Score one for baseball. 

The momentum from the star-studded World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees has winnowed somewhat as Game 3 on Monday drew an average audience of 13.6 million across all Fox Sports platforms, slightly less than totals for the opening two games. But perhaps more meaningfully, Major League Baseball prevailed in its only head-to-head competition with the NFL during the World Series, as a concurrent Monday Night Football game between the Giants and Steelers drew an average of 13.4 million on ESPN and ABC. 

The average viewership for Game 3, a 63% increase from the comparable game last year, trailed the draws of 15.2 million for Game 1 and 13.8 million for Game 2. Japan viewership, which has been historically strong during the MLB postseason, has not yet been released for Game 3. 

Notably, the game was also Fox’s best Monday prime-time telecast in more than a decade, beating everything on the network in that slot since Game 5 of the 2013 World Series between the Red Sox and Cardinals. Through three games, the 2024 World Series is averaging 14.4 million viewers and it remains on track as the event’s best total since 2017.

For many years, the World Series went up against Sunday Night Football, and more occasionally MNF, and often had trouble competing against the unparalleled dominance of the NFL. In 2022, MLB tweaked the Fall Classic schedule to avoid playing on a Sunday altogether. But thanks in large part to this high-profile baseball matchup, the tides have meaningfully turned—at least for now. 

The Dodgers did not complete a sweep Tuesday night, but still have a three-games-to-one lead over the Yankees in the World Series after New York claimed a 11-4 Game 4 win. With the offensive outbreak, the Yankees avoided the first World Series sweep since the Giants’ defeat of the Tigers in 2012. 

The latest viewership figures also add to a World Series that has driven record-level merchandise sales. 

Competitive Night

The World Series and MNF games each were broadcast on a night of particularly heightened competition for sports fans thanks to 2024’s lone sports equinox involving the major men’s U.S. pro sports leagues. 

In New York, that confluence was one of sorrow as it became the first metro area to lose MLB, NFL, NBA, and MLS games on the same day as the Yankees, Giants, Knicks, and NYCFC all fell. The Sabres, which are not part of the New York metro area but frequently have fans in common with those other teams, also lost Monday.  

The New York market delivered an 11.6 rating for Game 3 of the World Series, representing a percentage of the market’s TV households, and a 29 share, the percentage of TVs in use tuned to a specific program. Comparable, market-specific figures were not released for MNF.

The Jets’ reign on NFL prime-time broadcasts is coming to an end soon—but not before two more national TV spotlights for the 2–6 AFC East team.

Thursday night’s matchup against the Texans is the fifth prime-time game on New York’s schedule, with a sixth and final one scheduled on Nov. 17 against the Colts on Sunday Night Football.

Sunday’s loss to the Patriots extended New York’s losing streak to five games, despite the team having a healthy Aaron Rodgers and recently adding three-time All-Pro wideout Davante Adams.

Worth the Gamble?

In May, NFL VP of broadcast planning Mike North said he felt like the Jets “kind of owe us one,” after going 7–10 last season in the middle of the national TV spotlight following Rodgers tearing his Achilles in Week 1.

So, has New York delivered? The Jets are 1–3 in prime-time appearances so far, and TV ratings have been a mixed bag: 

• Week 1: At 49ers (Monday Night Football), 20.5 million
• Week 3: Patriots (Thursday Night Football), 13.37 million
• Week 6: Bills (MNF), 17.3 million
• Week 7: At Steelers (SNF), 17.64 million

Every game had a smaller TV audience than the comparable game in the same window in 2023, but the MNF appearances come with some caveats. The losses to San Francisco and Buffalo were each the second-most-watched MNF games in their respective weeks since 2006, down only to comparable games last season.

The Rodgers Dilemma

Rodgers is in the second season of a three-year, $112.5 million contract that includes $75 million in guaranteed money. If the Jets decide to release the quarterback in 2025, the team will take a salary cap hit of $49 million. New York would likely feel the impact of Rodgers’s contract for several years, assuming it will spread that dead money out over multiple seasons.

Bronny James Jr. is headed to the G League—but not until the end of the Lakers’ ongoing road trip. The trip happens to include a potential homecoming for the James family.

ESPN reported Friday that the younger James is expected to begin fluctuating between the active roster and the South Bay Lakers, the team’s G League affiliate, after their road trip concludes on Nov. 6. The timing aligns with the opening of the G League season on Nov. 8. 

“The plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since Day One. [GM] Rob [Pelinka] and I have talked about that. LeBron’s talked about that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said ahead of the team’s win Friday over the Suns.

Cleveland Homecoming 

James Jr. has not played since going scoreless in under three minutes during the Lakers’ season opener last Tuesday—when he and LeBron James became the first father-son duo to play together in NBA history.

The Lakers, who are in the middle of a six-game stretch away from Crypto.com Arena, visit the Cavaliers on Wednesday. The game—the only time the Lakers visit Cleveland this season—presents another opportunity for a special on-court moment for the father-son duo, despite it not being a nationally televised contest.

Lakers star LeBron James played 11 seasons for the Cavaliers, and he was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, about 40 miles from Cleveland. His son Bronny was born in Akron in October 2004, weeks before LeBron James started his second season with the Cavaliers.

While many have celebrated the historic achievement of the father-son duo, others including former ESPN host Michelle Beadle have referred to it as a “manufactured” moment.