Read in Browser [[link removed]]

Afternoon Edition

September 12, 2025

POWERED BY

Nielsen’s new measurement method contributed to ratings increases in Week 1 of the NFL season. But through two weeks, college football is up by an even larger amount—setting up big potential numbers over the weekend.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]] and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

College Football Enters Week 3 Up 21% in TV Ratings [[link removed]]

The Columbus Dispatch

College football is set up for another big weekend of games, which should continue to draw strong TV ratings following a major uptick in viewership early this season.

Through Week 2, total college football viewership across all networks is up 21% compared to last season, according to data Nielsen’s research team provided to Front Office Sports. That’s when using Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement system [[link removed]] for both this season’s and last season’s broadcasts.

Earlier this week, Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Mike Mulvihill predicted on X [[link removed]] that “it’s pretty likely this will be a third straight year of record-breaking total viewing of CFB.” Mulvihill initially revealed total college football viewing is up 25% through two weeks; Nielsen told FOS those figures are when comparing Big Data + Panel from this season to panel-only data from last season.

Fox has the most-watched game of the season to date, a Week 1 record of 16.62 million viewers [[link removed]] for Texas–Ohio State.

Saturday Slate

Several top-25 matchups could bring in big TV audiences this weekend.

NBC will broadcast No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 8 Notre Dame in prime time; last season, that same matchup in College Station drew 7.92 million viewers on ABC.

In the afternoon, ABC gets No. 6 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee, which could draw the network’s biggest audience of the season, following three games topping 10 million viewers during a record Week 1 [[link removed]] for Disney-owned platforms.

Meanwhile, The CW has a great opportunity to draw its most-watched college football game on record since first airing the sport in 2023. Thanks to its ACC media-rights deal, The CW will broadcast No. 18 South Florida at No. 5 Miami on Saturday afternoon. The 2–0 Bulls were unranked before upsetting No. 13 Florida, despite being paid $500,000 [[link removed]] to play the Gators in The Swamp.

SPONSORED BY DEALMAKER

Asset Class: Where Sports Meets Capital

The money flowing into sports has never been bigger—or smarter. From athlete-led VC funds to private-equity team takeovers, sports is now a major asset class.

On Oct. 16, Asset Class [[link removed]]—presented by DealMaker—brings the most powerful minds in sports finance together at the New York Stock Exchange.

From private-equity power plays to athlete-backed funding, we’re unpacking the trends, deals, and people shaping the future of sports through diverse investments.

If you care about the future of the business of sports, this is where you need to be.

Request to attend [[link removed]] today.

As WNBA Grows, Engelbert Says Its Playoff Field Won’t for a While [[link removed]]

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The WNBA playoffs start Sunday with considerable format changes [[link removed]]. The Finals will be a seven-game series for the first time in history, while the first round changed from a 2-1 to a 1-1-1 format, which will allow both teams to play at least one home game.

However, the number of playoff teams has stayed the same. Eight teams qualified for the playoffs despite the addition of the Golden State Valkyries [[link removed]] this season, which brought the league’s total to 13. Since 2016, the league has also stuck to allowing the top eight teams based on record to qualify for the postseason rather than the top four teams per conference.

The league will be adding five more expansion teams [[link removed]], bringing the total to 18 by 2030. The WNBA will add two teams next season (Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire), one in 2028 (Cleveland), 2029 (Philadelphia), and 2030 (Detroit).

When asked whether the league had any intentions to change its format and potentially revert back to a conference-based system, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said it’s unlikely any changes will be made until all five teams have joined.

“I think it’s certainly something that will be on the docket when we get to 18 teams in 2030. I don’t think there will be changes before then,” Engelbert said on the In Case You Missed It podcast published Wednesday [[link removed]]. “For now, I think we’re providing a platform and a path for the best two teams to end up in the WNBA Finals.”

From 2009 to 2024, the current playoff format allowed two-thirds of the WNBA to reach the postseason. If there are no changes by 2029, when there are 17 teams, less than half the league will make the playoffs for just the second time in league history. The only other time was in 1998, the league’s second season, when 4 of 10 teams qualified.

The WNBA CBA states that the league is allowed to make changes to its playoff format “after consultation with the players association.” These changes include the number of teams that qualify for the postseason.

The CBA also states that any playoff format change that results in an increase in the maximum number of playoff games means that players will get a 10% increase in bonuses associated with making the playoffs.

The bonuses written in the current CBA are as follows (all per player):

WNBA champion: $11,356 Runner-up: $5,678 Eliminated in third round: $2,839 Eliminated in second round: $1,803 Eliminated in first round: $1,136

A 10% increase on those figures ranges between just $113 and $1,135 per player.

However, the current WNBA CBA runs only until the end of this season. Front Office Sports reported it’s increasingly unlikely [[link removed]] that the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association will come to an agreement on a new CBA before the Oct. 31 deadline.

EVENT

The biggest names in sports media, all in one room. Tuned In [[link removed]], presented by Elevate, returns to The Times Center in Manhattan on Sept. 16.

