October 29, 2024

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This World Series is setting extremely high marks in two key ways: one expected, another a welcome surprise.

The Fall Classic’s Japanese ratings are awe-inspiring, largely a product of the presence of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Its viewership among the 18- to 34-year-old demographic might be even more noteworthy. The Dodgers are in position to sweep after Monday night’s Game 3 win, but for the time being, are MLB’s extensive efforts to add young viewers finally bearing fruit?

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

World Series Sets Japanese Records; Young U.S. Viewers Up 93% [[link removed]]

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Japan continues to post historic viewership numbers for Major League Baseball’s postseason, setting two more audience records to begin the World Series and further showcasing the league’s accelerating international growth.

After the home country of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani registered average game totals of 12.9 million [[link removed]] and 12.1 million [[link removed]] during key parts of the National League Division Series and NL Championship Series, respectively, Games 1 and 2 of the Fall Classic performed even better.

The World Series opener between the Dodgers and Yankees drew an average Japanese audience of 14.4 million. That figure was then beaten by Game 2’s 15.9 million, setting a new mark for MLB’s most-watched playoff game there. Those totals have been surpassed by only the 2024 MLB season opener in Seoul between the Dodgers and Cubs, which was a prime-time game in Japan.

Conversely, the World Series games have been airing in the morning in Japan given the 16-hour time difference between that country and the U.S. West Coast.

The Game 2 total beat the U.S. average of 13.8 million [[link removed]], despite a Japanese population roughly one-third the size of the U.S. Game 1’s figure in Japan slightly trailed the American average of 15.2 million, which was the best World Series opener since 2017 [[link removed]].

Ohtani, the biggest figure in a star-laden World Series [[link removed]], is the principal driver in these numbers, and he was in the lineup for Game 3, leading off in his customary designated hitter slot, after sustaining a partial shoulder dislocation in Game 2 [[link removed]].

Reaching a Younger Audience

MLB, meanwhile, continues to make significant strides with younger audiences domestically. While the World Series viewership average thus far is up by 63% compared to last year’s, that increase pales compared to the 93% bump in viewers ages 18 to 34. That spike is the largest seen thus far for the event in any age demographic. The league’s social media platforms additionally have registered more than 345 million views through Game 2, a figure up by 229% from the comparable games to start the 2023 World Series.

League commissioner Rob Manfred previously said global growth and heightened engagement with younger fans were two of four key business initiatives going into the World Series [[link removed]], joining improved showcasing of individual star players and making baseball more of a national sport.

“When you get a stage like this, it’s an opportunity to step forward,” Manfred said.

College Football Playoff Expansion Already Heating Up Off-Field Drama [[link removed]]

Syndication: Hanover Evening Sun

Nine weeks into the first season with an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, the new format is not only giving more teams postseason hopes, but also making things more interesting off the field than ever before.

The first official CFP rankings of the season will be released on Nov. 5, but drama has been building already as four different teams have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll at one point or another.

This weekend, ESPN’s and Fox’s rival pregame shows will broadcast from the same campus for the second time this fall as both College GameDay and Big Noon Kickoff travel to Happy Valley ahead of No. 4 Ohio State visiting No. 3 Penn State. Fox airs the game at noon ET, just as the network did when both TV programs were in Ann Arbor around Texas-Michigan in September.

While Fox will surely be expecting a big TV rating, it is ABC that has the three most-watched games of the college football season [[link removed]] so far, thanks to Disney’s newly expanded SEC media-rights deal

The Prime Factor

Colorado’s 34–21 win over Cincinnati pushed the Buffaloes to 6–2 on the season, making the school bowl-eligible for the first time under head coach Deion Sanders. Colorado is also now ranked for the first time in 2024, sitting at No. 23 and fourth place in the Big 12. That’s keeping Coach Prime’s squad in the mix—even if still big underdogs—for a spot in the conference championship game, where a win would seal an automatic berth in the CFP.

Through seven games, Colorado was averaging 3.84 million viewers per contest [[link removed]], down 49% from the same time frame last season, according to Sports Media Watch. (Ratings for the Cincinnati game are not yet available.) But continued on-field success should make the Buffaloes an intriguing watch for the rest of the season. At the very least, one lucky bowl game is guaranteed to benefit from the madness and hype that will surround Sanders & Co. for a postseason game.

Army-Navy in a New Light

Despite Navy’s 51–14 loss to Notre Dame, there is still a possibility the Midshipmen could play service academy rival Army in the American Athletic Conference championship on Dec. 6—eight days before the schools’ annual neutral location meetup—with a potential CFP berth on the line. CFP executive director Rich Clark has said the playoff committee would not factor in the result [[link removed]] of the annual Army-Navy game, because the CFP will release its final results before that Dec. 14 matchup.

