Just the Facts Madam, why College Football will have to go to better Match-Ups to retain Audiences and not schedule Lightweights like the Big Ten does to bolsters more Winning at the Top by beating more Big Ten Bottom Feeders to produce overrated Top 25 Teams for Rankings such as what happen in 2016. The NFL is doing it now as Highlighted InRed, in time College Football will follow. Facts are better Match-Ups Higher ratings & Ad Income.
Excerpts & Video ESPN Still Dominates:
TV networks including ESPN are bracing for a drop in advertising revenue for football games in the coming season, which could drag down sales growth for sports broadcasts overall, advertising and television executives say...................That’s a blow to media giants that rely on sports for a growing share of their business. Sports were long thought to be a safe haven for TV networks because viewers savored the live viewing experience and were more likely to sit through commercials, but the erosion of the NFL’s audience last season has thrown that assumption into question. ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS and the NFL Network all carry pro football............Still, many of the most-watched shows on TV last year were sports, which accounted for 31 percent of national TV advertising in 2016, up from 22 percent in 2011, according to Kantar Media. ESPN has been a major contributor to Walt Disney Co.’s profit, while 21st Century Fox Inc., parent of the Fox network, has invested heavily in sports. Virtually all of the largest media companies, including CBS Corp., NBC owner Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc., have costly long-term contracts to air sports.........But pro football is the most-watched programming in the U.S. and secures the largest ad deals. TV viewership of the NFL fell 8 percent last year, according to Nielsen data, hurt by poor matchups and competition from the presidential election, along with negative publicity surrounding head concussions and player protests during the national anthem........NBC typically sets the market with “Sunday Night Football,” the most-watched regularly scheduled prime-time program........Against that backdrop, auto companies are spending less as sales retreat from record levels, while drug companies pull back due to new generic medicines, according to buyers and TV executives.....The NFL has crammed popular teams into nationally televised night games early in the season, hoping to lift ratings............Aside from the NFL, college football is the biggest sport up for sale at the moment. College ratings were steady last year, but sports networks are offering more games, such as Fox’s Big Ten package, just as advertisers grow more wary. The four broadcast networks -- CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox -- all air college football in the fall, as do more than a dozen cable networks, from ESPN and Fox Sports 1 to the Pac-12 Network...........Competition has forced ESPN, the market leader, to take a more conciliatory approach with its college coverage. With Fox eager to steal viewers and ad sales, ESPN has accepted less than the rate increase it demanded last year, according to people familiar with the matter.............“ESPN is at a crossroads,” Michael Nathanson, an analyst at MoffettNathanson LLC, wrote in a recent report. The audience for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” shrank 12 percent last season.........The Disney network is trying to shore up its ad business by selling more spots for viewing that occurs outside the home, such as in bars or hotels. Disney plans to introduce a standalone ESPN streaming service this year...........“They’ve lost a ton of money in subscriber fees and they are trying to get that money back,” Schwartz said. “It’s not just them. The entire marketplace is gravitating toward out of home and ESPN is the leader.”
Video & Link:
ESPN Defends Its Position But Bloomberg Article Analysts Differs On ESPN Future Trends:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-said-to-contend-with-football-ad-sales-slump
Excerpts & Video ESPN Still Dominates:
TV networks including ESPN are bracing for a drop in advertising revenue for football games in the coming season, which could drag down sales growth for sports broadcasts overall, advertising and television executives say...................That’s a blow to media giants that rely on sports for a growing share of their business. Sports were long thought to be a safe haven for TV networks because viewers savored the live viewing experience and were more likely to sit through commercials, but the erosion of the NFL’s audience last season has thrown that assumption into question. ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS and the NFL Network all carry pro football............Still, many of the most-watched shows on TV last year were sports, which accounted for 31 percent of national TV advertising in 2016, up from 22 percent in 2011, according to Kantar Media. ESPN has been a major contributor to Walt Disney Co.’s profit, while 21st Century Fox Inc., parent of the Fox network, has invested heavily in sports. Virtually all of the largest media companies, including CBS Corp., NBC owner Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc., have costly long-term contracts to air sports.........But pro football is the most-watched programming in the U.S. and secures the largest ad deals. TV viewership of the NFL fell 8 percent last year, according to Nielsen data, hurt by poor matchups and competition from the presidential election, along with negative publicity surrounding head concussions and player protests during the national anthem........NBC typically sets the market with “Sunday Night Football,” the most-watched regularly scheduled prime-time program........Against that backdrop, auto companies are spending less as sales retreat from record levels, while drug companies pull back due to new generic medicines, according to buyers and TV executives.....The NFL has crammed popular teams into nationally televised night games early in the season, hoping to lift ratings............Aside from the NFL, college football is the biggest sport up for sale at the moment. College ratings were steady last year, but sports networks are offering more games, such as Fox’s Big Ten package, just as advertisers grow more wary. The four broadcast networks -- CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox -- all air college football in the fall, as do more than a dozen cable networks, from ESPN and Fox Sports 1 to the Pac-12 Network...........Competition has forced ESPN, the market leader, to take a more conciliatory approach with its college coverage. With Fox eager to steal viewers and ad sales, ESPN has accepted less than the rate increase it demanded last year, according to people familiar with the matter.............“ESPN is at a crossroads,” Michael Nathanson, an analyst at MoffettNathanson LLC, wrote in a recent report. The audience for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” shrank 12 percent last season.........The Disney network is trying to shore up its ad business by selling more spots for viewing that occurs outside the home, such as in bars or hotels. Disney plans to introduce a standalone ESPN streaming service this year...........“They’ve lost a ton of money in subscriber fees and they are trying to get that money back,” Schwartz said. “It’s not just them. The entire marketplace is gravitating toward out of home and ESPN is the leader.”
Video & Link:
ESPN Defends Its Position But Bloomberg Article Analysts Differs On ESPN Future Trends:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-said-to-contend-with-football-ad-sales-slump
