Football On the Rise

Football ratings continue to escalate for this young season on both the pro and college side. It's easy to credit the new season and the usual uncertainty, but there has to be more to the story. This past Monday's (9/16) game between Philadelphia and Atlanta drew more than 15 million viewers (12% over the 2023 regular season average), and the third "most watched" telecast in more than 50 games. Even the pre-game show viewership rose 8% over the first week.

The Broadcast Booth will go with TWO reasons this is happening. One is the overall decline in network TV content. Although the endless supply of reality and competition shows are fresh, the premiers of drama and comedy shows keeps getting later and later in the year. Fewer episodes are produced making constant repeats a regular thing. Football is fresh and live programming. The other reason would be the increased presence of betting, especially in-game and parlays. Having the pro leagues endorsing betting activity (partnerships, sponsorships, etc.) has increased the desire to follow the games more closely, which is exactly what the networks were hoping for. Between the betting services and the increase in fantasy football, they have created a ratings monster.

On the college side, those that get the CW Network telecasts might want to take note of the game this Saturday (9/21) between TCU and Southern Methodist which starts at 5 PM ET. The play-by-play voice for this game will be none other than Thom Brennaman.

Swift Improvement For Football TV Ratings

 NFL total viewing audiences had a noteworthy increase over the course of this season, especially when it comes to female viewers. Many point to the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship as being the driving factor. It is a major contributor, but there is a lot to be said for the fact that female viewership grew by roughly 30% across the NFL for the regular season, which means it was more than just Chiefs telecasts. For example, the Detroit vs. San Francisco NFC Championship Game telecast on Fox was its highest rated since 2012.

The Broadcast Booth theory on why female viewership is up is completely separate from the presence of Taylor Swift, which is the significantly stronger presence of female sportscasters around the dial. The number of female sportscasters has risen dramatically over the past five years, whether on local TV newscasts (sports anchors) or on sports talk radio stations and networks. There have been more and more instances of women discussing NFL teams and games (along with the other sports) with other women. 

What this added presence has done is to make the games more relatable to women. Coincidence or not, the abundance of female sportscasters has taken down the "man's world" image of pro sports, especially the hard hitting games of the NFL. These sportscasters, reporters, and talkers are at it every day, while Swift attends no more than one game per week.

Nick Saban didn't waste any time, joining ESPN to participate in College Football Game Day among other broadcasting assignments. Here's hoping that the constant screaming of the crowd and the many other distractions of the Game Day show will be better contained to allow viewers to be able to hear and understand the analysis of someone the caliber of Saban.

 

The situation regarding telecast rights for a group of MLB teams got a bit better this week as Baseball looks to recover from the Sinclair Broadcast Group bankruptcy situation. Diamond Sports Group has agreed to handle the telecasts for the World Champion Texas Rangers, along with the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians, paying reduced rights fees for the coming season to help ensure a profit or break even. These one-year deals give these teams a few more months for a long-term media partner to surface. 

Cable Cost Considerations Coming

There might be some relief on the way for sports fans tired of the increasing costs just to watch their favorite teams on TV or devices. More sports sources are working harder to make their network(s) and services available direct to consumer separate from the high monthly charges through cable/satellite distributors. 

 

Reports continue to surface that ESPN will be ready to introduce a direct to consumer service within the next year. The significance is that subscribers would no longer need to access via their cable/satellite distributor. ESPN is starting the new year by locking up an eight year deal with the NCAA to televise 40 NCAA championships to include various sports (such as volleyball and tennis) with men's and women's games.The staggering $115 million annually for this deal is nearly triple the current deal in place. 

Even with financial cutbacks at ESPN over the past year, there are reasons for committing to this deal. Those include having a leg up for upcoming negotiations for the NCAA Basketball Tournament and the college football championship series, the latter of which ESPN has a strong urge to retain. 

Meanwhile, in New York City, MSG Network and YES Network are close to forming a surprising but interesting partnership to offer their independent live streaming services to other providers around the country. Both networks now offer their services direct to consumer, with YES costing $24.99 per month and MSG Network costing $29.99. Rumors are that the two might combine to have a discounted cost to receive both services. We have no idea how much ESPN would charge for a subscription which does not require cable, and doubt that it will be inexpensive.

However, with many cable/satellite monthly bills coming in at well over $100 per month, being able to subscribe to a couple of a fan's "most important" sports network could very well cost less than half of that. Many sports fans don't want to continue paying for a group of channels showing the same reruns every day when they don't need to. Even a $50 per month savings amounts to $600 per year saved.

