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Afternoon Edition

February 19, 2025

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Hockey’s USA-Canada 4 Nations game on Saturday didn’t outdraw Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. But it came close, and that’s part of a multiyear decline for the NBA showcase. We explore the dip and the league’s plans for reversing it.

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

NBA All-Star Game Ratings: Second-Least-Watched Ever, Down 13% [[link removed]]

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The NBA All-Star Game brought a new, tournament-style format—but it wasn’t enough to entice viewers to tune in.

The midseason showcase averaged 4.7 million viewers across TNT platforms, down 13% compared to last year, according to FOS media and entertainment reporter Ryan Glasspiegel. It’s the second-least-watched NBA All-Star Game, ahead only of the 2023 All-Star Game (4.6 million).

The last three NBA All-Star Games have all averaged under six million viewers, the only three in NBA history that have not breached that threshold.

Three of the league’s biggest stars (LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Anthony Edwards) did not play in Sunday’s tournament. When stars are unable to participate, the NBA normally brings in a replacement player—as they did with Kyrie Irving and Trae Young, who replaced Anthony Davis and Antetokounmpo, respectively. But James and Edwards were both late scratches.

The league also competed against “SNL 50,” the special 50th anniversary episode of Saturday Night Live. NBC, which owns the rights to NBA All-Star weekend starting next season, drew 14.8 million viewers for “SNL 50” [[link removed]]—202% more than its usual viewership this season.

The NBA’s new format was a contentious topic throughout Sunday’s tournament [[link removed]]. While the players competed in the games more than they have in recent years, Draymond Green rated the new format a “zero” out of 10.

FOS reported Sunday that there are already discussions of potential changes to All-Star weekend [[link removed]], including the addition of a one-on-one tournament—and many big names have publicly expressed interest in participating.

Saturday Night Blunder

NBA All-Star Saturday Night also fell in the ratings, averaging 3.4 million viewers, the least-watched iteration of the event. Last year’s event drew 4.57 million viewers, carried by the three-point challenge between Sabrina Ionescu and Steph Curry.

However, just days before All-Star Saturday Night, The Athletic reported that the event would not continue this year [[link removed]]. The league originally envisioned a revamped version of the shootout that featured Klay Thompson and Caitlin Clark, but the WNBA star declined to participate this year [[link removed]].

The NBA’s Saturday Night contests were overshadowed by the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off match between the U.S. and Canada, which drew 4.4 million viewers on ABC [[link removed]].

The highlight of the NBA’s Saturday showcase was Mac McClung’s Slam Dunk Contest performance. McClung secured his record third title in a row by performing four dunks that received perfect scores—cementing his legacy as one of the greatest dunkers of all time. The Magic guard has earned $310,000 in the last three years from winning the contest [[link removed]], nearly three times as much as the guaranteed money he’s received in the NBA, per Spotrac.

However, despite McClung’s performance—and a worthy runner-up finish from Stephon Castle—the lack of star power certainly factored into the record-low ratings.

SPONSORED BY GAINBRIDGE

Women’s History Month Takes the Track

Gainbridge [[link removed]]®, a Group 1001 company, is celebrating Women’s History Month by spotlighting all 800+ women employees on two racecars competing March 2.

Each employee’s name will be featured on the rear wing of Colton Herta’s [[link removed]] No. 26 Gainbridge Honda at the IndyCar season opener and on the hood of Justin Haley’s [[link removed]] No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at NASCAR’s race in Austin.

In collaboration with Andretti Global [[link removed]] and Spire Motorsports [[link removed]], Gainbridge® is bringing these special designs to life, reflecting the company’s commitment to supporting women across the sports world. Over 40% of Gainbridge’s sports sponsorship dollars go toward women’s sports, backing ambassadors like Caitlin Clark, Billie Jean King, and Annika Sörenstam.

This Women’s History Month, Gainbridge [[link removed]]® is taking the celebration to the track.

NFL Exploits Loophole to Play Another Friday Night Game in Brazil [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NFL is returning to Brazil to help start the 2025 regular season, and again is taking advantage of a legal loophole to make it happen.

The league said Wednesday that it will play a game on a Friday—Sept. 5 in São Paulo—following a debut effort there last year with a game between the Packers and Eagles. This time, the Chargers will be the designated home team in Brazil, but the formula to play a rare Friday NFL game [[link removed]] is the same as last year.

The NFL is bound by the terms [[link removed]] of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which is aimed in part at protecting high school and college football and precludes pro football games from happening on Fridays and Saturdays during the regular seasons of those lower levels.

The applicable window of that federal act, however, begins with the second Friday of September, extending to the second Saturday in December. The Brazil game is situated in front of that and again sets up a blockbuster opening week for the NFL that will include primetime games on Sept. 4, 5, 7, and 8. Aiding that effort is the Sept. 1 placement of Labor Day on the 2025 calendar, the earliest it can be.

Beginning that run of Week 1 games will be the kickoff event in Philadelphia [[link removed]] with the Super Bowl LIX champion Eagles.

NFL games each of the past two seasons on Black Friday have fallen within the protective window of the Sports Broadcasting Act, but there is a further loophole there. Those contests started at 3 p.m. ET—ahead of a prohibition of airing “all or a substantial part” of pro football games on Fridays after 6 p.m. during the high school and college regular seasons.

Broadcast plans for the 2025 Brazil game have not been finalized. Last year’s Packers-Eagles matchup was streamed exclusively on NBCUniversal’s Peacock, drawing an average audience of 14.2 million [[link removed]].