No. 21 Army and now unranked Navy remained tied atop the AAC standings with Tulane. Boise State is ranked No. 15 and is currently the biggest competition for the Group of 5 CFP bid, should the Broncos ultimately win the Mountain West.

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NBA Opening Week Ratings Drop Due to Star Absences [[link removed]]

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The NBA’s season openers on TNT had a slight uptick over last year’s, but the next two days were a dud for the league.

Tuesday’s doubleheader saw single-digit increases for both games, including a 7% bump relative to last year for the nightcap featuring the historic father-son debut of LeBron James and Bronny James Jr. [[link removed]] The NBA’s opening day also benefited from a lack of competition this year, as last season’s opening games aired against Game 7 of MLB’s National League Championship Series.

But ESPN’s two-game NBA slate Wednesday and TNT’s follow-up Thursday both saw double-digit declines in viewership [[link removed]'s%20NBA%20opening%20week%20doubleheader,but%20up%205%25%20from%202022.], according to Sports Media Watch.

Wednesday’s doubleheader—Bucks at Sixers followed by Suns at Clippers—averaged 1.6 million viewers, down 42% from last year. The Sixers played without stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, and the Clippers were missing Kawhi Leonard. The shorthanded teams, predictably, lost their opening games—and an overtime thriller and novelty of The Wall in Los Angeles [[link removed]] was not enough to bring in a comparable audience to 2023.

However, the two-game average is up 5% versus 2022 as last season saw a massive bump in viewership driven by the NBA debut of Victor Wembanyama.

A viewership bump for a rookie prodigy’s first game and subsequent drop the following year was also seen in the NHL. ESPN’s three-day slate to open the NHL season on Oct. 8 was down 39% from last year—when one of the games featured was the debut of 2023 No. 1 pick Connor Bedard.

Wembanyama and the Spurs opened their 2024 campaign against Luka Dončić and the Mavericks as the first of ESPN’s two-game Thursday slate, drawing 1.45 million viewers. That number is down 29% compared to the same window last year, which was Sixers-Bucks, the debut of Damian Lillard in Milwaukee. The viewership numbers for Thursday’s nightcap between the Thunder and Nuggets were not immediately made available, per Sports Media Watch.

While the NBA’s first three days dodged competition from the World Series, the third day did compete with the NFL. The Thursday Night Football game between the Vikings and Rams averaged 12.6 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video, up 11% from last year.

TRIVIA

Test your skills in our new daily sports trivia game [[link removed]]! We’re giving our newsletter subscribers a hint for today’s question: Derek Jeter is one of the answers in the top five.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Why More Than Half the WNBA Fired Their Head Coaches

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More than half of the WNBA is officially without a head coach. The Connecticut Sun parted ways with Stephanie White on Monday afternoon, becoming the seventh WNBA franchise with a vacancy. Front Office Sports reporter Colin Salao joins the show to discuss the reasons for the open positions and why the recent TV deal is a big part of this.

Plus, former Knicks GM Scott Perry joins the show to discuss the latest behind the scenes in the NBA, including Bronny James going to the G League in November.

Watch, listen, and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]].

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Conversation Starters The Dodgers have a standing proposal for an aerial gondola that could transport fans to Dodger Stadium and hopefully improve the notorious Los Angeles traffic. The cost has ballooned to $500 million. Learn more [[link removed]]. MLB legend Reggie Jackson told Front Office Sports Today he made a higher bid than John Fisher for the Oakland Athletics in 2005. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Fubo CEO David Gandler joined FOS editor-in-chief Dan Roberts on The FOS Interview to explain why Fubo is suing the Venu Sports trio of Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Team Fights for Title As Lawsuit Remains [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Tyler Reddick won the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NIL Director Is the Trendy New Job in College Sports. But the Role Is Chaos [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Athletic departments nationwide are hiring for what’s become their most important position. MLBPA Chief Criticizes Teams’ Pitcher Usage, A’s and Rays Interim Stadiums [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The Rays’ facility issues add to existing uncertainty surrounding the shift of the A’s to Sacramento. Question of the Day

Are you excited about the 12-team College Football Playoff, or did you prefer the four-team system?

I like the 12-team format [[link removed]] I preferred the four-team playoff [[link removed]]

Monday’s result: Only 12% of respondents said their favorite team taking a 2-0 series deficit would deter them from buying a ticket to the following games.

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