 

Looking ahead to Week 18 Sunday (1/7), it is quite surprising that the lackluster NFC North Division is receiving such prominent coverage from CBS and Fox. Although the Detroit vs. Minnesota (early) game has playoff implications for both teams, it will be the primary telecast with Joe Davis and Daryl Johnston on the call to most of the country. Among the late games, it is shocking that CBS selected the Chicago vs. Green Bay game as its primary doubleheader game, sending the lead team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo to most of the country. The Bears chances of making the post-season are extremely slim. Frankly, this telecast is likely to be crushed by Fox having Dallas vs. Washington for its doubleheader game. 

The Peacock Biting Even More From Our Wallets

Just because NBC continues to have the highest rated show and NFL telecast again this year with Sunday Night Football is not reason enough to get away with moving more of their sports programming to a pay tier. Consumers are already paying increasing monthly fees for their cable/satellite programming, which includes NBC. Some pay even more for sports packages which include the NBC Sports Regional Networks. Some pay still more on top of those to receive Peacock, which is being assigned to more and more live sports programming. 

 

This coming Saturday (12/16), Peacock will have exclusive coverage of the Indy Classic college basketball tournament. Exclusive. These are nothing but regular season non-conference college hoops matchups. They expect people not already subscribing to Peacock to pay to get these games. Their live doubleheader starts with Ball State vs. Indiana (12:45 PM ET), and is followed by Arizona vs. Purdue in a battle of two highly ranked teams.

 

Of course, teams ranked highly this early in the season could be long gone from the top spots by March. That's another story. These regular season games are being treated just like NBC coverage, including assigning Noah Eagle and Robbie Hummel to call both games. However, this telecast is only available to those paying much more than regular season prices.

 

Wait until NFL fans realize that Peacock will have the Dec. 23rd game between Buffalo and the L.A. Chargers exclusively in prime time. Peacock will also have an exclusive NFL playoff game during Wild Card weekend. Let's face it. If the NFL is able to get away with an extra pay tier for its games, fans of other sports leagues are doomed.

It appears that Al Michaels will not be calling one NFL playoff game for NBC or Peacock despite it being in his contract. The Network isn't saying why. Some critics point to his "boring" call of his playoff game assignment last year, while others speculate it was because of his comment about Taylor Swift being at the game not being a big deal. The NFL figures that Swift being at the games is good for ratings, and for the millions they pay for the rights, they want to keep it positive. Nice work for Michaels, who could be getting paid for not calling a game.

This Saturday, 12/16, is a day featuring an NFL triple header. For the first time, each of the games will be seen live via NFL Network, only simulcast over the air in each of the local markets only for their team's game. 

Chris Rose and Jason McCourty will call the Minnesota vs. Cincinnati game, while Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner will describe Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis. The prime time game between Denver and Detroit will be called by Kevin Harlan and Trent Green.

Back on the college sports scene, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced expanded coverage, especially for basketball, with a group of partners. ESPN, CBS Sports, and NBC Sports will divide the coverage throughout this five year extension.

 

Meanwhile, ESPN's NHL doubleheader on Tuesday (12/12) produced its highest ratings since Week 2 of the NHL season. The later matchup (starting after 10 PM ET) between Chicago and Edmonton featured Connor Bedard against Connor McDavid drew more than 400,000 viewers around the country. 

 

 

Finding Gold in Alabama

It's news that is better than gold with the official announcement that Eli Gold has been cleared to return to his play-by-play role in the University of Alabama radio booth! Gold was on the sidelines last season (after 35 years) while receiving treatment for Stage 3 cancer. He is expected to be on the call for the Crimson Tide's opening game on September 2nd. Can't come soon enough.

 

With the college football season starting in a month, one media related development has been set to begin for next year (2024 season) that will be a significant change for long-time fans. The incredible TV partnerships that the Big 10 Conference has with CBS, Fox, and NBC will reach a new level. To reduce the fighting for the lead game each week, according to the Indy Star, starting in 2024 the networks will rotate selecting their primary game. 

 

For this year, CBS finishes its contract with the SEC, allowing it to give a higher priority to the Big 10 games starting next year. NBC will be adding the Big 10 in addition to Notre Dame (ironic given the rumors years ago of ND joining the Conference). Part of the NBC deal is allowing the network to flex Big 10 games in to its prime time slot. Fox will be continuing its contract. Can't overlook the irony of all the years gone by when ABC had exclusive rights to the Big 10. Although a long way off, it will be interesting to see how the three networks showcasing the same product week after week does for their respective ratings.

