October 21, 2024

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MLB’s two most valuable clubs will meet in the World Series starting Friday. The Yankees and Dodgers play in huge markets, have rich histories, boast beloved stars, and benefit from passionate fan bases. It’s a best-case scenario for baseball and well-timed after last year’s matchup yielded record lows. The question is not whether viewership will jump but how high.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

MLB Got Dream World Series Matchup. How High Will Ratings Go? [[link removed]]

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Some dreams do come true.

The World Series matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers—coveted for years by many across the sport—is officially happening after Los Angeles clinched the National League pennant late Sunday to join New York in the Fall Classic [[link removed]].

The meeting, involving two of baseball’s most popular and successful teams, revives a World Series rivalry that happened 11 times between 1941 and 1981 to become the event’s most common matchup—but not since then. This year’s World Series will also involve the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the league’s two biggest stars sharing the sport’s most prominent stage, and is the climax of a scintillating postseason that has restored significant buzz to MLB’s most important month [[link removed]]. Game 1 is set for Friday at Dodger Stadium.

The question now before MLB and Fox Sports, which will air the World Series domestically, is how big the viewership can go now that the heavyweight battle between the Yankees and Dodgers is certain. There is a low base for the event, as last year’s meeting between the Rangers and Diamondbacks set a record for the least-watched World Series [[link removed]], with an average of 9.1 million.

It’s a virtual lock that Yankees-Dodgers will do much better, and other recent seasons have seen average World Series viewership generally hover between 11 million and 14 million. There have been three notable outliers in the last 15 years: the 2017 World Series between the Astros and Dodgers (18.9 million), 2016 with the Cubs and Cleveland (22.8 million), and 2009 between the Yankees and Phillies (19.3 million). The 2017 and 2016 World Series, however, each went the full seven games—which is enormously powerful in driving additional viewership—and the latter also involved Chicago breaking its famous 108-year championship drought. The six-game 2009 event, meanwhile, represented the Yankees’ most recent World Series appearance until this year.

More broadly, the overall U.S. television industry continues to experience unprecedented upheaval, driven heavily by cord-cutting and cord-nevering. The accelerating shunning of the traditional pay-TV model by consumers has left the number of subscribers with a cable or satellite subscription at 53.7 million [[link removed]], down by 12% from just a year ago and slightly more than half the level of 2014.

“Can this overcome some of the fracturing we’re seeing in the pay-TV market? I think so,” William Mao, Octagon SVP of global media rights consulting, tells Front Office Sports. “I’m bullish on this one. You’ve got the two top [U.S.] markets, these big teams, and big stars. If it’s competitive—and I think it will be—it’s just going to build and build. This is also going to be again on over-the-air television, which continues to grow and I think will help drive audience here.”

Mao predicted that with those factors, the Yankees-Dodgers World Series could surpass an average viewership of 20 million and challenge the 2016 numbers.

Not Just the U.S.

Domestic television, however, is far from the only World Series media story. Even with the anticipated U.S. viewership growth, numbers could be even larger in Japan, Ohtani’s home country. For some Division Series games, Japanese viewership of the Dodgers easily surpassed U.S. figures [[link removed]], despite an overall population about one-third as large.

With a 16-hour time difference between the U.S. West Coast and Japan, MLB playoff games typically air in the morning hours. To that end, Ohtani’s World Series debut in Game 1 will be happening Saturday morning in Tokyo—a factor that could help bring ratings there to the types of figures normally seen for late-stage NFL playoff games in the U.S.

ESPN+ Exclusive NFL Game Adds Intrigue to Shifting ‘MNF’ Slate [[link removed]]

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ESPN’s biggest—and wonkiest—NFL season ever continues with two games to close out Week 7, including the first exclusive streaming broadcast of Monday Night Football.

In the third of a record-four MNF doubleheaders this year [[link removed]], the Ravens and Buccaneers will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN, before Chargers-Cardinals will be shown solely on ESPN+, beginning at 9 p.m.

ESPN+ is one of four streaming platforms to have exclusive NFL game broadcasts [[link removed]] this season, and this marks the first prime-time game for the service, which has aired two exclusive Sunday morning game broadcasts from London in 2023 and 2022. Ratings for those games were not released, but last season’s Falcons-Jaguars contest was the most-watched ESPN+ event on record. It would not be a shocker for Los Angeles–Arizona to overtake that.

ManningCast is back Monday night on ESPN2, but viewers won’t get an NFL RedZone–style whiparound between the dueling games (even though Scott Hanson is scheduled to be one of the show’s guests!). The alternate telecast isn’t expected to show live game action of Chargers-Cardinals. Peyton and Eli Manning will focus primarily on the Ravens-Bucs matchup and could show highlights from the ESPN+ broadcast. After the game in Tampa concludes, the Mannings will transition to the ending of Los Angeles–Arizona—but only on ESPN+.

Baltimore–Tampa Bay is one of six MNF broadcasts recently added to ABC’s simulcasting schedule [[link removed]], which now includes 17 games. ABC and ESPN, both owned by Disney, will air a combined-record-25 NFL games this season, including two playoff matchups.

