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How American sports learned to monetize hope
Original: Chip and a chair: How American sports learned to monetize hope https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7641066/2026/09/29/us-sp
A new analysis argues that expanded playoffs across American leagues have turned perennial losing into a sellable product: as long as a team is mathematically alive, fans keep buying tickets, merchandise and subscriptions. The piece suggests that keeping more teams nominally 'in the hunt' rewards mediocrity while extracting revenue from optimism.
Why now: Ongoing debate about expanded playoffs rewarding average teams while boosting league revenues.
The New York TimesThe AthleticNFLNBAMLB
Evidence
- Chip and a chair: How American sports learned to monetize hope https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7641066/2026/09/29/us-sports-expanded-playoffs-mediocrity/ # Sports # Business # Media · nyt_sports@robot.villas · 2
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