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I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

legitster 9y ago
The NFL has struggled finding a good home for Thursday Night Football. MNF could easily turn into another network wandering nomad.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  Ah so that's why Amazon Prime was able to land TNF.
- Brendinooo 9y ago
  Is that true? My impression was always that it was a valuable enough property that lots of companies wanted in on the action, but I admit that's not grounded in sources.
sandworm101 9y ago
>> Someone has got to air the games. Really? Football has been played without network coverage. I could see a future whereby teams handled their own streaming, or where the NFL did it all through NFL.com. The days of "air" are quickly coming to an end. I'm a little surprised that Netflix, Google or even FB aren't bidding. And if NFL owners want more people into the stadiums, curtailing broadcast coverage has been the traditional means. Ticket prices are already so high that it isn't inconceivable that they take it to the next level and market a game like a rock concert: be in the room or miss out.
- ghrifter 9y ago
  Amazon currently streams Thursday Night Football
  - ProAm 9y ago
    So does Twitter I believe....
- DrScump 9y ago
  I could see a future whereby teams handled their own streaming NFL's financial viability depends on the combined, pooled TV revenues. If each team is reduced to parceling out its own TV rights, smaller-market teams simply won't survive. You would see revenue disparities worse than in baseball right now (compare the Dodgers' TV contract with that of the A's or Brewers or DBacks... or, before this season, Houston).
endtime 9y ago
What happens if the highest bidder can't pay the NFL enough to make it worthwhile? I keep seeing pictures of half-empty stands behind kneeling football players, and ultimately if the NFL destroys its value by alienating too many fans with politics, there's no reason the entire business won't or shouldn't collapse.
- Feniks 9y ago
  Actually if they are smart the NFL capitalises on the current political climate. Think about it: an NFL team sponsored by the alt right vs. one funded by Ben&Jerry's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots
- rhino369 9y ago
  There would have to be a pretty massive drop off for that to be a problem. The biggest costs are player/staff salaries and stadiums. They can just keep the salary cap low and stop paying for new stadiums.
  - ZoeZoeBee 9y ago
    Umm no. NFL took in 15 Billion in 2015, 2/3 of the revenue came from TV, new stadiums over the last 20 years have totaled only $15 Billion of which almost half was financed by tax payers[0]. NFL will not weather well a continued hit to ratings, which were down 8% last year and dropping again this year [0]https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19smEPxvpHQE3pByhDDPbyyA-SMdMjF5Y2uk-g_LkMZs/edit#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19smEPxvpHQE3pByhDDPb...
- sunsetMurk 9y ago
  curious - are there any reports/#'s out there that indicate attendance is lower than normal? +correlation w/ kneeling players?
  - brttstl 9y ago
    Nope.
zeveb 9y ago
> Someone has got to air the games. Does someone? Sure, professional football has been very popular for many decades, but there's nothing about the order of the universe which states that it will remain so forever. We don't have chariot races, or gladiators, or bear-baiting — maybe someday we won't have professional football either.
- vestermark 9y ago
  The NFL's life expectancy is now less than 20 years. Young people aren't playing the game, because their parents don't want their brains to get all smashed up. Active participation in tackle football among teenagers fell from 9% to 7% in just 5 years from 2011-2016. The talent pool will dry up. The game will be less interesting. The fan base will die off.
  - protomyth 9y ago
    I don't think playing the game is very important in the US. If playing the game as a youth affected your viewing habits as an adult then soccer should be the most popular sport in the US. Basketball should far eclipse football. As long as they have enough younger players to sustain they should be fine. Its more about the availability of gladiators than the sports history of people in the stands.

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

legitster 9y ago

The NFL has struggled finding a good home for Thursday Night Football. MNF could easily turn into another network wandering nomad.

hkmurakami 9y ago
Ah so that's why Amazon Prime was able to land TNF.
Brendinooo 9y ago
Is that true? My impression was always that it was a valuable enough property that lots of companies wanted in on the action, but I admit that's not grounded in sources.

sandworm101 9y ago

>> Someone has got to air the games. Really? Football has been played without network coverage. I could see a future whereby teams handled their own streaming, or where the NFL did it all through NFL.com. The days of "air" are quickly coming to an end. I'm a little surprised that Netflix, Google or even FB aren't bidding. And if NFL owners want more people into the stadiums, curtailing broadcast coverage has been the traditional means. Ticket prices are already so high that it isn't inconceivable that they take it to the next level and market a game like a rock concert: be in the room or miss out.

ghrifter 9y ago
Amazon currently streams Thursday Night Football
- ProAm 9y ago
  So does Twitter I believe....
DrScump 9y ago
I could see a future whereby teams handled their own streaming NFL's financial viability depends on the combined, pooled TV revenues. If each team is reduced to parceling out its own TV rights, smaller-market teams simply won't survive. You would see revenue disparities worse than in baseball right now (compare the Dodgers' TV contract with that of the A's or Brewers or DBacks... or, before this season, Houston).

endtime 9y ago

What happens if the highest bidder can't pay the NFL enough to make it worthwhile? I keep seeing pictures of half-empty stands behind kneeling football players, and ultimately if the NFL destroys its value by alienating too many fans with politics, there's no reason the entire business won't or shouldn't collapse.

Feniks 9y ago
Actually if they are smart the NFL capitalises on the current political climate. Think about it: an NFL team sponsored by the alt right vs. one funded by Ben&Jerry's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots
rhino369 9y ago
There would have to be a pretty massive drop off for that to be a problem. The biggest costs are player/staff salaries and stadiums. They can just keep the salary cap low and stop paying for new stadiums.
- ZoeZoeBee 9y ago
  Umm no. NFL took in 15 Billion in 2015, 2/3 of the revenue came from TV, new stadiums over the last 20 years have totaled only $15 Billion of which almost half was financed by tax payers[0]. NFL will not weather well a continued hit to ratings, which were down 8% last year and dropping again this year [0]https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19smEPxvpHQE3pByhDDPbyyA-SMdMjF5Y2uk-g_LkMZs/edit#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19smEPxvpHQE3pByhDDPb...
sunsetMurk 9y ago
curious - are there any reports/#'s out there that indicate attendance is lower than normal? +correlation w/ kneeling players?
- brttstl 9y ago
  Nope.

zeveb 9y ago

> Someone has got to air the games. Does someone? Sure, professional football has been very popular for many decades, but there's nothing about the order of the universe which states that it will remain so forever. We don't have chariot races, or gladiators, or bear-baiting — maybe someday we won't have professional football either.

vestermark 9y ago
The NFL's life expectancy is now less than 20 years. Young people aren't playing the game, because their parents don't want their brains to get all smashed up. Active participation in tackle football among teenagers fell from 9% to 7% in just 5 years from 2011-2016. The talent pool will dry up. The game will be less interesting. The fan base will die off.
- protomyth 9y ago
  I don't think playing the game is very important in the US. If playing the game as a youth affected your viewing habits as an adult then soccer should be the most popular sport in the US. Basketball should far eclipse football. As long as they have enough younger players to sustain they should be fine. Its more about the availability of gladiators than the sports history of people in the stands.