Posted on 01/11/2024 5:25:17 AM PST by Red Badger
Money long ago ruined Pro Sports. Now it is happening in College with NIL payments.
In the late 1950’s my Uncle was an all pro Defensive Back in the NFL. When his contract came up he told management he wanted to be the highest paid DB in the NFL. They agreed and his salary was raised to 28k per year.
Now yes that was decent coin back then, equivalent to 300k in 2024 dollars. But remember he was the highest paid DB with crap benefits / pension.
Today the minimum NFL wage is 700k a year for a special Teams guy who might only be in for 6-8 plays a game. Great benefits.
In before the virtue-signalers/“I don’t watch sports or have a TV and don’t care but I’m gonna post that I don’t care because I don’t care, really I don’t, do you see me?” crowd.
How is this different from a local game getting blacked out? Not being able to see “the game” is nothing new. There is always the radio play-by-play, and that’s generally free.
TV and radio used to be “free.” You got the signal over the air and had to sit thru commercials.
Then, you needed to have cable or some subscription. The model changed - you paid a flat fee and got a lot of stuff. And you got stuff you hated, like CNN.
The model is changing again…things are becoming unbundled. You gotta pay for what you want.
This seems fair. Unless you’re a non-capitalist who loves being a free rider.
they can keep their game-—F NBC, the NFL, and anyone else who thinks the current USA is doing all right!
I got on NBC all the time about Peacock but it won’t be pretty seeing the Fish freeze in KC
NBC is just trying to stand out in an oversaturated streaming marketplace. I blame the NFL for selling the rights to a playoff game to a niche subscription service. Either way though, oh well, won’t see the KC game played in bitter cold.
Variety headline
Peacock Streaming Loss to Peak at $2.8 Billion in 2023 as Service Tops 30 Million Subscribers, Comcast President Says
Comcast says they are offering
Peacock at $2.99/mo. for a year I
believe
I remember when the NFL stopped the blackouts in the 1970s. I don’t have cable, preferring streaming services. I first had Sling, but when they dropped the channel that shows the Caps and Wizards, I switched over to Youtube TV. I bit the bullet and signed up for ESPN+ and Peacock to be able to watch other sports. I am more mad about MLB’s blackout rule. I pay for a VPN so I can watch the Nats on mlb.tv.
It’s a KC game. This is solely to sucker the “Swifty” types out of their money to see their idol at the game.
The NFL practices a lot of crazy stuff in the way of wokeness, and grabbing taxpayer money for stadiums. But the Peacock playoff game is pure capitalism. The number of complaints show how insidious the idea that some things should be “free” has rooted in society.
The "free signal" over the airwaves era is rapidly drawing to an end. I recently drove a car that did not have Sirius/XM radio and was shocked to see what little was available on the FM dial. It was a wasteland of low-budget commercials, canned news segments, and the occasional music - overplayed songs I have already heard a thousand times already.
FM radio used to be my life for a very long time. I was especially a fan of progressive and "deep tracks" album rock hosted by DJ's with impeccable taste in music. Those days are long gone. Now all you hear is "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey followed by four minutes of ads.
Hubby and I talked last night. We are thinking to forgo watching the Chiefs play the Dolphins since we would have to pay extra for it. Money is getting pretty tight these days, and watching a game that we can get the highlights from another way is sounding like the right idea. All these little things add up. Increased grocery prices, well, increased prices for everything, is making some of these decisions easier.
I’m not a big NFL fan, but I watch them when the college season is finished. They may get hubby’s eyeballs, but they are sure losing mine. Plus, the horrible commercials have become so awful. We mute the sound when they come on. It has become very tedious, and that’s the opposite of being entertained.
That had occurred to me!.....................
I have no problem with the NFL selling the rights. For me, watching the whiny Chiefs play the overrated Dolphins is t worth the effort of signing up for the service and then canceling it.
The solution is simple ... allow people to pay for the game with their SNAP card
Do you listen to the Deep Tracks channel on SiriusXM? I am amazed that I occasionaly hear some good songs for the very first time, and I’ve listened to the channel for years.
At least I won’t have to see Taylor Swift.
They recently pushed Deeps Tracks to channel 308, which ticked off a lot of subscribers as you need a newer radio to get those upper channel. I listen mostly through the app as I rarely listen live, I prefer having the ability to skip through a song I don't like.
Other of my favorite channels include The Loft, Spectrum, Outlaw Country, Classic Vinyl, Tom Petty Channel. All those stations have huge playlists that you never really get tired of.
I will read about it on the Freeper.
I already have Peacock (hey, they have all of Columbo, totally worth $4 a month) so I don’t see a problem. Welcome to the future folks.
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