PDA

View Full Version : NFL to flex more games in 2014



Denver Native (Carol)
11-17-2013, 11:17 AM
Sunday night's Kansas City Chiefs-Denver Broncos game was flexed into prime time, despite the fact that CBS initially protected it. Get ready for far more flexing of games on Sundays next season.

The league is creating a new weekly system of cross flexing, in which it can take an early game on FOX and flex it into the late-afternoon slot on CBS so more of the country can see it, or vice versa with FOX or CBS getting a late-afternoon game that had been scheduled for an early start in return.

It's all designed to bring maximum exposure to the best possible matchups, according to league sources.

rest - http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9991774/nfl-flex-more-games-2014

Joel
11-17-2013, 12:57 PM
Pretty soon no one will watch the day games, because all the good ones will be in prime time for national audiences. I recall another article you posted saying NFL ratings are sky high this year, but can't help wondering if that's in general or relative to last year, because NFL ratings were DOWN 5% in 2012. It's kind of sad the NFL's so obsessed with marketing and profits it's compromising the game to get more of both, yet their efforts are backfiring. Not to turn this into Poli Sci, but catering to casual/nonexistent fans at the expense of dedicated ones alienates the latter without drawing many of the former.

Can't wait for those 7-9 vs. 6-10 wildcard games in 2015; that'll be epically thrilling and, far more importantly, increase ratings/merchandise sales.... :rolleyes:

MOtorboat
11-17-2013, 01:07 PM
Pretty soon no one will watch the day games, because all the good ones will be in prime time for national audiences. I recall another article you posted saying NFL ratings are sky high this year, but can't help wondering if that's in general or relative to last year, because NFL ratings were DOWN 5% in 2012. It's kind of sad the NFL's so obsessed with marketing and profits it's compromising the game to get more of both, yet their efforts are backfiring. Not to turn this into Poli Sci, but catering to casual/nonexistent fans at the expense of dedicated ones alienates the latter without drawing many of the former.

Can't wait for those 7-9 vs. 6-10 wildcard games in 2015; that'll be epically thrilling and, far more importantly, increase ratings/merchandise sales.... :rolleyes:

I guess I'm not seeing the problem in having better games have a chance to get better ratings.

Davii
11-17-2013, 01:23 PM
I guess I'm not seeing the problem in having better games have a chance to get better ratings.

I don't see how flexing Sunday games will change the product on the field. Thursday games however.... those should go.

Bronco4ever
11-17-2013, 01:35 PM
I don't see how flexing Sunday games will change the product on the field. Thursday games however.... those should go.

Thursday games do kinda suck, but then I find myself starved of football and end up watching it.

Davii
11-17-2013, 01:53 PM
Thursday games do kinda suck, but then I find myself starved of football and end up watching it.

I honestly stopped watching unless it was a game I really cared about. The first 5 or so after the opener were enough to show, in my opinion, that teams aren't as prepared, players aren't rested enough, and the game showed it.

SR
11-17-2013, 02:00 PM
I guess I'm not seeing the problem in having better games have a chance to get better ratings.

That's the point isn't it? I'm sure the Dolphins/Bucs MNF game last week had great ratings.

Joel
11-17-2013, 03:38 PM
I guess I'm not seeing the problem in having better games have a chance to get better ratings.
Big games don't need help drawing viewers. Did you see todays early schedule? Crap, crap and crap; SF@NO is the only game all day worth watching before KC plays us, and if not for our game and Carolinas it would probably be flexed, too. It'd be easier to buy claims the NFL's just trying to cut fans a break by putting big games in national prime time if they turned the clock back 20 years so EVERY game was shown on broadcast TV for free, instead of putting one of those fan-gifts on cable and trying to push an NFL Network even cable companies don't want (because they can't sell it.) Oh, and dump blackouts.

It's no skin off my nose, because I watch every game the same way regardless of where it's broadcast or when, and the NFL's welcome to every dime they make off that. In terms of expanding their market and profits though, telling fans they can just tune in Sunday and Monday nights without missing any games they want to see is probably a mistake, and not just because the competition from network programming is a lot stiffer in prime time than on Sunday afternoons (apart from the NFL, do any nationally broadcast programs even EXIST on Sunday afternoons?)

