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Front Office Sports - The Memo

Morning Edition

June 4, 2025

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MLB attendance has increased yet again, and viewership is up by double digits on both Fox and ESPN. The league’s early momentum this season shows signs of strength we haven’t seen in a long time.

—Eric Fisher, David Rumsey, and Colin Salao

MLB TV Ratings Jump: Fox Up 10%, ESPN Hits Eight-Year High

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

While MLB continues to enjoy another increase at the turnstiles, fans are also tuning in to game broadcasts in greater numbers this year.

The league said Tuesday that each of its national TV partners is posting audience increases so far this season. Among the individual tallies:

  • Fox is up 10% compared to last year, to an average of 1.84 million viewers per game.
  • ESPN, despite its intent to walk away three years early from its MLB rights, is up 22% for its coverage to a per-game average of 1.74 million, the network’s best baseball audience since 2017. 
  • In Japan, MLB viewership has grown 22% to an average audience of 2.7 million, even when excluding the record-setting Tokyo Series in March. Because of the time-zone differences, most MLB games air in the morning in Japan. 
  • Double-digit percentage increases have also been posted for viewership on other platforms such as the league’s own MLB.TV and MLB Network Showcase game telecasts, and Tuesday-night coverage on TBS. 

Highlighting the viewership data is an average draw of 2.7 million viewers and a peak of 3.1 million on Sunday Night Baseball for the June 1 finale of the high-profile Yankees-Dodgers weekend series that served as a rematch of sorts to the 2024 World Series. The viewership figure represented the best individual game audience for the primetime showcase in seven years.

The increases follow a 1.8% bump in MLB attendance so far in the 2025 regular season to an average of nearly 28,000 per game. The increase, fueled in part by strategic scheduling and the fan appeal of big stars such as the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Yankees’ Aaron Judge, would be the league’s third straight if it holds for the entire season. 

Next Man Up

Roughly a year after Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes arrived in the big leagues, the Royals have brought up the game’s latest young phenom, highly touted outfielder/first baseman Jac Caglianone. Selected sixth in the 2024 MLB draft, Caglianone has dominated in his short time in the minor leagues, hitting .322 with 15 home runs and 56 runs batted in across 50 games in Double-A and Triple-A play this year. 

The Royals could have delayed Caglianone’s salary arbitration eligibility for an additional year had they kept him in the minors until later this month. The MLB Players Association, however, has actively sought to discourage such activity and has created various structures with the league in recent labor deals to help bring top talent up from the minors sooner. 

As a result, Caglianone is the first Royals hitter to reach the majors within one year of being drafted since Bo Jackson in 1986. 

Kansas City is looking for an offensive boost, as the club’s 194 runs scored entering Tuesday’s games were tied for the second worst in MLB, beating only the historically woeful Rockies. That meager performance at the plate is helping spoil what is the league’s fourth-best earned run average from the pitching staff. Caglianone brings tape-measure power to the Royals and will pair in the team’s lineup with perennial Most Valuable Player candidate Bobby Witt Jr.

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As 2025 CFB Season Nears, 2026 Playoff Format Still a Mystery

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff is increasingly at risk of entering the 2025 season without a clear direction on its format beyond this year.

While CFP leaders have agreed to move to a straight-seeding structure this season, they remain unable to reach an agreement on what the makeup of the Playoff will be in 2026 and beyond, when a media-rights extension with ESPN kicks in.

There is a Dec. 1 deadline for the CFP to notify ESPN of any format changes for 2026, including expansion. While most stakeholders within the Power 4 appear comfortable growing the bracket from 12 to 16 teams, there is not yet a consensus on how teams would qualify.

June 18 is the last scheduled meeting of the CFP management committee—made up of FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua—before games begin in late August. If a decision is not made by then, CFP leaders will have to call a special session later in the summer to avoid bleeding their format debate into the season. Week Zero of the new season kicks off Aug. 23.

What’s on the Table?

During recent spring meetings for the Power 4 conferences, some momentum was built around a 5+11 model that would see the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next 11 highest-ranked teams make a 16-team Playoff.

However, a divide remains around the Power 4 not having alignment on regular-season scheduling. Big Ten and Big 12 teams each play nine conference games per season, while the SEC and ACC play eight.

In 2024, the 12 CFP teams paid $27 million to the Group of 5 and FCS schools for their non-conference schedules.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS HONORS

In a League of Your Own

The Most Innovative Leagues Award will recognize sports leagues transcending the traditional boundaries of the stadium and broadcast experience.

They’re the leagues revolutionizing fandom through strategic alliances and emerging technologies, ensuring countless ways for audiences to connect while developing bold new formats that keep fans hyped well beyond game day. 

