Welcome to the 35th Media Mailbag for The Athletic. Writing a mailbag — as egocentric as it is — is always a fun exercise. Thanks for sending in your questions via the website and app. There were nearly 100 questions, so this is a two-parter. Part I appeared earlier this week
Note: Questions have been edited for clarity and length.
This has been in my head since college football season with how much has been made of TV network deals and TV ratings. If you could customize the championship games in (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, college football and men’s college basketball) to get the matchup that would generate the highest possible ratings, what would they be? I want big-picture generalities here and not tethered to specific records right now. For what it’s worth I’d go: MLB: Mets–Angels; NBA: Celtics–Lakers; NHL: Maple Leafs–Blackhawks; NFL: Cowboys–Steelers; CFB: Notre Dame–Texas; and CBB: Indiana–North Carolina. — Andy J.
Love this question. Based on historical viewership numbers, I would select Yankees–Dodgers, Lakers-Celtics, Blackhawks-Flyers, Cowboys-Jets, Alabama–Ohio State (CFB) and Duke-North Carolina (CBB).
Do leagues ever take into account the long-term benefits of having their games on broadcast (or easy to access national cable networks)? While…