SR
11-17-2013, 03:59 PM
Big games don't need help drawing viewers. Did you see todays early schedule? Crap, crap and crap; SF@NO is the only game all day worth watching before KC plays us, and if not for our game and Carolinas it would probably be flexed, too. It'd be easier to buy claims the NFL's just trying to cut fans a break by putting big games in national prime time if they turned the clock back 20 years so EVERY game was shown on broadcast TV for free, instead of putting one of those fan-gifts on cable and trying to push an NFL Network even cable companies don't want (because they can't sell it.) Oh, and dump blackouts. It's no skin off my nose, because I watch every game the same way regardless of where it's broadcast or when, and the NFL's welcome to every dime they make off that. In terms of expanding their market and profits though, telling fans they can just tune in Sunday and Monday nights without missing any games they want to see is probably a mistake, and not just because the competition from network programming is a lot stiffer in prime time than on Sunday afternoons (apart from the NFL, do any nationally broadcast programs even EXIST on Sunday afternoons?)

NFLN has trouble? Pease, educate me.

MOtorboat
11-17-2013, 04:05 PM
Big games don't need help drawing viewers. Did you see todays early schedule? Crap, crap and crap; SF@NO is the only game all day worth watching before KC plays us, and if not for our game and Carolinas it would probably be flexed, too. It'd be easier to buy claims the NFL's just trying to cut fans a break by putting big games in national prime time if they turned the clock back 20 years so EVERY game was shown on broadcast TV for free, instead of putting one of those fan-gifts on cable and trying to push an NFL Network even cable companies don't want (because they can't sell it.) Oh, and dump blackouts.

It's no skin off my nose, because I watch every game the same way regardless of where it's broadcast or when, and the NFL's welcome to every dime they make off that. In terms of expanding their market and profits though, telling fans they can just tune in Sunday and Monday nights without missing any games they want to see is probably a mistake, and not just because the competition from network programming is a lot stiffer in prime time than on Sunday afternoons (apart from the NFL, do any nationally broadcast programs even EXIST on Sunday afternoons?)

The entire article is about moving more attractive games into the 4:25 eastern slot on whichever channel has the doubleheader for that day.

The San Francisco-New Orleans game is already in that slot so no need to flex that game. They are trying to leave the early game each week to regional coverage so that the "crap, crap and crap" can be seen by fans of those teams, and then make the 4:25 slot more of a national broadcast slot than it already is.

I'm failing to see the problem here. Other than that it's on later in Sweden, or Norway, or whatever.

Davii
11-17-2013, 05:18 PM
The entire article is about moving more attractive games into the 4:25 eastern slot on whichever channel has the doubleheader for that day.

The San Francisco-New Orleans game is already in that slot so no need to flex that game. They are trying to leave the early game each week to regional coverage so that the "crap, crap and crap" can be seen by fans of those teams, and then make the 4:25 slot more of a national broadcast slot than it already is.

I'm failing to see the problem here. Other than that it's on later in Sweden, or Norway, or whatever.

That's the way I'm seeing it. Games that only home markets care about will be early and use that afternoon time slot to show a second national broadcast.

ShaneFalco
11-17-2013, 05:43 PM
Thurs night games are awesome.

SR
11-17-2013, 06:15 PM
Thurs night games are awesome.

Right? Breaks up the week

Joel
11-17-2013, 08:23 PM
The entire article is about moving more attractive games into the 4:25 eastern slot on whichever channel has the doubleheader for that day.

The San Francisco-New Orleans game is already in that slot so no need to flex that game. They are trying to leave the early game each week to regional coverage so that the "crap, crap and crap" can be seen by fans of those teams, and then make the 4:25 slot more of a national broadcast slot than it already is.

I'm failing to see the problem here. Other than that it's on later in Sweden, or Norway, or whatever.
Yeah, alright; moving the big matchups to the late game is no big deal, preferable in many ways. Criticism (on this point, not the larger one) withdrawn; I stand corrected.

Davii
11-17-2013, 11:41 PM
Right? Breaks up the week

Not arguing that, however the quality of play suffers.