While England wasn’t able to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the country’s 1-0 loss to Spain in Sunday’s final still broke a domestic viewership record.

The match drew 12 million viewers on BBC One — making it the most-watched women’s soccer match in U.K. history and the second-most watched event for BBC this year behind the inauguration of King Charles III. It was England’s first appearance in the Women’s World Cup Final.

The final racked up a further 3.9 million views on the BBC’s digital platforms.

The previous U.K. record for a women’s soccer match was England’s victory in the Euro 2022 final over Germany, which averaged just over 11 million viewers. In this World Cup, England’s semifinal victory over Australia drew 7 million.

Last year, England’s final match of the Qatar World Cup — a loss to France in the quarterfinals — brought in more than 19 million viewers in the U.K.

More Records

Australia set records of its own at this Women’s World Cup — the Matildas’ elimination at the hands of England was the most-watched TV program on record in Australia with more than 7 million domestic viewers.

Final viewership figures for the Women’s World Cup on Fox Sports in the U.S. are still being determined.

Fresh off Inter Miami’s dramatic Leagues Cup triumph, MLS isn’t employing a top-down approach to further capitalize on Messi Mania. 

Lionel Messi has scored 10 goals, led Inter Miami to seven straight wins and the tournament title, and driven an extensive series of business gains since joining MLS last month. But as Inter Miami returns to the league’s main domestic competition, MLS sees no need to develop a masterplan for clubs to employ when Messi visits their market.

“It is the responsibility of the local clubs to build their fan base,” said MLS commissioner Don Garber. “The league is not going to tell them what to do when somebody else comes to town.”

Garber’s comments highlight a delicate situation. Messi’s popularity is like nothing else in MLS history — and presents a perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the league to transform its stature and business. At the same time, Garber and MLS are tasked with building strength across the league that will far outlast Messi.

“It’s not just about that one player,” Garber said. “It’s about: How do you feel about your club, and can that player give you something that might make it a little more special?”

Ticket Frenzy

Messi continues to drive massive increases in ticket resale prices. 

Inter Miami will play the U.S. Open Cup seminal Tuesday against FC Cincinnati, after which the Argentine icon will play his first regular-season MLS match against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Resale prices for the club’s late-season matches have surged as much as 1,760%, according to ticket aggregator TicketIQ. 

Some of those figures are skewed by high-end listings that may not lead to sales. But current get-in pricing for any of the club’s remaining 2023 games is not less than $135 per ticket.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are running into an increasingly common dilemma: They’re planning $24.4 million in upgrades to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, but the public entity responsible for funding the work can’t pay for it.

The Gateway Economic Development Corp. of Greater Cleveland — which owns both Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and neighboring Progressive Field — has approved the renovation work to upgrade the arena’s broadcast systems, elevators, and escalators, in keeping with lease terms requiring it to fund major capital improvements in excess of $500,000.

But that same body has acknowledged it doesn’t currently have the money, as cigarette and alcohol taxes that had helped to back prior construction and renovation expenses haven’t kept up with the facility’s needs. 

In the meantime, the Cavaliers will front the renovation expenses with the hope of being reimbursed. Last season, the team reached the playoffs for the first time since advancing to the 2018 NBA Finals with LeBron James. In 2019, the Cavs completed a $185 million renovation that extended the team’s lease at the arena to at least 2034.

Not Quite Like Milwaukee … Yet

Though the Cavs haven’t threatened any type of relocation attempt or legal action, the team’s current situation still resembles that of MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, who are also looking to complete a facility renovation whose responsibility falls to a local public authority. 

The Guardians have already settled their issues with the Gateway authority for Progressive Field, agreeing to a long-term lease extension that will see major renovations begin after the 2023 MLB season.