One of the more interesting stories this past week regarded the American sports television giant, ESPN. Over the past week, we have seen amazing resurgence with hockey, and bad news regarding baseball.
First. let’s get to hockey, where ESPN had remarkable television ratings for The Four Nations Faceoff final between Canada and the United States at the Toronto Dominion Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday. A total of 9.3 million viewers watched Canada beat the United States 3-2 in overtime on a game-winning goal by reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. This was the most viewed sporting event on ESPN+ (not including the National Football League) and the most viewed sporting event (besides the National Football League or College Football) since 2004. Twenty-one years ago ESPN had strong ratings for the 2004 NBA Finals as the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. It should be noted that the series was shown on ABC, which owns ESPN.
The game between Canada and the United States had significant drama, partially because of the political landscape in North America over the last month. The Americans have levied tariffs on Canada which has decreased the positive relationship between the two countries, and American President has regularly stated his desire to see Canada as the 51st state, which has not been popular at all among Canadians. The Canadian win over the United States on Thursday was very significant for a nation, where hockey has historically been an integral and necessary part of its national identity.
Also this past week, according to Reuters, Major League Baseball announced on Thursday it is opting out of its contract with ESPN starting in 2026 for three years through to 2028. MLB did not want to renegotiate its contract with ESPN, and was not “pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage.” The platforms include Sportscenter, where the focus is the NFL and NBA over MLB. In terms of live game coverage, MLB has been seen on ESPN since 1990, with a signature game played in prime time every Sunday night.
