NFL PreGame Shows Out Foxed

As we get ready for a big weekend of football over a variety of networks, it's interesting to note viewer trends of the surrounding studio shows from the just concluded 2018 NFL season.

Even with all of the coverage of the NFL throughout the week, it is noteworthy that viewership was up overall for the pre-game shows offered by the televising networks compared with the 2017 regular season. Coincidentally, both The NFL Today on CBS and ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown showed viewership increases of roughly 4% for the season. 

NBC's Football Night In America, which has most of its first hour going against the doubleheader game(s) of Fox and/or CBS each week, gained roughly 200,000 viewers from the prior season. The only decrease, curiously, was Fox NFL Kickoff, which showed a decline of approximately 1%.

It remains to be seen whether Fox will make any changes from its long in place lineup of hosts, or if they will stand pat and consider this season a fluke. Whether they do or don't, there is plenty of reason for concern on their part.

2018 was the first season that Fox had the benefit of Thursday Night Football for much of the season, providing them with the first chance to promote their Sunday pregame show most weeks. Although the NY Giants got off to a poor start, which likely had an effect with fewer views from the nation's largest market, the next two largest markets, Los Angeles and Chicago, had teams which aired mostly on Fox that were in first place for the majority of the season. The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles also had the majority of their telecasts on Fox.

Even though Fox did not lose very many viewers from the previous season, the point is that the other networks combined to increase viewership well beyond the audience numbers which Fox's show lost. Fox needs to find one or more reasons why they are the only pregame show which did not increase its viewership. 



This Monday night is ESPN's turn to shine with its coverage of the college national championship game between Alabama and Clemson. They are arranging it so that even the casual fan will find a reason to tune in. Unlike when Fox moves important baseball games to FS1, this Monday's game will be easy to find. As of press time, it is scheduled to air on 17 separate places if you count streaming feeds on ESPN3!

The feed will include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, Goal Line, and even the SEC Network. Feeds will range from the participant team announcers to multi-camera views to enhanced statistics such as real time drive charts. Camera angles will include from first down markers, the orange pylons, and sky cams.


It's possible that NBC Sports Radio has come up with a way to draw some attention. The new year brought "The Daily Line" to the network each weekday from 3 to 7 PM ET, with the focus being on betting lines and fantasy sports information.

Still in works but not finalized at press time is that portions of the show will be simulcast, or possibly edited highlights, each day on the NBC Sports Regional Networks. The length of the planned TV version is not known, nor is it certain whether each regional network would air the same length show.

It remains to be seen whether or not "The Daily Line" would replace the afternoon highlights version of The Dan Patrick Show, or would air in different time slots.

The feeling here is that this show has a lot of potential. At least in the early stage, it will be the only show with betting and fantasy as a center point, and provide factual information and discussion about upcoming games. Some fans prefer to learn information instead of hearing the same discussion about the local teams over and over again.


HOUSTON: It's a new challenge for the new Program Director brought in for KILT 610 and KIKK 650 as the sports stations struggle to build a larger audience. Armen Williams takes over, coming in from Denver's KKFN 104.3 The Fan.


SAN FRANCISCO: It's official that long time 49ers radio voice Ted Robinson is cutting back on his schedule and will be handling Community Affairs for the team instead of calling the games.

Stepping in will be none other than Greg Papa, who comes across the Bay after having called the Oakland Raiders games until after the 2017 season. 


BALTIMORE: With WBAL Newsradio 1090 adding 101.5 FM as a simulcast, it means that the Ravens games now air on three signals within the Baltimore area. The game broadcasts also air on Rock 97.9, with those expected to continue even with WBAL's FM simulcast. 


LOS ANGELES: The Dodgers have extended the contract of radio (and occasional TV) voice Charlie Steiner through the next three seasons. The 69 year old Steiner will celebrate his 50th year as a broadcaster during the upcoming 2019 season.


Happy New Year!