Heitz Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 I do not believe the NFL is going to bring back viewers they have lost just based on people I know that won't come back. Maybe Amazon can show where they can limit how many additional viewers they lose by using their relationship with their customers. I do not see this working out awfully well for the NFL. Just like players that didn't want to make sure the strength of contracts were there for future players these players that are protesting now do not care about the future of the NFL existing as it does now. The fragmenting of viewers is happening all over sports. I work on a property that was doing (still does) low TV numbers, but it crushes it on the live stream... With the amount of people cutting the cord, the move to Amazon (Twitter, etc.) isn't necessarily bad. And even as the "mainstream" football audience erodes, there will always be people that want to watch - what better way to get them than to fish where the fish are? (hint:they're on the Interweb) I can't wait until 2035 when TBD bids for the digital rights to Bills games! SDS, call me and my lawyer Hammer, in for the negotiations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 They can very easily insert ads into their streams. Ads that you can't fast forward. Ads that are tailored to the viewer. Some sites already inert ads into their streams Some sites gives the viewer the option to skip shorter random ads in exchange for a longer interactive ad where the viewer has to rate the ad for content and interest in the product the almighty Ad $ thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 First off, no broken heart if ESPN no longer carries football, much less exist. I don't need every sport turned into hip hop culture and screaming hot takes. When I get stuck watching it in an office waiting room, I'm subjected to this garbage: an assist in hockey being called a dime (stupid) and a wrist shot called by a female broadcaster a one-timer. Put woman on because their attractive and dress them scantily, this is what you get... turned off viewers. Second, the NFL would be insane to go to all streaming service. First, service isn't great in a lot of places, even in cities and suburbs and even worse of non-existent in many rural communities. If the object is to get more viewers, this is the wrong way to do it. The NFL has bigger problems than a TV contract. The far better, and more likely, scenario is for future contracts to include the right of the winning company to negotiate with other companies to also show the content, much like the NFL Network does with Verizon and Amazon. Let CBS pick their games of the week in their markets, and then let Vue or Hulu or Sling air the rest (for example). It's a win for everyone. CBS gets to broadcast the local games that of most interest while making some money from all the other games that are sitting idle. The main thing I'm getting really friggin sick of is the lack of options available to watch the Bills (one team). Obviously the money wins out in the end, but I find it hard to believe that with all of the options out there DTV and their hoarding bull **** is still the best thing for the NFL. I absolutely believe that if one of these companies would give everyone an option to just watch their team (without having to pay for every other game AND a DTV package I will never use), overall revenue and viewership would increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 (edited) Nope, ESPN gets nothing for its investments and they are hemorrhaging funds. They need to right their ship and MNF is an unprofitable luxury. If they lose the NFL, they lose access to all highlights and the subsequent programming that uses them. Think of all the programming that is NFL-specific. This would all be lost. That's why it's imperative for them to have it. Edited October 31, 2017 by stony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njbuff Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 Screw ESPN. Don't they still employ that vile, racist B word Hill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 The NFL may be on a decline at the moment but that will level at some point and still be pretty high. The days of network and cable TV dominating NFL rights are over. DirecTV is in business because they own that contract. Don't expect them to have it when it runs out. Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Verizon, et al. are set to be big time players for NFL rights. The future of all media, including live events, is streaming. That's not an "image hit." It's a sea change regarding content delivery. I don't know that streaming will ever work let alone be the future. It sucks and there's no easy way to fix it. I do agree that the NFL will see a decline but the base is strong enough to stabilize it. They still have a huge challenge in front of them. Video recorders have taken some of the value out of live advertising, they've already maxed out the stadium dollars and for various reasons the excitement has been diluted. The NFL needs Directv way more than Directv needs the NFL now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Nope, ESPN gets nothing for its investments and they are hemorrhaging funds. They need to right their ship and MNF is an unprofitable luxury. In many ways, I'm ok with this. the NFL is reaping what it's sown with ****ty rules enforcement, grabbing for dollars, holding cities hostage and finally not quashing the anthem protests. If anyone thinks it's ALL about the protests, they're deluding themselves. I'd say the first three factors listed above have a larger role in the whole thing. A lot of younger fans who can't afford cable are using free illegal online streaming to watch games. Cord cutting and having a free alternative has to be impacting things for them. I also think the biggest factor are the Thursday and Sunday Night games. The Sunday Night games have the better scheduled games and the Thursday games overexpose the product as Monday Night is no longer the last day to see NFL football before Sunday. Now you are never more than 3 days away from a NFL game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansLanda Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 (edited) My thoughts on this Amazon viewership will be but a fraction of a cable TV's audience. ESPN cable isn't available to millions (?) of people, Amazon has to be less than ESPN. Do you honestly think the viewership #'s won't be flipped in AMZN's favor by 2021? ESPN may be dead in 10 years and I would not be surprised to see them spun out of Disney and run by private equity firms within 5 years. A lot of younger fans who can't