The White Sox are poised to make an ugly form of MLB history, and it could hardly come at a worse time for the franchise in the midst of several major business initiatives.

The club, 31–104 entering Friday’s game against the Mets, is on pace to lose 125 games this season, a figure that would surpass the league’s modern-era record of 120 set by the 1962 Mets. The White Sox have lost seven straight games, 11 of their last 12, and 37 of their last 41. During July and early August, the team also dropped 21 consecutive games to tie an American League record. 

But beyond just performing on the field at a historically poor level, the White Sox are now fighting uphill to build support across multiple parts of their business operations. Among the team’s current projects:

• A new ballpark: The White Sox announced in January plans to pursue a new stadium closer to downtown Chicago. Part of that initiative was to draw into a local tax, and do so in collaboration with the Bears, also seeking a new facility. But just as the NFL team has run into significant political obstacles in recent weeks, there is little public momentum currently behind the White Sox’ ballpark efforts.
• A new regional sports network: Less than five months after unveiling its facility aspirations, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf confirmed plans to separate from NBC Sports Chicago and form the Chicago Sports Network, or CHSN for short. The new regional sports network will air the White Sox starting next year, but begin this fall with the NBA’s Bulls, also owned by Reinsdorf, and the NHL’s Blackhawks. Development on CHSN has quietly continued this summer. But beyond the baseball team’s epic struggles, the Bulls have not won a playoff series since 2015 and have been in the postseason just once in the last seven years, and the Blackhawks have an active non-playoff streak going into its fifth season. 
• Ticket sales: Home attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field (above) for the White Sox is down by more than 18% this season, and despite operating in the No. 3 U.S. media market, the team’s per-game average of slightly more than 17,000 is the fourth worst in the league. That beats only the Rays, Marlins, and A’s—all clubs that have perennially struggled in this area. On Wednesday afternoon, the White Sox completed a game suspended by weather the previous evening. The actual turnout for those final innings numbered only in the dozens, recalling the sparse atmosphere at many MLB games during parts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On SeatGeek, MLB’s official ticket resale marketplace, seats for Friday’s White Sox game are available for as little as $7, with seats for some home games in September selling for $1 each. Of the White Sox’ final 27 games on the schedule, only nine are against teams currently with losing records.

College football heads into its first full slate of Saturday games with more programs and fan bases than ever before believing they are a part of the national championship conversation. 

This is all thanks to the expanded College Football Playoff that is tripling from four teams to 12. ESPN, which signed a $7.8 billion deal this year to keep CFP rights through 2032, and TNT Sports, which will be sublicensing some playoff games, are no doubt hoping for juicy postseason matchups come December. But almost every college football broadcaster, including other top dogs like CBS, Fox, and NBC, should end up benefiting along the way, too.

“My perspective is that the CFP will create additional continuity and storylines throughout the season, and that will generate increased viewership,” Lee Berke, a sports media consultant who works with dozens of clients across the NCAA and professional leagues, tells Front Office Sports. “College football up until now has focused on rivalries and undefeated seasons. Expanding the playoff will bring more teams into playoff contention, and when that happens, more fans will watch.”

Can Fox Sports Sustain Success?

Last season, Fox’s Big Noon Saturday matchup was the most-watched TV window in college football, boosted by the season-high 19 million viewers who watched Michigan beat Ohio State in late November. Here were the top three weekly windows in 2023:

• Fox Big Noon Saturday: 6.74 million viewers
• SEC on CBS: 6.73 million viewers
• ABC Saturday prime time: 4.11 million viewers

This fall, ABC and ESPN are taking over the top SEC matchup of the week from CBS, which will air more Big Ten games in the second season of that conference’s seven-year, $7 billion deals with CBS, Fox, and NBC. ESPN still has ACC rights, and shares rights to the new 16-team Big 12 with Fox.

Nationwide Buzz

The expectation for more fan interest during the regular season is shared by many of college football’s most influential voices. “I think it makes every Saturday even more exciting,” first-year CFP executive director Richard Clark told the Phoenix Business Journal this week. 

Power 4 conference champions receive automatic bids and first-round playoff byes, which could turn previously inconsequential games into must-see TV. “What you’re going to have is a lot more elimination-type games,” On3 college football insider Andy Staples said on the Pardon My Take podcast. “Like the Big 12, any game that affects who gets into the Big 12 championship game is a playoff elimination game. And that could be four games a week in November.”

ESPN already saw its most-watched Week 0 matchup in five years, with five million viewers tuning in to Georgia Tech’s upset of No. 10 Florida State in Ireland. On Saturday, ABC gets three matchups between ranked teams: No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 1 Georgia, No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 20 Texas A&M, and No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU.