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Morning Edition

June 3, 2025

The 2025 NBA Finals between the Pacers and Thunder feature two small-market teams, little national star power, and lopsided odds—setting the stage for what could be one of the least-watched championship series in league history.

— Colin Salao [[link removed]], Annie Costabile [[link removed]], and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

History Shows Pacers vs. Thunder May Draw Record-Low Ratings [[link removed]]

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

History shows that several ingredients lead to a highly rated NBA Finals: big-market teams, marketable superstar players, and a competitive series. Unfortunately, the 2025 NBA Finals between the Pacers and Thunder [[link removed]] don’t appear to have any of those ingredients, even with league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the fold.

Indiana and Oklahoma City are two of the smallest U.S. television markets in the NBA [[link removed]], according to Nielsen. Indianapolis is the 25th-largest market in the country and 23rd of 29 NBA teams (excluding Toronto), while Oklahoma City is 47th in the U.S. and third to last in the league, only ahead of New Orleans and Memphis.

Series between two relatively small markets tend to draw lower ratings. Since 2000, the two lowest-rated championship series, excluding those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, were in 2003 between the Spurs and New Jersey Nets (9.86 million) and in 2007 between the Spurs and Cavaliers (9.29 million).

San Antonio is the No. 31 market in the country and Cleveland is No. 19. New Jersey isn’t listed, though they get a bite from big markets in New York (No. 1) and Philadelphia (No. 5). There is a reason, however, that the franchise moved to Brooklyn in 2012.

The Thunder and Pacers have both been in the Finals this century, and drew strong ratings, but it helped that their opponents played in large or medium markets that had the league’s biggest names. Indiana faced the Lakers (No. 2 market) with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 (17.4 million), while the Thunder faced the Heat (No. 18 market) led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in 2012 (16.9 million). Oklahoma City also had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden at the time.

Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t have the same viewership pull as those stars, as evidenced by the 5.59 million viewership average of the Thunder’s five-game Western Conference finals series against the Timberwolves, down 17% from last year. The games were also mostly blowouts, as four of five were decided by at least 15 points and three by more than 25 points.

The Pacers aren’t expected to do better. Oklahoma City entered the Minnesota series with -375 odds to win [[link removed]], while the Thunder enter the Finals as -750 favorites [[link removed]], tied for the sixth-most-lopsided Finals when compared with data from Sports Odds History [[link removed]].

The series isn’t expected to be a long one, either. The best odds for an exact series score prediction are for Oklahoma City to win in five games (+225), followed by a Thunder sweep (+290).

Indiana, however, has defied the odds for most of its playoff run, winning consecutive series in which it was not favored and didn’t have home court advantage. The team could make it a series like in 2000, when the Lakers were -800 favorites but the Pacers still stretched the series to six games.

If Indiana can steal one game in Oklahoma City, this series could become significantly more compelling. But based on historical data, the NBA should expect a viewership dip for the 2025 NBA Finals.

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ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro Joins Tuned In

Tuned In [[link removed]], Front Office Sports’s media franchise, led by senior media reporter Mike McCarthy as well as media and entertainment reporter Ryan Glasspiegel, appears across FOS platforms through editorial coverage, social storytelling, and newsletters.

Last year, Tuned In came to life as a single-day event [[link removed]] with the biggest newsmakers in sports media. This September, Tuned In will return to New York City.

The event will feature intimate discussions with leaders in the sports media space—from athletes and on-air talent to media moguls and league executives.

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro is set to join the likes of Adam Silver, Jessica Berman, and Brian Rolapp, among others.

Register now [[link removed]] to join the exclusive conversation.

Nijaree Canady’s $1 Million Arm Slays Softball Favorite Oklahoma [[link removed]]

The Oklahoman

In softball, there is no greater Goliath than Oklahoma.

The Sooners were in pursuit of their fifth consecutive NCAA championship this season on Monday night in the Women’s College World Series semifinals in Oklahoma City when they met their David.

Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 3-2 after Lauren Allred’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh secured a walk-off win and the first Red Raiders trip to the WCWS Finals.

The steps Texas Tech took to get this far started with the signing of starting pitcher Nijaree Canady last July.

Canady transferred to Texas Tech after two seasons at Stanford. She made waves when she secured the richest NIL deal in the history of the sport, signing for $1,050,024—according to a report from ESPN [[link removed]]—courtesy of the school’s NIL collective Matador Club.

The two-time NFCA Pitcher of the Year had only allowed one earned run during the entire WCWS before giving up a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to Oklahoma’s Abby Dayton. Canady gave up five hits, walked one batter, and struck out eight in Monday night’s game.

Canady accumulated 300 strikeouts on the season with her fourth of the night against Oklahoma.

Earlier in the day, Texas defeated Tennessee 2-0 to punch its ticket to the Finals. This is the Longhorns’ third time making it to the championship series in the last four years. They lost to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024.

