Posted on 08/20/2024 5:22:53 AM PDT by Red Badger
The greed is unreal.
When football fans realized that it costs a whopping $679.99 for NFL Sunday Ticket through the Apple Store, or $739.99 if you decide to bundle in NFL RedZone, a ton of them went absolutely bonkers in anger.
The ridiculous prices were revealed by NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk, and understandably so, it set off a reaction of rage among the NFL‘s fanbase. And to nobody’s surprise, that $679.99 price tag (or $739.99) to watch through Apple TV, iPads, iPhones and other Apple devices is the highest price out of all streaming services. Because of course it is.
It was rumored in 2023 that Apple spoke with the NFL about including access to Sunday Ticket in their Apple TV+ subscription that costs just $6.99. That’s all it would’ve cost under Apple’s plan. But the NFL being the greedy brand that they are, declined. (RELATED: ‘Sign The Contract’: Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill Issues Official 50-Yard Challenge To US Olympic Gold Medalist Noah Lyles)
Oh, but it gets worse.
According to a report from Courthouse News, ESPN made the suggestion to the NFL to bring down their price to $70 per month. But nope, that wasn’t good enough for the league either.
Kudos to Apple and ESPN for at least trying to bring down the Sunday Ticket price. The NFL, on the other hand, should be utterly ashamed of themselves.
My wife and I are over here saving up for a house … there’s no way in hell I can justify spending this much money on a TV package. (Anybody down to be my Sunday Ticket sponsor?)
The top rated tv shows are NFL games, every week of the season
In a dying medium, that's not saying much.
Even NFL Sunday Night Football which had a 7.71 rating in 2015 dropped below 4.96 by 2021.
Studios don't even bother making shows for broadcast TV anymore because they don't have enough audience to sell to advertisers. It's hard to find clear data but according to Variety, there were only 10 shows or special events with an average 18-49 demo rating greater than 1.0 in 2021, versus 77 in 2015. That's 10 shows greater than 1.0, not greater than 5, 6, or 7.
As I said in my previous post, no wonder the NFL is pimping the Taylor Swift games. Her attendance at the Chiefs vs Jets game was the 2nd most watched NFL game of the 2023 season. The fact that it was the Jets and Taylor Swift tells you that it's not about football at all.
What? SNF is doing OK. 2021 was an anomaly for broadcast TV. Production was shutdown due to Covid. The NFL is transitioning to streaming, as well as broadcast.
They’re not going away anytime soon…. Unless the lawyers do it
The NFL draws well compared to other television shows but does not draw well compared to the NFL of the past. Worse, with an additional 70 million more people today (247 million then, compared to 315 million now), the NFL still can't hit their previous numbers.
While the decline of NFL viewership may continue for years, television as a whole is approaching the threshold where it costs more to run a network than the amount of money that can be made from it. Subsidies from governments that are $200+ trillion in the hole, and legalized gambling aren't going to be enough to keep it afloat.
As evidenced by the takeover of streaming and requiring subscriptions of "Sunday ticket" for pay-per-season-viewing, the NFL will be forced fully onto its own medium, leaving the carcass of television behind. As that happens, advertisers will continue to find other options.
https://www.tvfanatic.com/the-streaming-takeover-industry-experts-warn-that-broadcast-and-cable-tv-may-soon-go-extinct/
However, the NFL ratings are UP, year over year, in the past few years. They are the dominant sports league in the country, in the world. They won't be left in the lurch if the Networks go away. Here is a quote from a NYT article about this from Dec of last year:
Austin Karp, the ratings expert from Sports Business Journal, and Anthony Crupi, the viewership expert from Sportico, passed along some updated viewership numbers: NFL games are averaging 17.48 million viewers this season across TV and digital platforms excluding international games. That’s about an 8 percent year-over-year increase from this time last year. “Monday Night Football” is up 24 percent over last year (a direct result of more games on ABC) and Amazon is up 23 percent. NBC is averaging 21.8 million viewers — the best “Sunday Night Football” viewership number at this point since 2015. (All sports have gotten a boost from better accounting for out-of-home viewership in places like bars and restaurants and viewing parties.) What’s worth noting, as Crupi points out, is an NFL viewership increase is an impressive lift given there is an overall 8 percent decline in U.S. TV usage this fall.
In-person attendance has also been UP the past few years.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/193420/regular-season-attendance-in-the-nfl-since-2006/
No thanks. I’ll find a p!rate stream if want to watch a game that’s not on my tv.
I think the NFL has shot themselves in the foot...................
You about ready to fire up the Pickem board? I’m getting antsy.
Supply and demand. As long as the gov’t stays out of it, economic law says that price and demand will find an equilibrium point.
Demand will drive the price.
If enough people are willing to pay the price, the demand will support the price. If enough people say it’s not worth it, then the price will go down or the NFL tickets will go out of businesses.
I like the NFL but no way I would pay for that subscription.
It’s scripted entertainment...its fake...it makes me sad too but that is the reality......
My niece and her husband struggle to make ends meet, but every year they purchase two season tickets for Ravens games. That must be $2K minimum. Just for the tickets. Add in the ancillary costs for attending - beer etc.
This may be the year I quit the NFL.
I stopped watching every game other than my cowboys back in the kneeling years but last year maybe my last.
I’m tired of Jerry Jones “promising the moon but delivering Arkansas”
I didn’t care to watch what they got in the draft last spring.
I think I’ve got better things to do with my diminishing brain cells.
(Sighs)
Me too.................I’m tired of saying “This is the year Cowboys go to the Superbowl!” only to be let down by Thanksgiving..............
The 2025 Super Bowl winner’s name is already in an envelope in the locked top drawer of the Commissioner’s desk? And only he and certain affiliates in Las Vegas know it?
Superbowl 2025
Kansas City Vs ??.....
I firmly believe Jerrah sold his soul back in 1995 to win that 3rd Superbowl and the Devil is tormenting him and all Cowboy fans by letting the team win all the games during the season then ...juuuuust stop short of winning the golden ticket!
For the past 30 years.
It explains
Aikman and his back issues...
Romo and his interceptions and back issues...
Now poor Dakota and his run of juuuuust shirt if going all the way.
And his broken ankle....
His soul, I say, his soul.
I think Jerry has gone senile..................
His ego is his problem
Add senility to that and that means more terrible years for Dallas fans.
I know I have quit hoping...
But Jerrah is still in charge!
🙄🙄🙄
SportsBall will survive as long as the SportsBook operates.
$680 for an NFL seat?
How much $$ changes hands each week in FantasyLeagues?
And, do you think the ProLeagues get \none\ of that?
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