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 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

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.

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.