Game lengths

[channtheman]

I discovered I can login with my ISP (Cox) but I only receive access to network VOD's of some games. I can't watch anything live, and have no access to the Spider cam. Almost completely useless.

[mraynrand]

I sincerely hope NFL Ticket someday is not a monopoly.

DirecTV has a pretty limited monopoly if you think about it - full league coverage, which no one had pre-DirecTV. There's quite a bit of NFL coverage outside. But considering you want a specific App for special angle coverage which wasn't available for anyone since what - about 10 minutes ago - I bet if people start asking DirecTV to sponsor that app, it'll get done eventually.

The competition for DirecTV comes from other sources who have the ability to bid for the NFL coverages. You're never going to get a better deal if the 'monopoly' is broken up, unless some sort of law is passed requiring the NFL to sell it's product for less, because if they offer it to more carriers, there will have to be something in it for them, and that will get passed on to you.

I could see them perhaps offering more ala carte broadcasts, via multiple sources, but then the individual game costs will go up. Still, service providers generally try to use their exclusive rights to valuable product x to force carriers to accept bigger deals for more products. See for example Fox negotiations with Dish network.

[channtheman]

If I could subscribe to the Packers for 100 bucks and get all their games regardless of which carrier I had, I would do that in a heartbeat. There are some online things through the NFL but I don't believe any of them allow live broadcasting, plus I have to use my PC or hook it up to my TV and can't sit on the couch with a remote.

[pbmax]

DirecTV has a pretty limited monopoly if you think about it - full league coverage, which no one had pre-DirecTV. There's quite a bit of NFL coverage outside. But considering you want a specific App for special angle coverage which wasn't available for anyone since what - about 10 minutes ago - I bet if people start asking DirecTV to sponsor that app, it'll get done eventually.

The competition for DirecTV comes from other sources who have the ability to bid for the NFL coverages. You're never going to get a better deal if the 'monopoly' is broken up, unless some sort of law is passed requiring the NFL to sell it's product for less, because if they offer it to more carriers, there will have to be something in it for them, and that will get passed on to you.

I could see them perhaps offering more ala carte broadcasts, via multiple sources, but then the individual game costs will go up. Still, service providers generally try to use their exclusive rights to valuable product x to force carriers to accept bigger deals for more products. See for example Fox negotiations with Dish network.

You would immediately get a better value by offering NFL Ticket on more than one platform, regardless of the ask set by the monopoly that is the NFL.

More people would be able to access it, for one thing. Even the streaming option available is not available to anyone unless you meet the criteria of living in New York, Chicago or 10 University towns.

DirectTV also pays more than any other broadcast partner per subscriber. This exclusive content is the most distinguishing feature of its cable package. If all broadband providers could access the programming, the leverage to subscribe to the service would decline and prices would be more competitive. The NFL might not change its ask, but the providers would need to adjust their margins. You might also see a lowering of the tier you need to have in order to access the service.

The reason its not more available is fear of the broadcast networks of a decline in local ratings. Its classic monopolistic behavior, there is just an intermediate party wedged in the middle.

[mraynrand]

You would immediately get a better value by offering NFL Ticket on more than one platform, regardless of the ask set by the monopoly that is the NFL.

yes, the monopoly is the NFL, not DirecTV. I wrote incorrectly - If there are more platforms for NFL Sunday ticket, it's going to zap the free local broadcast and everyone will then pay more, but pay less on average than those who have to buy exclusively through DirecTV. I haven't thought far enough ahead to think what losing the local broadcast and those advertising dollars would do to the cost of the Sunday ticket average price, but you'd expect it to go up, no? Because the NFL is the monopoly, and not DirectTV, it seems like there is going to be a price for the Sunday Ticket feature that is relatively inflexible, no matter how many carriers offer it.

