Welcome to SportBusiness Group’s US Digest, rounding up the news and developments coming out of the world’s biggest sports market
Telemundo takes lead against Fox for World Cup viewers As Fox searches for a World Cup ratings push in USA's absence, the tournament has proved a huge success so far for Telemundo. Sunday’s Mexico-Germany game drew an average audience of 6.6 million, the most-watched group stage match ever on Spanish-language TV in the US. Across all platforms, including digital, Telemundo’s coverage had an average audience of 7.4 million, peaking at 8m. Fox's cable network FS1, by contrast, drew just over 4m viewers. Despite being available in far fewer households, Telemundo is averaging 2.2 million viewers a game, compared to 2.1 million for Fox, which has already made some changes to its studio line-up to bolster its coverage.Manfred 'concerned' by declining MLB attendances Rob Manfred has conceded that Major League Baseball has a serious attendance problem. Average crowds are down 6.5 per cent from this time last year – 27,483 per game compared to 29,402 in 2017. A significant issue has been the unseasonably poor weather in a number of markets in the first half of the season, which led to 36 postponements. However, Manfred said that the league is “concerned that there’s something to [low attendance rates] more than weather". To try to solve the problem, the MLB commissioner is considering a more "fan-friendly" schedule next season, with two-game series between rivals at weekends.
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