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From Fan to Phenom With Anthony Davis

Front Office Sports and Upper Deck have joined forces to celebrate the nostalgia of sports, shining a spotlight on the childhood inspirations, career influences, and life milestones of the world’s most notable athletes.

NBA superstar Anthony Davis [[link removed]] grew up admiring basketball legends and dreaming of playing in the league—now, he faces off against his childhood idols.

In the latest episode [[link removed]] of Athlete Archives, Davis opens up about his journey from being a young fan to becoming one of the game’s top players, sharing personal stories about the players who shaped his path and how surreal it feels to now sign autographs himself.

Watch the full episode [[link removed]].

Tiger and Rory Won’t Play in Opening Match of Their New Golf League TGL

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TGL, the hybrid virtual golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, will begin play without either of its cofounders on the course.

The first-of-its-kind indoor competition released its 15-match regular-season schedule Monday, and neither Woods’s Jupiter Links Golf Club nor McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf will tee it up on opening night, Jan. 7.

Instead, New York Golf Club is set to face The Bay Golf Club at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. New York is composed of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Cam Young. The Bay is headlined by Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark, and Min Woo Lee. Each of TGL’s six four-player teams will use only three golfers in each of its five matches throughout the regular season.

Woods and McIlroy both have homes in Jupiter, Fla., just a few miles away from the 1,500-seat SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, where all TGL matches will take place. Golfers will hit tee and approach shots into a simulator projected onto a 3,400-square-foot screen (64×53 feet), and play shots inside 50 yards at the 22,475-square-foot short game area, which has a green that can transform to create a variety of putts.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see one or both of Woods and McIlroy at the league’s debut match, even though they won’t be playing. A TGL spokesperson tells Front Office Sports that plans for the first match are still in development and will be disclosed at a later date.

Jupiter Links will play Los Angeles Golf Club in TGL’s second match Jan. 14, but whether Woods will be able to compete remains unknown. The 15-time major champion had back surgery in September. When asked about his availability, TGL pointed Front Office Sports to the PGA Tour’s statement that noted his announcement “did not include a timetable for his return to golf.”

Read more from FOS newsletter writer David Rumsey here [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Aryna Sabalenka ⬆ The 2024 US Open champion is back at World No. 1 in the WTA rankings, ending Iga Świątek’s 11-month reign despite neither playing last week. Both lost points for participating in fewer than six WTA 500-level events [[link removed]], but Świątek played in just two, while Sabalenka participated in four. Świątek, who has been off since the US Open due to changes in her coaching staff, has been openly critical of the tennis schedule [[link removed]].

WNBA referees ⬇ Sunday’s championship decider put the officials in the spotlight after years of complaints from coaches and players. With the Minnesota Lynx up two with five seconds left in regulation, a foul was called on Lynx forward Alanna Smith that gave the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart two free throws, which she sunk to send the game to overtime. The Liberty would go on to win the game and the franchise’s first title, and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after the game the win was “stolen” from them [[link removed]].

Fox ⬆ With the Yankees and Dodgers set to face off in the World Series, the network gets a two-for-one shot at viewers in the New York and Los Angeles markets Friday night. After Game 1 of Yankees-Dodgers airs on Fox, Rutgers-USC is scheduled to kick off at 11 p.m. ET, as part of the network’s new push into Friday night college football [[link removed]].

FIFA ⬇ The governing body has been urged by more than 100 professional women’s soccer players to end its sponsorship deal with oil giant Saudi Aramco. The players sent a letter to FIFA [[link removed]] suggesting the pact— believed to be worth $1 billion [[link removed]]—be replaced with “alternative sponsors whose values align with gender equality, human rights and the safe future of our planet.”

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Explore how AI is reshaping sports content in our upcoming webinar [[link removed]], Engaging Global Sports Fans With AI, presented by Magnifi and moderated by NBC Sports reporter and journalist Zora Stephenson.

This webinar will discuss how cutting-edge AI technologies enable sports leagues—from global giants like the NFL and NBA to emerging teams—to customize content for diverse audiences. Discover how AI can help expand your reach, deepen fan engagement, and maintain cultural relevance across borders.

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Register now [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Nike released an ad honoring the New York Liberty for winning the 2024 WNBA championship. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Lions kicker Jake Bates hit a 44-yard field goal to hand the Vikings their first loss of the season. Eighteen months ago, he was training to be a brick salesman and thought his football career was over [[link removed]]. The SEC will fine Texas $250,000 after fans threw debris onto the field during Saturday’s game against Georgia. Check out the scene [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Disney Continues to Slow Play Bob Iger’s Succession Plan [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Iger’s current contract expires at the end of 2026. Deshaun Watson’s Achilles Tear Doesn’t Solve Browns’ $92 Million Problem [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Watson tore his Achilles in Sunday’s game against the Bengals. Daily Fantasy Operators Sued for Illegally Offering Sports Betting in Massachusetts [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]PrizePicks paid $15 million to New York regulators for a similar reason. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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