They’re also embracing and catering to the modern fan, The Fluid Fan™, who may come through a nontraditional gateway of fandom, but who is a fan nonetheless. 

From gamers to foodies, or even Swifties, the Most Innovative Leagues will provide an experience that reflects—and acquires—the next generation of fans.

Think your league deserves to be recognized? Nominate them now. 

Nominations are open through June 22.

NBA Finals Ticket Prices Down 25%, Still Average Over $1,000

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Tickets to the NBA Finals are never cheap. But with two of the league’s smallest markets playing, this year’s tickets are cheaper compared to the last few seasons.

The $1,147 average ticket price for the 2025 NBA Finals dips below the previous lows of $1,169 in 2023 and $1,200 in 2021, per TickPick, which has tracked prices since 2019. This year’s average price is about 25% less than the $1,560 average price for last year’s Finals series between the Celtics and Mavericks, two of the NBA’s biggest markets.

The average NBA Finals purchase price since 2019 (according to TickPick):

  • 2019 (Raptors vs. Warriors): $1,229
  • 2020 (Heat vs. Lakers): None (COVID-19)
  • 2021 (Bucks vs. Suns): $1,200
  • 2022 (Celtics vs. Warriors): $1,379
  • 2023 (Heat vs. Nuggets): $1,169
  • 2024 (Celtics vs. Mavericks): $1,560
  • 2025 (Pacers vs. Thunder): $1,147

Despite the low numbers compared to previous Finals series, the prices for the first four Finals contests are the most expensive on record for NBA games in Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. 

Game 1 at Oklahoma City

  • Average purchase price: $1,012
  • Get-in price: $525

Game 2 at Oklahoma City

  • Average purchase price: $1,201
  • Get-in price: $602

Game 3 at Indianapolis

  • Average purchase price: $1,002
  • Get-in price: $755

Game 4 at Indianapolis

  • Average purchase price: $1,093
  • Get-in price: $832

These ticket prices are comparable to the three games played at Madison Square Garden in the Eastern Conference finals. While that series was not the finale, it still shows the large jump in prices for Finals tickets, considering ticket prices in New York would, at times, be four times as much as in Indiana during their conference finals series.

Games 5–7 of the Finals are still tagged as “if necessary,” but they are even more expensive than the first four games. Game 5 is the most expensive of the three with an average purchase price of $1,969, likely because betting odds heavily favor the Thunder, and the most likely outcome sees Oklahoma City clinching the series at home in five games.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS NETWORK

How Dance Helps Daniella Karagach Navigate Life

She’s a Dancing with the Stars champion, an Emmy-nominated choreographer, and a seven-time U.S. Latin and 10-dance champion—but Daniella Karagach’s story goes far beyond the ballroom. Daniella opens up to Leslie Osborne and Arielle Houlihan about the joys and pressures of being a pro on DWTS, managing mental health in an industry where you’re constantly being judged, and her remarkable return to dancing just three months postpartum. She shares how dance helped her manage ADHD as a child and how it’s remained a grounding force through life, motherhood, and entrepreneurship.

Redefined is a Front Office Sports Network show that celebrates the stories, experiences, and realities of multidimensional women in sports who are redefining success. New episodes release every Wednesday and can be found on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and the FOS website.

Watch the full Redefined episode here.

Conversation Starters

  • Malcolm Brown almost gave up baseball to support his family. On Sunday—his son’s 1st birthday—the pitcher had a career game to put the Trojans one win away from a super regional. Check it out. 
  • Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony hid in a laundry basket to sneak past fans who were trying to get his autograph. Take a look.
  • Peyton Manning announced he’s invested in Denver’s future NWSL club, coming in 2026. Watch his call with brother Eli Manning, who has a stake in New York’s Gotham FC.

Editors’ Picks

Trevor Bauer Gets Legal Win Over Accuser for Violating Settlement Terms

by Margaret Fleming
Judge orders woman who brought sexual assault allegations to pay over $300,000.

Chicago Stars Aren’t Asking for Taxpayer Stadium Money—Yet

by Annie Costabile
A unique new law will compel Illinois lawmakers to consider women’s teams.

New Lawsuit Challenges Restrictions on High School NIL Deals, Transfers

by Amanda Christovich
A former high school football player filed a class-action lawsuit in California.

Question of the Day

Have you watched more baseball this year than last season?

 YES   NO 

Tuesday’s result: 57% of respondents are planning to watch the NBA Finals between the Pacers and Thunder.

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Written by Eric Fisher, David Rumsey, Colin Salao
Edited by Matthew Tabeek, Or Moyal, Catherine Chen

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