When Texas Tech and Texas meet to start their series on June 4, it’ll be the first in-state championship series in the history of the WCWS.

EXCLUSIVE

Inside ‘Inside the NBA’ Transition to ESPN

Consternation has surrounded the future of Inside the NBA, with prominent figures like Bill Simmons speculating that the legendary TNT show would change once licensed by ESPN. But sources tell FOS there are no plans to change the show, and it will continue to provide postgame coverage despite other ESPN programming. Read Michael McCarthy’s story [[link removed]] for much more on ESPN’s Inside the NBA plans.

For all of our sports media news and analysis, you can subscribe to the twice-weekly “Tuned In” newsletter [[link removed]].

Publicly Owned Packers Make a Rare Leadership Change [[link removed]]

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

A major leadership change for the Packers is unfolding, opening up a critical new era for a unique organization that is one of the most popular and influential in sports.

The only publicly owned franchise in the NFL has set a July 25 date for its annual shareholders meeting at Lambeau Field, during which Ed Policy will formally become the team’s new chairman, president, and CEO. Policy, currently the Packers’ COO and general counsel, will succeed the outgoing Mark Murphy, who next month will turn 70 and reach a mandatory retirement age.

The transition has been planned for roughly a year and is aimed at being a continuity move, at least as much as possible. The shift, however, arrives as Green Bay just drew an attendance of 600,000 for the 2025 NFL Draft [[link removed]], tied for the event’s second-largest crowd, and the Packers remain keenly interested in keeping Green Bay as a destination for major league events.

Policy’s tenure will almost certainly include opt-outs of the league’s current TV contracts [[link removed]] in 2029 and 2030, as well as negotiations with the NFL Players Association on a new labor deal—two events that will greatly shape the team’s future finances.

Policy, the son of former 49ers and Browns executive Carmen Policy, also played a key role in Titletown, the team’s mixed-use development and entertainment complex adjacent to Lambeau Field, and the Packers remain keenly interested in continuing to expand that.

“This is the absolute best job in sports,” the younger Policy said last year when the transition plan was first established. “We are the stewards of the most iconic and unique organization in all of professional sports. … We are the people’s team, and I love being a part of it.”

In advance of that annual meeting, the Packers are expected to make their customary financial report, and another set of figures at or near record levels remains quite possible given the ongoing growth of the league overall and the franchise specifically. Last year, the team said it generated $654 million in revenue [[link removed]] for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, an all-time high for the team, and $60.1 million in operating profit.

International Flavor

One of the bigger changes likely to occur under Policy is a heightened global presence for the Packers and the team’s brand. Green Bay was among the last in the NFL to join the league’s Global Markets Program, gaining rights in late March to Germany, Ireland, and the U.K.

During much of Murphy’s tenure of more than 17 years, the Packers did not show significant interest in playing internationally or doing business abroad—in part because of the disproportionately heavy impact any lost home game would have on the Green Bay market, by far the NFL’s smallest. The league, however, has made its global ambitions a fixture of its long-range growth plan [[link removed]], as seen in part by a record seven non-U.S. games in 2025 [[link removed]].

Additionally, the league has created a scheduling formula in which international contests are now pulled from a ninth home game each team has every other year, allowing a full slate of domestic home games intact.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS HONORS

Nominate Your Athletic Department

The Most Innovative College Athletic Departments Award [[link removed]] will recognize collegiate athletic departments addressing the specific challenges of scholastic sports in the modern age.

They’re the departments setting the bar for the collegiate sports sector using unique, holistic, and empowering programs to help college athletes navigate an era of accelerating change so these up-and-comers can enjoy lasting success—physically, mentally, and monetarily.

Nominees will be evaluated based on training facilities, fan experiences, data and analytics, athlete resources, and more.

Think your athletic department deserves to be recognized? Nominate it now [[link removed]].

Nominations are open through June 22.

Conversation Starters Cole Young was pulled during his Triple-A game and told he was being called up by the Mariners. Check it out [[link removed]]. Take a look [[link removed]] at the final sign-off of Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Stan Van Gundy, and Allie LaForce from NBA on TNT. North Carolina baseball star Luke Stevenson makes 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches per year and eats them during games. Watch [[link removed]] the ACC tournament’s broadcast crew’s reaction to the report. Editors’ Picks Grand Slam Track Investigating Man Saying He Heckled Gabby Thomas to Win His Bet [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]The league announced a “full investigation into the reprehensible behavior.” Masters Raising Ticket Prices After Cracking Down on Secondary Market [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Tournament day tickets in 2026 will cost $160, up from $140 in 2025. Seattle Sounders Protest Tiny Share of Club World Cup Prize Money [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Players are set to share $1 million of the $1 billion purse. Question of the Day

Do you plan to watch the NBA Finals between the Pacers and Thunder?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Monday’s result: 61% of respondents said they will miss TNT’s NBA coverage.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], Annie Costabile [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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