A series of emerging sports, pro leagues, and events posted historic levels of attendance over the weekend, showing the rapidly expanding nature of the business both domestically and abroad.

The June 7–9 weekend featured a broad mix of robust figures at the gate, reflecting fans’ willingness to go far beyond established powers such as the NFL and NBA when given the opportunity. Among the key markers:

• The NWSL set a single-game record with a crowd of 35,038 on Saturday at Wrigley Field for a game between the Red Stars and Bay FC. That event was also part of a total weekend mark of 110,845, the first time that the league has surpassed 100,000 in attendance in a single weekend. 
• A sellout crowd of 20,333 filled Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., for a Fever-Mystics game Friday, representing the biggest WNBA turnout for a game since 2007. The league also said Monday that it recorded its best opening-month attendance in 26 years, drawing about 400,000 during May.
• The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup registered a turnout of 34,028 on Sunday in New York for the high-profile match between India and Pakistan, setting a new record for cricket in the U.S.
• MLB drew a total of 108,956 for its two-game London Series between the Mets and Phillies, slightly below the comparable figure for a set of Cubs-Cardinals games in London last year, but still showing a strong energy given the league is trying to develop a foothold in the U.K., where baseball is not broadly ingrained in the local culture.

“I’d do it every year if we could,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “The people of England and this area have done a great job, treated us with class, and it’s been a great experience.”

Breaking New Ground

Many of these figures advance upon already-emerging, macro-level trends, such as the accelerating rise of women’s pro sports and the growing internationalization of many leagues based in the U.S. and Europe. The cricket figure, however, is arguably the most noteworthy.

The sport already enjoys a massive following in other parts of the world, particularly Asia, helping fuel several internet consumption records in recent years for important matches. But it’s a much less established sport in the U.S., and the India-Pakistan match was played in a temporary stadium built for the tournament and against a backdrop of heightened security due to potential threats from a pro-ISIS group.

The match completed without any public safety incident, but it still generated recriminations from fans back in Pakistan after the country lost to its top rival, following an upset defeat last week to the host U.S. team.

“It’s amazing. The atmosphere is great,” said Yankees special adviser Omar Minaya to The New York Times of the cricket tournament. “It’s like the World Baseball Classic, or the Dominican Baseball League.”

As the NBA inches toward the conclusion of its media-rights negotiations, the future of TNT Sports very much remains in limbo. However, even though not much has been confirmed about the financial plans in store for the sports division of Warner Bros. Discovery, some new reports are shedding light on what TNT Sports—which encompasses sports on the cable channels TNT, TBS, and truTV, and the streaming service Max—may look like without the NBA.

New Sports Incoming

Front Office Sports can confirm the multiple reports that TNT Sports has struck a deal to take over French Open broadcast rights in the U.S., which have been held by NBC Sports and the Tennis Channel, beginning next year. The TNT deal is said to be for 10 years and worth $650 million in total, sources told The Athletic. It would complement WBD’s tennis offerings across the pond, as the company also owns Eurosport, which has French Open rights in more than 50 countries.

But tennis would be another new sport for TNT Sports in the U.S., following the addition of some rights to the expanded College Football Playoff via a sublicensing deal with ESPN. In December, and in 2025, TNT Sports will air two first-round CFP games; in ’26, it will also show two CFP quarterfinal games. Financial terms of the CFP deal have not been released, but ESPN was said to have put a $25 million average value on the first-round games, and the network could be keeping all ad revenue from the playoff games on TNT Sports, according to Puck.

TNT Sports declined to comment on either the French Open or CFP reports when asked by FOS.

Portfolio Planning

WBD still has roughly $43 billion in debt stemming from its 2022 merger that CEO David Zaslav has to manage, and plenty of other expensive sports rights. Beyond the NBA, which has cost WBD some $1.2 billion per season under its current deal, TNT Sports also has billions of dollars annually tied to the NHL, MLB, and March Madness. WBD’s HBO also still produces several annual iterations of the NFL’s Hard Knocks series, among other sports content.