DOJ opens antitrust investigation of NFL over TV deals

[Attyla]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/484 ... l-tv-deals

[Opoponax50]

The truth is that NFL should be on TV and completely free….look at all the commercials they get to play during a game; the game one hour long but end up going to three hours with all the stoppage they have….

I have no idea what the NFL makes from one game on commercials alone; but I bet it quite a lot of money…

When I used to work on Sundays I'd record the games on Tivo (or whatever it was called), so I could skip through the commercials. It usually cut the time in half.

It seems like the league could make just money by charging more for commercial time while having fewer commercials. They should only be allowed during timeouts of any kind, the two minute warning, between quarters, and at halftime. No commercials for change of possession. For example, when a team fumbles or throws a pick, there would be no commercials. There would be no commercials following punts or kickoffs.

It's never going to happen but it would be nice.

[Diesis]

When I used to work on Sundays I'd record the games on Tivo (or whatever it was called), so I could skip through the commercials. It usually cut the time in half.

It seems like the league could make just money by charging more for commercial time while having fewer commercials. They should only be allowed during timeouts of any kind, the two minute warning, between quarters, and at halftime. No commercials for change of possession. For example, when a team fumbles or throws a pick, there would be no commercials. There would be no commercials following punts or kickoffs.

It's never going to happen but it would be nice.

The one problem with having less commercials is that it would mean listening to more of Chris Collingsworth prattling on.

[Jeevo]

I think you can watch every play in something like 15 minutes. When I was a kid I used to watch the weekly Washington State Cougars replay show and they would show every play, and have some analysis, etc., and the show was 30 minutes.

[RickRyb]

My basketball coach in high school would say that football players only spent something like 8 minutes of actual physical activity while basketball players spent the entire game.

[Rainman56]

the n.f.l these days is all about the mighty buck ...fuuck the fans

All you have to do is look at the rule changes the past number of years...All about $$$,the integrity of a once great game is all but forgotten...Has happened is all/most sports sadly.

[mstrbass2000]

Actually during the time of leather helmets, owners typically lost money and many teams folded. It was the college game that held court as the best in football. Teams did not start being universally profitable until the 60s but many teams were break even or just over the green line even then. the AFL almost folded several times.

yes, in teh beginning some had piss poor business models or poor owners that went belly up but as the game grew most failing teams just got taken over /merged or got bought out by richer owners whom then tweaked the business model making em more profitable, plus many teams claim to lose money thru creative accounting even though they made money

[mstrbass2000]

All you have to do is look at the rule changes the past number of years...All about $$$,the integrity of a once great game is all but forgotten...Has happened is all/most sports sadly.

the game has changed so much via rules changes

[Sold My Soul]

NFL Pushes Back As FCC Scrutiny of Media Strategy Grows

The NFL is beginning to mount its defense against increasing scrutiny from Washington officials about its media strategy.

Hans Schroeder, league EVP of media distribution, met with Federal Communications Commission officials in the nation’s capital last Friday, as he sought to allay concerns that the league’s growing embrace of streamers is creating an overly fragmented and expensive experience for consumers.

There, Schroeder made a series of points as he defended the NFL’s antitrust exemption, according to league officials, including that it shows 87% of all its games on free, broadcast television. That figure rises to 100% for the competing teams’ home markets in each contest.

The league also argued that having each team negotiate its own media rights, as opposed to the current pooled approach, would lead to far greater fragmentation and higher costs for consumers.

The NFL’s growing migration to streaming, meanwhile, is mirrored through sports media and is happening as those services continue to grow in size and traditional cable and satellite subscribers are in marked decline. Under the current model, the NFL last season had its best regular-season viewership since 1989.

The NFL requested the meeting with the FCC, and there is no follow-up session currently scheduled, industry sources said. The session, however, signals that the league is not merely dismissing the federal inquiries.

“I’m not sure there’s a single content owner, league, or otherwise that’s done more to support broadcast television than what we do,” Schroeder said at the NFL’s recent annual meeting in Arizona. “We’re very committed to broadcast. We always have been, and continue to be. It’s a tremendous way to reach fans, and our focus is on reach.”

Questions Around Town

The FCC’s ongoing pressure on the NFL, and what chairman Brendan Carr sees as potential antitrust violations, is one of at least four major legislative and regulatory efforts percolating in Washington on this subject. Most recently, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D., Wisc.) introduced For The Fans Act, a bill that, if successful, would end regional blackouts on sports streaming subscriptions and require that all pro leagues provide free, live access to local games.

The NFL already does the latter measure in the home markets of the competing teams in each game, but Baldwin’s bill aims to expand the concept to every other major league and on a state-level basis.

The U.S. Department of Justice, meanwhile, has also initiated a formal investigation into the NFL and whether the league uses anticompetitive tactics that harm consumers.

The ongoing dialogue in Washington about the NFL is happening as the league is nearing a final decision on a five-game package of game rights. Interested parties in that inventory include prominent streamers Netflix and YouTube—something all but certain to continue the political dialogue.

-FOS

[Sold My Soul]

I stupidly paid for the YouTube NFL subscription last season. Never will I pay for another NFL package.

Waste of money.

[Toast]

I think you can watch every play in something like 15 minutes. When I was a kid I used to watch the weekly Washington State Cougars replay show and they would show every play, and have some analysis, etc., and the show was 30 minutes.

I haven't thought of that program in a while.

[Toast]

I stupidly paid for the YouTube NFL subscription last season. Never will I pay for another NFL package.

Waste of money.

It's all a racket. Growing up I watched the Cubs on WGN. Even in the PNW when the Seahawks were still in the AFC West and getting the regional coverage I still was able to watch at least half of the Raiders games.

You would think maintaining a broad appeal would continue to be prioritized as that is what got the NFL to where it is today.