The stacked speaker lineup includes big-league commissioners, network executives, and top TV talent from the likes of ESPN, FOX, NBC, CBS, Amazon, NBA, MLB, and more.

See the full speaker lineup and get your ticket here [[link removed]].

UEFA Delays Overseas Matches Ruling As LaLiga Miami Game Looms [[link removed]]

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

UEFA’s executive committee has delayed issuing a definitive ruling on proposals for separate LaLiga and Serie A matches to be played outside of their home countries this season.

This summer, the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) approved a request [[link removed]] from Barcelona and Villarreal to play a match scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and the Italian soccer federation (FIGC) gave its blessing for an AC Milan–Como match in February to be moved to Perth.

However, both leagues need further approval from UEFA, which has been slow to say yes in the wake of fan unrest about moving matches overseas. FIFA must also sign off on the moves, but its long-standing ban on teams playing domestic league games abroad has been under pressure in several courts. LaLiga’s efforts to host a match in Miami date back to 2018.

“The Executive Committee discussed the requests from the RFEF and FIGC to approve the playing of one domestic league match each outside the home country, in particular outside the UEFA territory,” the governing body said in a statement Thursday following a meeting in Tirana, Albania. “The committee acknowledged it as an important and growing issue but expressed the desire to ensure that it has the views of all stakeholders before coming to a final decision.

“There are many issues to resolve and as the European governing body, UEFA has a responsibility to take all such factors into account. As a result, no decision was taken today but UEFA will undertake a round of consultation with all stakeholders in European football—including fans.”

The next meeting of the UEFA executive committee is scheduled for Dec. 3, just two and a half weeks before the proposed Barcelona-Villarreal match in Miami.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Paramount/WBD Merger Could Make Sports Behemoth

FOS illustration

The Wall Street Journal reported that, after finalizing its new merger, the newly formed Paramount Skydance is “preparing a majority cash bid” to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, home to TNT Sports, TBS, and the HBO Max streaming service. FOS media and entertainment reporter Ryan Glasspiegel has the latest on the merger talks and how the combined sports properties of CBS and TNT Sports could rival that of ESPN.

Meanwhile, fresh off his exit from Fox Sports, former NFL player Emmanuel Acho tells Baker Machado and Renee Washington how he felt blindsided by FS1 canceling his show The Facility and having only 54 days before the start of the NFL season to build a new digital postgame show, Speakeasy, alongside former Fox colleague LeSean “Shady” McCoy.

And it’s a big weekend ahead for the Premier Lacrosse League, as the 2025 U.S. Bank Championship heads to New Jersey to see the New York Atlas take on the Denver Outlaws for the title. PLL cofounder and president Paul Rabil talks about the upcoming championship, the Women’s Lacrosse League expanding to a full season with the playoffs starting in 2026, and his new ESPN broadcast deal.

Watch the full episode here [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Erriyon Knighton ⬇ The U.S. Olympian has received a four-year ban from track and field competition after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favor of the maximum sentence requested by World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency. The 21-year-old, who is a two-time World Championships medalist in the 200-meter sprint, was suspended in 2024 after he tested positive for epitrenbolone, a WADA-prohibited anabolic steroid.

Norway ⬆ Thursday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League match in Bergen set a new record for attendance at a women’s soccer game in the country, as 16,019 fans watched SK Brann beat Manchester United 1–0.

Wake Forest ⬇ The Demon Deacons lost to NC State 34–24 on Thursday night. Adding insult to injury, a food truck at Allegacy Stadium caught on fire during the first quarter, resulting in smoke filling the stands and end zone, which ESPN captured [[link removed]] returning from a commercial break.

WNBA ⬆ A day after the end of the 2025 WNBA season, ESPN announced it averaged 1.3 million viewers for 25 regular-season games this year, up 6% from last year. The league also finished the campaign averaging 10,986 fans per game, a league record, despite a high of 286 regular-season games this season. The milestones have been achieved despite Caitlin Clark playing in just 13 of 44 games for the Indiana Fever.

Conversation Starters Check out [[link removed]] Kirk Herbstreit’s travel plans this weekend, starting from Green Bay for Thursday Night Football and finishing off in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday. Take a look [[link removed]] at the six NFL scorebugs this season across ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube. Amazon debuted its first NBA on Prime commercial during Thursday Night Football, which featured Luka Dončić, Donovan Mitchell, and Dirk Nowitzki, among others. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks 19 Rising Stars in Sports Media [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]] and Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Who are sports media’s rising stars? Here’s an inside look. [[link removed]] The $339 Million Mets Are in Jeopardy of Missing the Playoffs [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The Mets’ wild-card lead is 1.5 games with 15 remaining in the regular season. [[link removed]] Connecticut AG Demands Documents From WNBA About Sun Sale Process [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]The WNBA reportedly prefers to move the team to Houston. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2025 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

460 Park Avenue South, 7th Floor, New York NY, 10016