The 2024 World Series kicks off Friday and features the two most valuable teams in Major League Baseball. This could benefit media company Fox Corporation FOX FOXA, which is already benefitting from a strong lineup of sports rights and the 2024 election.
How to Watch 2024 World Series: The 2024 World Series features the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, who finished as the top teams by record in the National League and American League of the 2024 Major League Baseball season, respectively.
The best-of-seven World Series will air exclusively on Fox, with a start time of 8:08 p.m. ET for each contest. Here is the current game schedule:
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25 in Los Angeles
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26 in Los Angeles
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28 in New York
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29 in New York
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 30 in New York
- Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Nov. 1 in Los Angeles
- Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 2 in Los Angeles
Betting Odds: Sportsbook DraftKings Inc DKNG lists the betting odds favoring the Dodgers at -130 for the first game, predicting a close matchup.
For the series, the Dodgers are favored at odds of -125 and the Yankees are the underdog at odds of +105. The close odds could imply a long series, which would favor Fox as the series could be stretched to five, six or the full seven games.
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Dream Matchup: The matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees could be perfect for Major League Baseball, sportsbooks and Fox.
The two teams have faced off in 11 previous World Series, but this is their first matchup since 1981. These two teams have met in the most World Series of any two MLB teams, with the Yankees leading the series matchup 8-3.
According to Forbes, the two teams are the most valuable in the MLB, representing two of the most populous cities and major television markets on opposite coasts.
The New York Yankees are valued at $7.55 billion, ranking first, with the Los Angeles Dodgers at $5.45 billion and ranking second.
Compare that to the World Series matchup from last year between the Texas Rangers ($2.4 billion) and Arizona Diamondbacks ($1.43 billion), who rank 12th and 23rd, respectively, by valuation. The Yankees and Dodgers are each more valuable than these two teams combined. The two teams in the same and smaller television markets weren't as beneficial for Fox last season.
The 2024 World Series matchup also features some of the most well-known players in baseball including Aaron Judge for the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers. With Judge and Ohtani in the World Series, this marks the first time players with 50 home run seasons have faced off against each other in the World Series.
The two teams are 11-11 in their last 22 regular-season series against each other. During the 2024 season, the Dodgers held the advantage, winning two of three games. Historically, however, the Yankees lead with a 48-40 all-time series advantage.
Fox Advantage: With a potential long series and the matchup of the two MLB titans covering the top two television markets, Fox could see a ratings boost.
The MLB matchup caps a successful year for the media company, boosted by strong 2024 NFL viewership for its Sunday afternoon games. The company has also benefitted from solid viewership for presidential debates and other 2024 election coverage, with massive spending on political advertisements in the current election cycle.
A strong World Series viewership and robust NFL ratings could propel Fox into 2025, leading up to its broadcast of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9.
FOX Price Action: Fox stock trades at $38.42 versus a 52-week trading range of $25.82 to $39.32. Fox stock is up 36.5% year-to-date in 2024.
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