America Is Drowning in Sports
Major professional sports leagues are significantly expanding their schedules, leading to a year-round saturation of televised sporting events. This trend of 'sports creep' is driven by league expansion and the desire to capture more calendar territory for broadcasting.
Why it matters
The constant expansion of sports schedules impacts viewer fatigue and changes the economic landscape of sports media and broadcasting rights.
More games are a good thing—up to a point.
Martin Parr / Magnum July 10, 2026, 4:12 PM ET Share Save This summer’s lineup of sporting events has been an embarrassment of riches. This morning, the No. 1 men’s tennis player in the world (Jannik Sinner) and the winningest men’s tennis player of all time (Novak Djokovic) played in the semifinal of the biggest tennis tournament in the world (Wimbledon). In the afternoon, Spain and Belgium are kicking off their World Cup quarterfinal match. If that wasn’t enough, the evening brings a full slate of Major League Baseball games, plus NBA Summer League debuts for half the league’s rookies. All of this comes after a packed June in which, at one point, the World Cup, the NBA finals, and NHL finals all briefly overlapped.
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