NFL TV TALKS&POSSIBBLE CHANGES IN 2006
 

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]acoording to today's usa today the nfl is considering moving back the start of the season,pushing kickoff times back an hour,and moving the monday night game back to thursday night.they have also indicated that fox and cbs pick games from both conferences to show on sunday,no more nfc and afc only networks.they also added that keeping the game on monday nights,and adding a second weekly game on thursdays would also be an option they would be open to.pushing the start of the season back would mean the season would end near the end of februrary
and the superbowl would be in march.that is the only part i'm against.having the superbowl where it is great to many of us.moving that would really be odd.what do you guys think?[/FONT]

I'm in total agreement. I think a mon/thursday showing would be best, so we can have three days of football a week. I mean if its th eonly game on ( Mon/Thur) I dont acre if you put Arizona SanDiego, I'll watch every second of it, its a good business tool. But Pushing the season back... I highly dislike that, I love how right after christmas its playoff time, that would be really wierd if Football was still going on today.

[FONT=Century Gothic]i love football,and i would probably watch at least a half of the cardinals and the 1976 tampa bay bucs if it were on.but where they have the season now can't be beat.like the gman said,it's perfect right after santy clause visits.i sure hope he brings me a winning redskin playoff game this year.(2004)[/FONT]

Hrm, my only problem with this change is MNF is really late for those of us on the East Coast. So another Weekday game adds yet another night up late! How about Friday Night or Saturday Night games.

I also think the Super Bowl should be changed to a Saturday. Sundays aren't exactly what you call a great day for some of the biggest parties during the year.

[FONT=Garamond]not to menton it would give those who party a little too much a non work day to recover.i would love to see them move the monday night kickoff at least up till 830pm.when you have to get up at 430am every day,going to bed at 1200am even one night a week kills you man....[/FONT]

I agree, I think MNF shoudl start around 830, and on Thursdays the same. I really dont think a Fri/Sat Night game would draw a ton of people, only cause those are the nights people go out and even though some of us die hards would watch it , not alot of poeple would. Unless its the Skins or a really good game ( why the playoffs on sat do work ), I wouldnt go out of my way to watch a game on fri/sat night.

[FONT=Book Antiqua]the best thing about thursday games is the fact that most of us get saturday off,and having to work on friday when you know you get the next day off is not that bad to me anyways.the playoffs have worked so good the last few years (IMO anyways)on saturday nights is because the biggest part of the country has been snowed in.or it has been so damn cold only a snowman or polar bear would venture out and then only to take a whiz or make a beer run. :D [/FONT]

Let's go through these, one by one.
1) Moving back the start of the season. This is clearly a ploy to move the playoffs into February sweeps month, but what it does is delay the start of the season until mid-September. As it stands, August is the cruelest month while I wait for the season to start, and these guys want to extend it. It will also mean more snow games, and a greater advantage for home field in the playoffs. (Teams built for domes must love this).
2) Moving kickoff times forward. Obviously, an attempt to shore up the west coast. This is a battle the NFL has been losing for years, since the number two TV market (LA) gave up on football. I'm torn. It would make the 4:00 game that much more difficult to watch here on the East Coast (or God's country), since dinner would have to be prepared and eaten during the twenty minutes of halftime, barring any interesting commercials distracting me. This would also kill the decompression period between the 4 o'clock and 8:30 game, where I quickly tell my wife and son I love them before checking out my fantasy stats. I vote no, again.
3) Thursday night. As a second game, why not? It creates a short week for the teams involved, but as long as it's rotated well, unlike the Thanksgiving games which invariably feature the horrible Lions and the used-to-be-horrible Cowboys. As an replacement for Monday night, how does giving up a weeknight institution help Tagliabue's plan for world domination?
4) Eliminating conference alignments for networks. I'm against this too. The Redskins have had their share of bad announcing teams the past few years. I'm convinced if we win the Super Bowl this year, Brian Baldinger and Tim Green are going to want rings. But just when my eardrums formed calluses that allowed me to listen to these guys without bursting, I have to learn to stomach a new bunch of saps. Gumbel and Simms are excellent, but how often would we get the A-team? Get ready for Don Criqui, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, and Craig Bolerjack. This only works if Bonnie Bernstein roams the sidelines every week.

In closing, as always, all change is bad, unless it means more football and more Bonnie Bernstein.

i really do'nt care who calls the games,just as long as they show them.i hope the nfl and espn are looking for ways to stop drunken former players (like joe
namath)from groping all the good looking reporters on the sidelines during the game.i wish they would alternate thanksgiving games.it is awful to have to watch the lions and the cowpunks every year on turkey day,i would like to see them add a couple of late games for the friday after thanksgiving too.

