Lalit Modi

Here's the mega bowl case. This thing goes global beyond the traditional cricket playing countries. And the U.S., maybe China, other countries around the world who historically have not cared about cricket get really into the IPL. There's some interesting stuff to talk about here.

Here's the mega bowl case. This thing goes global beyond the traditional cricket playing countries. And the U.S., maybe China, other countries around the world who historically have not cared about cricket get really into the IPL. There's some interesting stuff to talk about here.

8 p.m. in India is, I believe, 7.30 a.m. on the west coast of the United States. That is the single biggest challenge.

8 p.m. in India is, I believe, 7.30 a.m. on the west coast of the United States. That is the single biggest challenge.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Whole bunch to talk about. So the biggest swing on this is going to be a single event that is going to happen in 2028. Oh, the Olympics. Which is the Los Angeles Olympics, which T20 cricket is going to be in the LA Olympics.

Whole bunch to talk about. So the biggest swing on this is going to be a single event that is going to happen in 2028. Oh, the Olympics. Which is the Los Angeles Olympics, which T20 cricket is going to be in the LA Olympics.

Yeah. First time in 100 plus years that cricket is back in the Olympics. Essentially, it is cricket for the first time in the modern Olympics here. in L.A., in America, in a big way. And a lot of vested interests are going to be riding on this Olympics here. Yep. So time zones are definitely the biggest challenge here. But if you put that aside...

Yeah. First time in 100 plus years that cricket is back in the Olympics. Essentially, it is cricket for the first time in the modern Olympics here. in L.A., in America, in a big way. And a lot of vested interests are going to be riding on this Olympics here. Yep. So time zones are definitely the biggest challenge here. But if you put that aside...

Cricket is actually, I think, totally poised to take off in the U.S. for a couple reasons. One, most importantly, baseball is stagnating. We've alluded to it a little bit on this episode, but Major League Baseball has serious problems.

Cricket is actually, I think, totally poised to take off in the U.S. for a couple reasons. One, most importantly, baseball is stagnating. We've alluded to it a little bit on this episode, but Major League Baseball has serious problems.

I actually think managing Major League Baseball is really challenging right now. And they're arguably doing a pretty good job of maintaining value capture over the long run while there's just like a whole bunch of factors fighting against them.

I actually think managing Major League Baseball is really challenging right now. And they're arguably doing a pretty good job of maintaining value capture over the long run while there's just like a whole bunch of factors fighting against them.

The issue is that because teams can have their own media deals locked into long-term contracts, and then because there's no effective salary cap competitive parity, every wealthy team is going to be wholly and intransigently against any major structural change to the sport. And the structural changes that need to happen are at multiple levels. There's the way the business is organized.

The issue is that because teams can have their own media deals locked into long-term contracts, and then because there's no effective salary cap competitive parity, every wealthy team is going to be wholly and intransigently against any major structural change to the sport. And the structural changes that need to happen are at multiple levels. There's the way the business is organized.

There's the product itself. They've done a good job with the pitch clock. I think that's actually good. But the biggest problem is 162 games. Baseball was built for an era when the revenue model of sports was the tickets at the gate. It was not built for the TV era and certainly not built for this era. They've done also a really nice job with MLB.tv and their owned and operated streaming product.

There's the product itself. They've done a good job with the pitch clock. I think that's actually good. But the biggest problem is 162 games. Baseball was built for an era when the revenue model of sports was the tickets at the gate. It was not built for the TV era and certainly not built for this era. They've done also a really nice job with MLB.tv and their owned and operated streaming product.

BamTech is a huge success for MLB. But again, you're basically just extending out the current state of play as long as possible. Interest in the game and particularly interest in the game among young people is we're entering a scenario that could end up looking like cricket in England before it got so bad that they had to introduce T20. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah.

BamTech is a huge success for MLB. But again, you're basically just extending out the current state of play as long as possible. Interest in the game and particularly interest in the game among young people is we're entering a scenario that could end up looking like cricket in England before it got so bad that they had to introduce T20. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah.