founded,” says SVP of franchise management Tori Cook. “Mo had done a smaller activation with the Brooklyn Cyclones from the minor leagues [in 2022], and that led to them approaching us with our first branded game when they saw the potential our characters could have to bring families into the stadium.”

In just two years, the company has held a total of five branded game days between the Yankees and the Kansas City Royals. And what began as simple mascot appearances has quickly evolved to include co-branded merchandise, custom scoreboard graphics, in-stadium events, and meet-and-greet opportunities for kids to snap photos with The Pigeon or the dynamic duo of Elephant and Piggie.

Fred Rogers Productions capped off its Pittsburg Pirates game day with a drone show celebrating the company’s history and iconic characters (photos by Harrison Barden/Provided by Fred Rogers Productions)

Each activation took about seven months to plan with the team’s promotions and marketing department, beginning with choosing the dates, says Cook. From there, HPC worked with the team, its licensees and the MLB (in some cases) to produce exclusive merchandise—ranging from free giveaways like pins and collectibles, to premium co-branded jerseys and hats—designed to showcase team spirit.

“When building a program like this, you have to think beyond the premium offering to how you make this an unforgettable experience for the child and their family,” says Cook. “The products are there to act as a tangible souvenir and powerful memento that families can look back on years after the game and recall all those memories they made together that day with our brands.” 

All five games that HPC has participated in so far have been sell-out successes—both in the stands and at the merch booth, adds Cook. Each game was attended by more than 37,000 guests, and that momentum is carrying over off the field, driving stronger licensed product sales and fueling demand on social media for more appearances by HPC’s characters. Looking at such stellar results, Cook is eager to expand these game days to more major and minor league teams next year. 

Throwing a curveball
Game day collaborations with newcomers like HPC—along with more established players such as Sesame Workshop, Toei Animation, Peanuts Worldwide and Warner Bros. Discovery—have opened the door for more kids brands to step onto the MLB stage. For example, Fred Rogers Productions (FRP) recently teamed up with the Pittsburgh Pirates to host “A Beautiful Night in the Neighborhood” in March.

To prepare for this Mister Rogers-themed event, FRP and the Pirates spent four months developing the largest drone show ever staged at PNC Park, the Pirates’ home turf. This was the perfect opportunity to test the waters with MLB and prove that the Fred Rogers brands have the pull to bring families into the ballpark, says senior director of licensing Katie Huber. She adds that FRP is now looking to go beyond an after-game drone show and fully host MLB games, complete with co-branded merchandise and giveaways.

“FRP built up to this moment over a couple of years through its Be My Neighbor events, which we host with PBS and various minor league sports teams,” Huber explains. “When the opportunity came up with the Pirates, it really clicked that we have a shared goal of building and uniting our communities through fun experiences.” 

The June 27 game against the New York Mets drew more than 29,000 fans and featured a drone light show after the final out. This display paid tribute to FRP’s legacy, featuring images of Mister Rogers, Daniel Tiger, Donkey Hodie and Katerina Kittycat shining in the night sky.

Working with the Duquesne Light Company, Huber says a ballpark activation like the one for Mister Rogers can cost as much as US$100,000 and takes at least three months to plan, including new asset creation, music production and approvals on the playful transitions between characters. However, the biggest challenge turned out to be the weather, because heavy rain on game night threatened to derail the show.

“Thankfully, it was only a 20-minute delay, but weather analysts were calling for thunderstorms all week, which was something completely out of our control,” says Huber. “Besides that, we were also worried about how the drones would translate the storyboards. Of course we had finalized them behind the scenes, but it was a magical experience when we saw the drones fly in the sky that night.”

Fred Rogers Productions capped off its Pittsburg Pirates game day with a drone show celebrating the company’s history and iconic characters (photos by Harrison Barden/Provided by Fred Rogers Productions)

Huber’s best advice for brand owners planning a game day takeover is to target Friday or Saturday games. These matchups not only draw bigger crowds, they also give families more freedom to enjoy the full experience without worrying about school night bedtimes or having to work the next day.

The closer
Breaking into the big leagues is one thing…but staying there is another. For kids franchises, the challenge is figuring out how to become a recurring partner season after season. The key is to keep evolving the fan experience with fresh engagement hooks, as well as making the collaboration process as seamless as possible for teams, says Sesame Workshop’s SVP of marketing Aaron Bisman.

“How we approach sports collabs now is by creating a menu of pre-approved assets and materials that the teams can pick out for their family days,” adds Bisman. “From there, we work with the marketing and merchandising teams to design exclusives, premium offerings and individualized experiences that they think would have the most impact with the audience.”

This year, Sesame Workshop is putting this model to the test with “Road Trip Across America”. This nationwide summer/fall campaign featuring Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and the rest of the Sesame Street gang highlighting healthy habits and routines families can adopt is making 56 stops—including eight MLB games, as well as zoos, state fairs and farms.

Activations like these are critical for keeping legacy brands such as Sesame Street relevant in today’s zeitgeist, says Bisman. The goal isn’t just merchandise sales, but embedding the IPs more deeply in the fandom and the wider community by offering experiences families can share—whether it’s through trivia, unique giveaways, photo ops or playtime with the characters.

“We didn’t launch our first theme days until 2022, so it’s still a relatively new experience for Sesame Workshop,” Bisman notes. “Each opportunity we’ve had has ramped up the demand for more themed days from sports teams and organizations that see how families are reacting to the partnerships on and off the field. [In 2022], we were working with four teams; now we’ve expanded to eight major league and five minor league clubs. And we even opened the door [to motor sports] with Nascar this year. We can’t wait to see where this leads us next.”