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ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

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Re: ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

#3

Post by endtime »

rhino369 wrote: post #2

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

What happens if the highest bidder can't pay the NFL enough to make it worthwhile?

I keep seeing pictures of half-empty stands behind kneeling football players, and ultimately if the NFL destroys its value by alienating too many fans with politics, there's no reason the entire business won't or shouldn't collapse.

Re: ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

#5

Post by legitster »

rhino369 wrote: post #2

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

The NFL has struggled finding a good home for Thursday Night Football. MNF could easily turn into another network wandering nomad.

Re: ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

#6

Post by sandworm101 »

rhino369 wrote: post #2

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

>> Someone has got to air the games.

Really? Football has been played without network coverage. I could see a future whereby teams handled their own streaming, or where the NFL did it all through NFL.com. The days of "air" are quickly coming to an end. I'm a little surprised that Netflix, Google or even FB aren't bidding.

And if NFL owners want more people into the stadiums, curtailing broadcast coverage has been the traditional means. Ticket prices are already so high that it isn't inconceivable that they take it to the next level and market a game like a rock concert: be in the room or miss out.

Re: ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

#8

Post by hkmurakami »

legitster wrote: post #5
rhino369 wrote: post #2

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

The NFL has struggled finding a good home for Thursday Night Football. MNF could easily turn into another network wandering nomad.

Ah so that's why Amazon Prime was able to land TNF.

Re: ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

#9

Post by zeveb »

rhino369 wrote: post #2

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

> Someone has got to air the games.

Does someone? Sure, professional football has been very popular for many decades, but there's nothing about the order of the universe which states that it will remain so forever. We don't have chariot races, or gladiators, or bear-baiting — maybe someday we won't have professional football either.

Re: ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

#10

Post by ghrifter »

sandworm101 wrote: post #6
rhino369 wrote: post #2

I think it's a bad assumption to think the NFL will demand more money when ratings and subscriptions are down. ESPN just has to be the highest bidder. Someone has got to air the games.

>> Someone has got to air the games. Really? Football has been played without network coverage. I could see a future whereby teams handled their own streaming, or where the NFL did it all through NFL.com. The days of "air" are quickly coming to an end. I'm a little surprised that Netflix, Google or even FB aren't bidding. And if NFL owners want more people into the stadiums, curtailing broadcast coverage has been the…

Amazon currently streams Thursday Night Football
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