October 27, 2020

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World Series sells the priciest ticket since pandemic started, NBA’s international growth is anchored by the Philippines, Facebook debuts cloud gaming service, and Kohl’s is launching an athleisure brand.

New Ticketing Reality

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Whether the Los Angeles Dodgers clinch the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays tonight or Game 7 is needed, the event now boasts the priciest ticket since the pandemic began — a fan paid $6,499 apiece for two seats to Game 5. 

Still, fans are either wary of COVID-19, not willing to travel, or a little bit of both: the average ticket sale price is 32% behind last season’s World Series. Even though the four-seat pods at Globe Life Field are drawing fans, the series is unlikely to beat the $34,000 a fan paid for a Super Bowl LIV ticket in February — the most expensive event of 2020. 

Welcoming 11,500 fans to allow for social distancing — about 29% capacity — this year’s Fall Classic will host fewer fans than the 1918 World Series, which also took place during a pandemic. More than 128,000 spectators attended the Boston Red Sox’ 4-2 series win over the Chicago Cubs.

World Series Ticket Breakdown:

$75 face price for World Series tickets when they went on sale.

$753 average price of 2020 World Series tickets.

$6,499 amount paid per ticket for a pair of luxury seats to Sunday’s Game 5.

$24,000 amount paid for four Home Plate Club tickets for tonight’s Game 6.

NBA’s Global Focus

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

NBA TV viewership dropped significantly in the U.S. during its playoffs — finals ratings were down 49% year-over-year — but the league’s continued investment in international markets helped buoy its popularity.

The Philippines drew the largest viewership of any international market for the Association, averaging 1.3 million viewers through the playoffs and 4.1 million viewers during the finals. League awareness in the Philippines is nearly 98% and there are 2 million participants in the country’s Jr. NBA program.

Typically, China is the league’s biggest market outside the U.S. As a result of ongoing disputes with the country, Association games were not on China’s state-run TV network CCTV until Game 5 of the finals. CCTV drew an estimated 25 million viewers per game for the 2019 Finals. 

Top 5 International NBA League Pass Markets:

  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Philippines
  • Spain

SPONSORED

Nominate Your Employer Today!

This year, we want to hear your stories, good and bad, about your experiences with your employer in the sports industry. We’re honoring the best of the best with the 2020 Best Employers In Sports Award.

We are proud to present this award in partnership with FEVO, our e-commerce partner changing the way we buy and share experiences.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! Nominate your employer by completing the 2020 Best Employers in Sports Award Survey by Friday, Oct. 30.

Facebook Gaming Aspirations

Facebook Gaming

Facebook beta launched its cloud gaming service yesterday. For now, the service is only available to some users in the U.S. on web and Android.

Games aren’t new to Facebook — the smash-hit FarmVille debuted more than a decade ago — and the cloud-streamed games will be available directly on the social media platform. More than 300 million Facebook users play games, and expanding to the cloud will allow for increased complexity. 

Free-to-play games are the focus, but potential premium games and integrations into Facebook Gaming have not been ruled out. Facebook takes a 30% cut of in-app purchases in games and a portion of ads — all while keeping users on the platform.

Kohl’s Challenges Lululemon

Calley Cederlof

With no real end in sight for many work-from-home situations, Kohl’s is releasing a private-label athleisure line. Launching in March 2021, FLX will go head-to-head with brands the store sells — like Under Armour and Adidas — as well as outside competitor Lululemon.

Apparel companies have seen great success with athleisure since COVID-19 has kept office workers largely at home, even if overall sales have stumbled. Globally, activewear has been one of fastest growing categories since March — it’s expected to reach $547 billion by 2024.

Kohl’s reported a 23% year-over-year decline in second quarter revenue — but activewear accounts for 20% of sales, and CEO Michelle Gass believes it can reach 30%.

Other Athleisure Headlines

  • Adidas and Beyoncé’s Ivy Park have announced a second athleisure collection.
  • Gap Inc. is pushing its Athleta brand with 100 new stores as it aims to double its sales to $2 billion, while closing Gap and Banana Republic stores.

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Join Us Tomorrow!

Whether you’ve been keeping up with your physical and mental health all throughout quarantine, or you need to get away from binge watching your shows for a bit, we invite you to take part in the latest edition of Wellness Wednesdays, presented by CELSIUS.

Participate in the session TOMORROW Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. ET with Nike Master Trainer Traci Copeland and you will be entered to win five (5) cases of CELSIUS product. If you need a physical tune-up before we get into sweater weather, now’s the perfect time. Register today!

Latest On FOS

Latest On FOS

HBO Sports has acquired the rights to “The Day Sports Stood Still,” the Chris Paul-executive produced documentary that focuses on the sports shutdown that began in March of this year due to the pandemic.

Brittany Collens, a professional tennis player and former member of the UMass women’s tennis team, was sitting in her car when she found out that the NCAA had stripped UMass’ 2017 Atlantic 10 championship. Now she’s fighting back.

Cowboys backup quarterback Ben DiNucci completed 2-of-3 passes for 39 yards in his first game for Dallas. Weeks before, the 7th-round draft pick slid into his first marketing deal.

Question of the Day

Are you wearing athleisure right now?

 Yes   No 

Monday’s Answer

56% of respondents said they notice video game ads on TV.

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