The Bigger Global Picture

The Brazil game is part of an expansive NFL international slate for 2025 [[link removed]] that also includes two games at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, an additional London game at Wembley Stadium, another in Berlin, and first-time trips for the league in the regular season to Spain and Ireland.

Amid that growing ambition, however, Brazil is a key priority for the league, as it looks to take advantage of the fast-growing fandom for American football in South America. The NFL says Brazil has more than 36 million people who identify as NFL fans, representing the league’s second-largest international fan base after Mexico.

Daytona 500 Most-Watched Over the Weekend, Despite Rain Delays [[link removed]]

Daytona Beach News-Journal

The Daytona 500’s TV ratings suffered once again from bad weather for the first race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, but the Great American Race still produced the most-watched sports event of the crowded Presidents’ Day weekend.

Fox drew an average of 6.76 million viewers for Sunday’s race, which was delayed several hours by rainstorms in Florida. William Byron won his second consecutive Daytona 500 after taking the lead following a final-lap wreck.

Last year’s race, which was postponed to Monday, averaged 5.96 million viewers on Fox. In 2023, when the Daytona 500 ran as scheduled on a Sunday, Fox’s audience was 8.17 million viewers. Sunday’s race peaked at 7.95 million viewers shortly after it began, highlighting the ratings potential had there not been delays.

The delays meant the Daytona 500’s conclusion went head-to-head with the NBA All-Star Game, which averaged 4.7 million viewers [[link removed]] Sunday night across TNT Sports platforms. Saturday night’s U.S.-Canada game in the NHL’s heralded 4 Nations Face-Off averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC [[link removed]].

This is the first season of new seven-year, $7.7 billion media-rights deals [[link removed]] for NASCAR with Fox, NBC Sports, Amazon, and TNT Sports.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

With rain in the forecast, NASCAR had moved the Daytona 500 start time from 2:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET. The race began shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday but was halted 11 laps in. President Donald Trump was in attendance for the race’s start but left before its conclusion.

Shortly before 6 p.m., the race restarted, only to suffer another brief delay. Finally, around 6:20, the Daytona 500 resumed and ran without any further stoppage. Byron took the checkered flag at roughly 9:37 p.m.

Weather has been a big issue for the Daytona 500 in recent years. The 2021 edition finished after midnight following delays, and the 2020 race was also postponed to Monday.

A Positive Trend

A bright spot for NASCAR over the weekend was strong ratings for the second-tier Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona. The CW, which is also in its first full season airing NASCAR races, averaged 1.8 million viewers for Saturday’s race, marking the most-watched Xfinity Series broadcast since the Talladega race in April 2022.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Push

The Palm Beach Post

Tiger Woods ⬆⬇ The legendary golfer’s TGL team, Jupiter Links Golf Club, lost to New York Golf Club on Monday night to fall to 1–2 on the season, which began last month [[link removed]]. But with the match already decided, a gaffe from Woods produced a viral moment [[link removed]] as the league cofounder misheard the yardage on his 199-yard approach shot and hit a wedge—not nearly enough club—that barely sent his ball only halfway to the virtual target at SoFi Center. “You said 99 yards!” Woods exclaimed after realizing his error.

NFL Game Pass ⬆ Paid subscribers of the international streaming service on DAZN—effectively an NFL Sunday Ticket–like product outside of the U.S.—grew by 23% this past season, and free users increased by 47% compared to the 2023–2024 season. NFL Game Pass costs between $125 and $180 for the full season, depending on the market.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ⬆⬇ The NBA MVP favorite has parted ways with Wasserman to serve as his own agent for basketball-related matters. The Thunder star is in the third year of a five-year, $179.3 million contract and is eligible to sign a four-year, $294 million contract this offseason.

Monaco Grand Prix ⬆ Formula One is considering adding extra mandatory pit stops for the iconic race as soon as this year. The race, which will be moved from May to June starting in 2026, is perhaps the most prestigious on the calendar, but it has struggled to bring much excitement in recent years due to a lack of overtakes.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

The Consistency of Change

The Future of Sports virtual summit returns, and this time we’ll be unpacking the transformational shift in the landscape of college athletics over the last year.

Join us [[link removed]] March 5 at 1 p.m. ET for Future of Sports: Sea Change in College Sports, where we will sit down with leaders from various conferences as well as power players in NIL and hear directly from athletic departments.

This three-part event will discuss the changes in NIL, conference realignment, and the new rules of recruiting.

Register now [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Check out [[link removed]] how the Daytona 500 looked from Cosm, the sports viewing experience akin to the Sphere in Las Vegas. Saquon Barkley gifted each of his offensive linemen with a truckload of Bud Light after the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Take a look [[link removed]?]. Vice released a docuseries on Rick Pitino as he tries to end St. John’s 25-year drought without an NCAA tournament win. Watch him [[link removed]] attempt to fire up the Red Storm. Editors’ Picks Unrivaled Draws Biggest Ratings Yet for One-on-One Semis and Finals [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]377,000 viewers watched the competition across TNT and truTV Friday night. DOJ Files More Charges for Burglaries of Mahomes, Other Athletes [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The men are linked to break-ins of Mahomes, Kelce, Burrow, and others. Georgia Baseball Player Latest to Sue NCAA for More Eligibility [[link removed]]by Austin Green [[link removed]]Goldstein’s suit is one of several challenging NCAA eligibility rules. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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