Well said!!!! I love the idea of adding a Thursday night game! I would go even further though and say to move the MNF games and the Thurs games to 8oclock sharp!! They do this in pre-season, why not the regular season too? I'm not worried about the west coast, I'm thinking more in terms of the east cost! :)

If they want the playoffs to start in February, just add more games to the season. Heck, make it an even twenty games, otherwise, don't push back the start of the season until mid September. It's bad enough that I have to wait all the way to September to watch the Redskins again anyways. Maybe I can see the networks wanting the baseball season to have more ratings since that would be around playoff time for them, right? I dunno, I don't watch baseball.

As far as mixing the afc and nfc games up between stations, I don't think I would really mind that too much, as long as my region continues to show pretty much every single Redskins game. I agree though on the announcers...Brian Baldinger(is that his last name??)..man this guy sucks!!

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]glad to see you found your way over skins guy.i would love for a 20 game season in the nfl.i love march madness,and baseball too but adding to the nfl schedule would solidify its place as the usa's most popular pro sports league.though the other legues try,they will never be more popular ever than the nfl.[/COLOR]

I really like the idea of adding another primetime game on Thursday nights!

I like the idea of rotating Thanksgiving games so it's not just the Lions and Cowboys ever year. But I'm not sure I like the idea of a Thursday game every week. If you start adding too many games during the week I think it takes away from what makes the NFL so special, that each weekend of games is an event. All football fans spend the week getting pumped for Sunday afternoon. I don't think it would be as successful if you missed a game but knew you could catch another a couple of days later

[QUOTE=smootsmack]I like the idea of rotating Thanksgiving games so it's not just the Lions and Cowboys ever year. But I'm not sure I like the idea of a Thursday game every week. If you start adding too many games during the week I think it takes away from what makes the NFL so special, that each weekend of games is an event. All football fans spend the week getting pumped for Sunday afternoon. I don't think it would be as successful if you missed a game but knew you could catch another a couple of days later[/QUOTE]
The flip side to that arguement is that it allows fans a chance to watch more games, and perhaps allows a better chance to see their team on TV without spending hundreds of dollars for DirecTV and Sunday Ticket. Say for example I'm a Cardinals fan (I know, I know...). It would be next to impossible for me to see a Cardinals game on TV in Delaware without going to a bar or shelling out some cash. But, if there is a Thursday game, two early Sunday games, a late Sunday game, a Sunday Night game, and a Monday night game, then mathematically, I've got to bump into the Cards at least once, don't I?

By the way, I know there aren't any actual Cardinals fans. They are a myth, like competitive balance in baseball.

I agree. I know they at least had a string of about 2-3 weeks where they had Thursday Night Specials, what happened to that? The only " Special " thursday game this year, was the opener. I think even if you just throw a few Thursday " Specials " around, it would be beneficial. I ultimatley think I'm gonna be getting the Ticket this year, so I dont have to go run around bars to find the skins.

nfl sunday ticket is the way to go.
 

[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]the upcoming 2004 season will be my 5th year of nfl sunday ticket.to be honest,i do'nt know who i ever went without it.i got to see a good game every week,regardless of what was on locally.if you love watching great football,there is no way you can't get it.if i depended on my local channells i would have to watch the panthers and the game of the week
most of the time.that is why[/COLOR][SIZE=7]CABLE TV STINKS[/SIZE]

BrudLee:

You have most of the arguments nailed down for why the NFL wants to think about these changes. Do you work in the broadcasting business?

The NFL thinks putting the Super Bowl and at least one week of playoff games in Feburary is a great idea because of the ratings sweeps in that month. However, the networks might not be nearly as enthusiastic since they will only get the Super Bowl once every three years and so they could get slaughtered in the ratings two thirds of the time. And February is a slow month for sports "stuff" anyway. What the NFL probably wants to do is to have the "open weekend" in the playoffs coincide with the Daytona 500 so that they don't lose viewers there. That is the only sporting event in February that is even close to being competitive with the NFL. The Iditarod starts in February; that could be a problem... ;)

The starting time issue for MNF is also a ratings issue. On the East Coast it would be ideal to start the games at 8:00 and have them end before midnite. That's a benefit for TV viewers and a REAL benefit if you are actually going to one of those games. However, 8:00 Eastern Time is 5:00 Pacific Time and so people from California and Oregon and Washington are just getting out of work at that time. The NFL and the networks are not pandering to these people due to some sense of entitlement out west. The NFL and the networks realize that if they are in their cars stuck on a freeway somewhere, they are not in front of their TV sets. And that makes for lower ratings and lower ratings makes for lower advertising rates and lower advertising rates makes for lower bids for the rights to to MNF. This is a money issue pure and simple.

The suits at the NFL love the idea of Thursday Night Football. Most of the coaches hate it. Guess who will win that tug of war.

Someone wanted to know why the NFL did not consider Friday or Saturday Night football. The reason is the Congress of the United States. There is a reason why NFL games don't appear on Saturdays until mid-December and that is NCAA football. The Congress got upset when the NFL put a game on Saturday about 40-50 years ago and it competed with college football. Basically, Congress said that they would consider that to be predatory and might have to demand some anti-trust sanctions against the league. In passing they also mentioned how Friday nights were traditionally "reserved" for high school football and that the NFL should not consider that move because the Congress would take the same dim view of that. Bottom line: If you want Friday/Saturday Night NFL Football, write your Congressthing.