afford cable are using free illegal online streaming to watch games. Cord cutting and having a free alternative has to be impacting things for them. I also think the biggest factor are the Thursday and Sunday Night games. The Sunday Night games have the better scheduled games and the Thursday games overexpose the product as Monday Night is no longer the last day to see NFL football before Sunday. Now you are never more than 3 days away from a NFL game. The NFL will ALWAYS find how, when and on what devices people watch the sport. The NFL billionaires will always make their money. The question is how much they will want to play with Roku, AAPL, GOOG, AMZN, etc. in the future. Content distro deals are going to look a lot different. Edited November 1, 2017 by HansLanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punt75 Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-cant-afford-monday-night-football/ who the hell cares right now??????????? It's like worrying about the draft half-way through the current season. Relax and enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansLanda Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 who the hell cares right now??????????? It's like worrying about the draft half-way through the current season. Relax and enjoy!! I think it's worth following. Will probably change what we pay to see NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Do you honestly think the viewership #'s won't be flipped in AMZN's favor by 2021? ESPN may be dead in 10 years and I would not be surprised to see them spun out of Disney and run by private equity firms within 5 years. The NFL will ALWAYS find how, when and on what devices people watch the sport. The NFL billionaires will always make their money. The question is how much they will want to play with Roku, AAPL, GOOG, AMZN, etc. in the future. Content distro deals are going to look a lot different. The number of people who pay for Amazon video will likely not be greater than the number of people who have basic cable or a skinny cable bundle. But if Amazon makes Prime video a part of their basic Prime membership then I think for sure those numbers will be flipped. Although you are completely correct that content distribution will be massively different in the near future. Cable companies over the past 10 years have bet big on live sports holding their audiences since Live Sports is DVR proof. But the massive rights fees haven't produced the revenue needed, in fact some ratings have still gone down for live sports due to chord cutting and illegal streaming. So now these companies are overpaying for lower ratings. I suspect as these deals expire in the 2020's these networks will likely pay less for the rights fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansLanda Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 (edited) The number of people who pay for Amazon video will likely not be greater than the number of people who have basic cable or a skinny cable bundle. But if Amazon makes Prime video a part of their basic Prime membership then I think for sure those numbers will be flipped. Although you are completely correct that content distribution will be massively different in the near future. Cable companies over the past 10 years have bet big on live sports holding their audiences since Live Sports is DVR proof. But the massive rights fees haven't produced the revenue needed, in fact some ratings have still gone down for live sports due to chord cutting and illegal streaming. So now these companies are overpaying for lower ratings. I suspect as these deals expire in the 2020's these networks will likely pay less for the rights fees. amzn already has ~100M prime members and all video content is included with Prime as of today. In 2021? Edited November 1, 2017 by HansLanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 In many ways, I'm ok with this. the NFL is reaping what it's sown with ****ty rules enforcement, grabbing for dollars, holding cities hostage and finally not quashing the anthem protests. If anyone thinks it's ALL about the protests, they're deluding themselves. I'd say the first three factors listed above have a larger role in the whole thing. I agree. I think people have already forgotten about the protests, and how angry they were about them, by and large. While I also agree with you on the other reasons, I really think Mark Cuban was right... for decades the NFL has pounced on every penny, and, really, treated their fans like garbage...I think people have just become numb, to a degree...over-saturation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadingpain Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Any scenario that allows me to pay a reasonable price to watch my Bills games outside of WNY without having to go with satellite TV is a great improvement for me personally. I can't believe that no NHL Center Ice equivalent exists for the NFL, beyond the Direct TV satellite thing. That's total bull **** in 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansLanda Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Any scenario that allows me to pay a reasonable price to watch my Bills games outside of WNY without having to go with satellite TV is a great improvement for me personally. I can't believe that no NHL Center Ice equivalent exists for the NFL, beyond the Direct TV satellite thing. That's total bull **** in 2017. the satellite issue will go away within 3 years, esp now that DTV is part of AT&T. If I had to place the $$ over/under on what it will eventually cost to get the NFL ticket on any streaming platform is something like this: $350 all games (except in market) or $500 (all games + in market even if blacked out). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeginnersMind Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I don't know that streaming will ever work let alone be the future. It sucks and there's no easy way to fix it. I stream the games legally every week to my AppleTV using the DirecTV app. It's HD and works amazing. In 8 weeks, I remember maybe one 10-15 second glitch. No signal degradation. And it will only get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 the satellite issue will go away within 3 years, esp now that DTV is part of AT&T. If I had to place the $$ over/under on what it will eventually cost to get the NFL ticket on any streaming platform is something like this: $350 all games (except in market) or $500 (all games + in market even if blacked out). NFL games no longer have a blackout rule. All local games are televised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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