Major League Baseball Is Growing Again. Why Isn’t Its TV Money?
TV ratings and in-game attendance are up, but the league is about to take a pay cut on its media rights.
US President Donald Trump, right, and Shohei Ohtani, pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, shake hands in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 7, 2025. Trump hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers to celebrate their 2024 World Series victory.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergGood afternoon from Los Angeles, and a special hello to those of you who watched one of the greatest tennis matches ever. Warner Bros. Discovery has gotten some grief for mishandling the NBA negotiations, among other things, but its inaugural presentation of Roland Garros was a marked improvement on recent years.
Live sports has been swallowing the entertainment business for years, and it feels even more significant now. Football, once less popular than Survivor and ER, now accounts for the majority of the 100 most-watched broadcasts on TV in the US. Amazon and Comcast are cutting back on entertainment programming after splurging on basketball rights. Rupert Murdoch, often ahead of the curve, sold his Hollywood studio — and kept his news and sports businesses.