You want to know who is more in favor of Thursday Night football than anyone - but you won't hear a peep out of them? The Sports Books in Las Vegas would love this. If the Cardinals and the Chargers were on Monday night - by accident of course - it would handle at least twice and probably four times as much money as that game would handle on a Sunday. Only the premiere games can do as big a number on Sunday as they do on MNF. so the books would love another exclusive national game because there are LOTS of goofs out there who can't watch any game without having a bet on it. Generally, those goofs are also called losers.

The best way for a team to have good TV announcers is for the team to win. The Redskins used to get Summerall/Madden all the time; now they are lucky not to have Jerry Glanville in the booth. You'll hear the best announcers when you are one of the best teams. Makes no difference what network has the games, you just need to follow the old Al Davis adage: Just win, baby.

Finally, my idea - which I sent to the NFL and to ABC/ESPN in a letter last Fall - seems not to be in the package yet. I think there should be a Thanksgiving Night game. I'd pick a traditional rivalry within a division so that the teams are guaranteed to play each other every year and then put that game on Thanksgiving Night and rotate the home team. I got back a nice form letter from the NFL; I never heard from ABC; ESPN said that they got lots of people sending in ideas but that they found mine intriguing and would consider it as part of their long term programming strategy. Translation: IF it ever happens, it will be their idea.

I agree with the Thursday night games. More football on tv is always a good thing. I'd rather leave the season alone though. Playoffs after Christmas is like another Christmas present!!!
I was stationed on the east coast for several years and hated the late start times (hardly ever saw the end of a game, unless it was the Skins of course). Now I'm usually on west coast time (AZ) so I love the start times. To give you guys a break though, why couldn't they move the start time to 8 and show the game on a 1 hour delay out here so it starts at 6. As long as they wouldn't cut anything from the telecast.

[QUOTE=sportscurmudgeon]
Finally, my idea - which I sent to the NFL and to ABC/ESPN in a letter last Fall - seems not to be in the package yet. I think there should be a Thanksgiving Night game. I'd pick a traditional rivalry within a division so that the teams are guaranteed to play each other every year and then put that game on Thanksgiving Night and rotate the home team. I got back a nice form letter from the NFL; I never heard from ABC; ESPN said that they got lots of people sending in ideas but that they found mine intriguing and would consider it as part of their long term programming strategy. Translation: IF it ever happens, it will be their idea.[/QUOTE]

That is a very interesting and very intriguing idea, which I like very much. I mean think about it, who really goes out on thanksgiving night. You spend the day with your family, watch the ball games and just go home or maybe to the occasional friends house. No matter what, ussually your going ot be infront of a tv. Thats a really good idea, imo, plus its one more game to pull in monster ratings for the NFL.

[FONT=Garamond]having a game like that would be awesome in every since of the word.if they do that,i hope they put it on one of the networks as opposed to just cable,so everybody can have a chance to see it.[/FONT]

[QUOTE=johnnyredskin63]acoording to today's usa today the nfl is considering moving back the start of the season[/quote]
Definitely a ratings ploy...I'd rather see training camp moved back as well...limit preseason to 2-3 games starting in the last week of August...with the season starting around Sept. 15. That would put the Super Bowl in February...

[QUOTE=johnnyredskin63]pushing kickoff times back an hour[/quote]
kickoff times don't matter much to me...again ratings ploy. I like the kickoff times as they are now...I would move the Sunday night and Monday night games back to 8...West Coast would have a problem...someone made mention of a tape delay...that would have worked about 10 years ago...however in this day and age of 24 hours sports, that would be incredibly difficult.

[QUOTE=johnnyredskin63]moving the monday night game back to thursday night.[/quote]
Meaning no Monday games, but Thursday games...I'd be all for that. I actually don't watch too many Monday night games, and would be more inclined to watch games on Thursday nights...

[QUOTE=johnnyredskin63]they have also indicated that fox and cbs pick games from both conferences to show on sunday,no more nfc and afc only networks.[/quote]
this is probably more asinine than anything else...meaning less and less ratings for the weaker matchups, including powerhouse v. basement dweller. I like the fact that I can watch the NFC on Fox and the AFC on CBS...If you want ratings, allow the networks to have say on which games they show...

What would be ideal (but won't happen) is to set up a satellite feed of the two radio broadcasts, so you can choose who to listen to, whether it be the TV, one team's radio broadcast or the other...the network wouldn't like that, but they would then be more pressed to find better talent to broadcast their games. IMO, the best broadcast team was Dick Stockton and Matt Millen...with Moose Johnston there now, the Stockton team is usually one of the better ones. I can't stand Buck, Aikman and Collingsworth...I wish they would pair Aikman with someone else...Aikman is wasted in that booth.

These are all just ratings ploys, pure and simple. I like the setup the way it is, and would root for no changes...