 

Meanwhile, it's a very disappointing day for Fox and NBC, which have lost the rights to important NASCAR races, starting in 2025. The CW will become exclusive home to the entire NASCAR Infinity Series. With this addition, and an upcoming share of golf tournaments thanks to its having the LIV rights and the subsequent merger with the PGA, CW is growing a presence in sports coverage. They are also expected to add to their roster of college basketball, football, and other motor sports.

DENVER: After only nine months on the job, former Broncos first round pick Derek Wolfe has stepped down from his role as afternoon drive co-host on KKFN 104.3 The Fan. Wolfe claimed "schedule conflicts" but many think this was a result of a backlash from his recent photo of a mountain lion he boasted of killing while on a hunting trip.  No replacement named as of press time.

Bailing Out From Bally Bankruptcy Could be Bombastic

While the nation prepares for the constant flow of March Madness games over the next two weeks, MLB is forced to get ready to take on the financial burden of streaming games to fans of as many as 14 teams. After days of rumors, the NY Post reports that the Bally Sports Regional Networks (currently owned by Diamond Sports) group is expected to file for bankruptcy within the coming week, allowing it to drop scheduled telecasts of the majority of games of the teams it holds the rights to.

The report has MLB taking over the production and offering local packages for fans within the team's current rights areas. This is significant because 14 teams is one short of half of MLB, and a bankruptcy likely impacts the individual teams' ability to collect millions of dollars in anticipated revenue. These regional networks also, in many cases, also have rights to NBA and/or NHL teams, whose telecasts would also be impacted.

This situation bears watching, not only because of the timing, but its potential significance involving millions of dollars in potentially lost revenue for teams in MLB, NBA, and NHL because of this.

 

Not sure what University of Colorado did to bring this on, but their spring football game will be shown on the main ESPN Network. What makes this "interesting" is that this will be the ONLY college spring game shown on the main network, for whatever reason. The University of Georgia spring game will air on ESPN2. However, other spring football game telecasts will appear only on ESPN+ and/or conference channels. Again, wondering how U of Colorado managed to pull this off.  

Another football related mystery involves the XFL, which we normally wouldn't pay attention to. Despite a noticeable decline in viewership over its first three weeks of games, the announcement as come that ESPN/ABC is moving a group of games "up" to its main platforms. Believe it or not, XFL games are now being scheduled to soon air on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. 

Local Telecasts May Still Be Down Stream

Perhaps there is a light at the end of the tunnel for viewers of live sports streaming that are understandably frustrated with blackout restrictions. The biggest example is MLB.TV, which continues to enforce blackout restrictions intended for "over the air" viewing even in distant locations. Although blacking out a telecast within a local market is tolerable (based on the reasoning that it could prevent fans from buying tickets and attending), but beyond that is not. The most glaring examples include parts of Nevada, more than a four hour drive away, black out Dodgers games, and that Mariners telecasts are blacked out in Alaska.

The word that MLB has hired Billy Chambers, an executive with Sinclair Broadcasting (which owns a large number of the regional networks which carry MLB teams) to reportedly work with local and regional networks. With overall cable TV subscriptions dropping at a rate of roughly 5% per year since 2019, it appears that MLB recognizes that there are fewer consumers able to watch the local team than in the past. As encouraging as this sounds, the possibility remains that a separate streaming package to watch the local team could keep the blackout restrictions currently in place for MLB.TV. 

Meanwhile, it appears that Al Michaels is not planning on an explanation as to why his call of the amazing Jacksonville comeback vs. Los Angeles in last Saturday's (1/14) NFL playoff game was incredibly tame. It would not have come under fire if his calmness was typical of how Michaels has been calling games over the past 50 years. But it was not. The feeling from here is that, unfortunately, age has caught up with Michaels and the voice we all knew for such a long time simply wasn't there when he needed it. Looks like NBC made the right decision by having moved Mike Torico in to its lead role when they did.

DETROIT - Word is that Jack Morris is off the Tigers telecasts all together. We may never know if it was due to his occasional controversial comments over the past couple of seasons, or it was because he lacked enthusiasm and a broadcast knack throughout his tenure. Reportedly, no one else will be added to the roster of analysts, and that Craig Monroe will be assigned additional telecasts instead.