Earlier this week I wrote about why 16 teams is looking more and more like the sweet spot for CFP expansion. nytimes.com/athletic/63696…

Surprisingly large audience for Indy 500 in FOX debut, which is most-watched motorsports event on U.S. television in more than two years (yes, that means it topped the Daytona 500): sportsmediawatch.com/sports-ratings…

Starting to look like it…

You knew this was coming from someone.

Why more international NFL games? Foreign money is why Celtics sold for $6.1b. Foreign investors in NFL would also boost team values. Goodell leaves door open for more private equity, global investment in franchises cnb.cx/3SLVEgK

Teams per conference (based on current alignment) that would have qualified for past 11 College Football Playoffs, if only top 16 seeded teams received bids: Big Ten 56 (5.09/year) SEC 53 (4.81/year) Big 12 29 (2.64/year) ACC 24 (2.18/year) Notre Dame 8 Group of 6 6

Why would YouTube pay for a single NFL game?* To get more people to install/ setup/ use the YouTube app on their TVs. Many people do already, but there’s always more out there! *podcast ? asked by julia alexander & John Ourand

Every major college sport uses a selection committee.

This has been the intended trade off. Certainly for the biggest/wealthiest schools opting into rev share. More athletic scholarships, but fewer overall spots for athletes. Is that a good trade-off?

The Big Ten and the SEC are in a place post realignment to technically hold their own post season tournament and invite a couple teams from outside conferences. As predicted, they’re using the leverage from this fact to push for as much as they can get as fast as they can…

It’s younger because there are less viewers…The “streaming age gap” looks to be a repeatable phenomena as Austin notes. You lose older viewers when you move to streaming. That doesn’t invalidate such a move it’s just where we’re at right now in the media distribution evolution.

The “Streaming Age Gap” looks to really be a “Loss of Viewers Gap.”

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark tells The Athletic he's strongly behind the 5+11 CFP, even if the league might not get 2 bids in a given year. "And that's okay. Because we’ve got to earn it on the field. I tell my room, you're rewarded when you perform at the highest levels."

Breaking down the ratings for NASCAR's Prime Video debut: sportsmediawatch.com/2025/05/nascar…

Nike’s fatal mistake: marketing the way their customers currently look instead of being aspirational Meanwhile Viouri marketing like 1990s Nike and robbing market share every day “Everyone can wear Nike” “Hot people wear Viouri” Are you hot or average?

The Dodgers and Yankees both generate massive revenue from local TV and sponsorships. The World Series favorites also have the highest gate receipts in the sport, per MLB's internal ticket report. Full story via Sportico. wp.me/pc2RuA-1lzk3N

Wrote about college baseball's recent power surge and why instead of worrying about the bats and balls, everybody seems cool with it. nytimes.com/athletic/63914…

ECF still pacing at seven-year high as Knicks' season-saving win is most-watched ECF Game 5 since 2018: sportsmediawatch.com/2025/05/pacers…

Thunder-Pacers has potential to be a really fun series. NBA gets a platform for 2 young stars to sell themselves to a larger audience. How Pacers try to slow down SGA will be interesting. Pace + speed were so big for Indiana vs. the Knicks but OKC has played faster all season.

Lay back…