[pbmax]

yes, the monopoly is the NFL, not DirecTV. I wrote incorrectly - If there are more platforms for NFL Sunday ticket, it's going to zap the free local broadcast and everyone will then pay more, but pay less on average than those who have to buy exclusively through DirecTV. I haven't thought far enough ahead to think what losing the local broadcast and those advertising dollars would do to the cost of the Sunday ticket average price, but you'd expect it to go up, no? Because the NFL is the monopoly, and not DirectTV, it seems like there is going to be a price for the Sunday Ticket feature that is relatively inflexible, no matter how many carriers offer it.

That is a hard call to make. Compared to 1994 or whenever they hatched the Sunday Ticket scheme, Nielsen and Hollywood know how to count viewers who have cut the cord and stream the content, avoiding the affiliate. They have numbers for people who are online for the Live broadcast and those that pay and watch on delayed schedules. So its easy to put a number on it and sell advertising through the Live streaming, though they must cut out a few commercials to allow the live streaming event to 'catch up' to the live broadcast (there are always buffering delays). And, at least according to my Hulu channels, they can pinpoint your location enough to give you the local affiliates schedule and possibly local commercials.

And unless they have completely mucked it up, they should have vastly better and more accurate numbers from online subscription than from Nielsen.

The mystery is how that would affect advertisers on the OTA broadcast. There might be some loss of eyeballs (though if the price is somewhat inflexible, it might not dip a lot). However, football remains attractive to advertisers not because it delivers the same shares it used to (not as many TVs are tuned in during games due to increased competition) but because football is one of the few properties to deliver that big of an audience regularly. While just about every other form of TV draws much smaller ratings, the NFL is almost impervious. So despite a smaller share overall, they offer a huge audience that few TV shows can match. That keeps the advertiser dollars flowing.

[Striker]

One sport that will have to change is baseball. The average age of viewers is up in 50s. They are going to have to pick up the pace somehow.

The slow football games at night are the worst. During the day, it is much easier to DVR and fast forward. Recording games to watch the next day is unappealing because you might hear the score somewhere, and somehow the DVR copy grows a little stale overnight.

I'd say the problem with baseball is that there are 162 games on various days/times. It's easy for casual football fans to catch games during the NFL/college season because there are so few for teams they follow, and they usually only have to worry about one a week. I don't know of many people who will watch/listen to all the games in a season. Most will tune in if their teams are still in the playoff hunt/in the playoffs, but they can wait until the end of the season for that.

Also, as to the original point about the length of the OSU/Bama game, it also probably doesn't help when there are 77 points scored in a game. That usually pushes game length up.

[woodbuck27]

Easy solution: just watch the second half. Or the last fifteen minutes for that matter. College football has kind of gone the way of the NBA in that respect.

Record the game and watch it later.

[mraynrand]

I'd say the problem with baseball is that there are 162 games on various days/times. It's easy for casual football fans to catch games during the NFL/college season because there are so few for teams they follow, and they usually only have to worry about one a week. I don't know of many people who will watch/listen to all the games in a season. Most will tune in if their teams are still in the playoff hunt/in the playoffs, but they can wait until the end of the season for that.

Also, as to the original point about the length of the OSU/Bama game, it also probably doesn't help when there are 77 points scored in a game. That usually pushes game length up.

Baseball is a game made for young men to play and old men to follow. As I get older, I find myself enjoying the slow, deliberate tempo of the game. The strategies within strategies. Pitches, pitch count, changing strategies with alignments in the field, with runners in scoring position, substitutions, left handers versus right handers, I could go on. I'm no expert at baseball - at all - I might enjoy trying to become one, if I survive until retirement.

[pbmax]

Baseball is a game made for young men to play and old men to follow. As I get older, I find myself enjoying the slow, deliberate tempo of the game. The strategies within strategies. Pitches, pitch count, changing strategies with alignments in the field, with runners in scoring position, substitutions, left handers versus right handers, I could go on. I'm no expert at baseball - at all - I might enjoy trying to become one, if I survive until retirement.

Just don't write a book about it while also contemplating verdant expanses, morning dew and the rebirth announced with the Spring.