1. The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday drew 38.9 million viewers on Fox. Another 23.9 million watched the Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo.
In the semifinals, Fox’s coverage of France-Spain last Tuesday was watched by 13.1 million people (and another 9.8 million on Telemundo), while Argentina-England pulled in 16.9 million viewers for Fox the following day (plus 11.4 million on Telemundo).
Here’s what struck me the most about those numbers, especially for the two semifinal game: All the games started at 3 p.m. ET. Drawing 23 and 28 million viewers for a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon game is more than eye-opening.
Everyone in the sports world has been so trained to believe that big games must be played in prime time to draw maximum viewership.
The World Cup showed that there is an audience for standalone weekday afternoon games.
This shouldn’t be surprising. Times have changed. Everyone has a device where they can stream games, even if they are work. In addition, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, tons of people work remotely these days. Lastly, and you may not like this reason, but the reality is gamblers love having a day game to bet during the week.
All sports should use the World Cup as inspiration to schedule more weekday afternoon games. I’m in no way comparing a regular-season MLB game or NHL game with a popular soccer tournament that takes place once every four years, but it’s clear there’s a bigger audience for that window then there was in the past.
Baseball has day games, but there should be at least one afternoon game every single day of the week. The league owns an entire network. It makes no sense for the MLB Network to not have one afternoon game every day.
The NHL will actually experiment with Monday afternoon games this season. The league’s goal is to to cater to European audiences, rather than to capitalize on changes in viewer behavior at home, but it still deserves props for giving the unusual scheduling a try.
The NHL is leaning into its global audience this season, scheduling more than 20 Monday afternoon games at North American-friendly times for fans across Europe. 🌍👏
— Hockey Patrol (@HockeyPatrol) July 17, 2026
Buffalo and the Islanders will make the most appearances with four each, but German sta… https://t.co/xNnwV6BJdJ pic.twitter.com/ntoLffZhYf
If the NBA was smart, it would follow suit.
Given the current media landscape and the way sports fans now consume content, it just makes sense for leagues to embrace stand-alone weekday afternoon games.
2. Jemele Hill, who hasn’t worked at ESPN since 2018, perfectly summed up the sad state of media in 2026 after a social media user expressed hope that the network would fire her during Tuesday’s layoffs.
I really hope ESPN lays me off. It’ll be tough but I’ll manage. In fact, let me just submit my resignation to make it easier on them. No need to draw this out. https://t.co/03UzO5XmCW
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 21, 2026
Today’s media environment in a nutshell:
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 22, 2026
The original poster — if it’s even a real person — didn’t know I haven’t worked at ESPN since 2018. I clearly responded with sarcasm.
This tweet gets millions of views, and the comments are completely overrun with bots.
And now there… https://t.co/hFrCvmgibQ pic.twitter.com/XYfB08TQQ5
3. To follow up on Hill’s summation of what sports media is today, the social media spin on this clip below is that J.J. Watt “called out” or “blamed” or “embarrassed” Pat McAfee by bringing up ESPN having layoffs while McAfee is set to get an exorbitant new deal from the network.
If you watch the clip, it’s more than clear that McAfee wasn’t upset or angry in any way, shape or form.
🚨BREAKING: #NFL ICON JJ WATT “BLAMED” PAT MCAFEE FOR THE REASON ESPN IS FIRING MANY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES.
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) July 22, 2026
“So slow news day over there on the ESPN airwaves. Besides that you’re getting $100M per year”
“They keep anybody or is everybody fired to pay you?” pic.twitter.com/yvcJWOhjEE
4. The Miami Heat’s video team threw everyone into a frenzy on Tuesday by accidentally publishing a link to “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” set for July 27.
The Miami Heat’s official YouTube channel had LeBron’s introductory press conference scheduled for July 27 🤔
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 22, 2026
(h/t @WadexFlash / https://t.co/ngYXKtG4ps) pic.twitter.com/OCNZMkiiVO
The Heat told ESPN’s Shams Charania this was just an accident. Hmm...
The Miami Heat accidentally posted, then deleted, a scheduled YouTube livestream titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” for July 27.
— ESPN (@espn) July 22, 2026
A team spokesperson told @ShamsCharania the link was mistakenly published while preparing for a possible James signing.…
5. The results here aren’t shocking, but the difference between first place and last place is pretty staggering.
offensive snaps with a lead in 2025:
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 20, 2026
66 - New York Jets
126 - New Orleans Saints
140 - Las Vegas Raiders
156 - Tennessee Titans
178 - Carolina Panthers⭐️
214 - Washington Commanders
228 - Cleveland Browns
258 - Arizona Cardinals
278 - Dallas Cowboys
285 - Kansas City Chiefs
294…
6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with former Around the Horn host Tony Reali.
Reali talks about his new podcast, Real Deal With Tony Reali, the concept behind the show and why he wants to relive certain moments in sports.
In addition, Reali talks about what the past year has been like for him since ATH’s cancellation, why he waited so long to take on a new gig, being taken aback by the lack of offers he received over the past year, how he views ESPN and the changing landscape of the sports media business.
Following Reali, Sal Licata from SNY TV and “The Sal Licata Show” joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discussed the Bryce Harper/FanDuel/Cameo scandal, whether batting average matters in baseball, ESPN’s Wimbledon coverage, the Jay-Z concert at Yankee Stadium that started three hours late, Benson Boone, The Bear, Shameless, a new season of Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring and more.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 61st birthday to WWE legend Shawn Michaels, who never got enough credit for his performance in this sketch.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
