Football is doing well for one reason, and it's not gambling: it's the most interesting sport to watch. The pace is good, games are in general competitive beginning to end, and a big play in football generates more excitement than anything short of a perfect game can do in baseball.
What drivel. Football is driven by gambling, from Vegas to the office pools that keep otherwise disinterested 'fans' paying attention to the games. "The pace is good"? A play takes 5 seconds and then they don't run another one for 30-40 more seconds by the time they finally set the ball. Half the plays are boring runs right into the line for 2 yards, or incomplete passes. Gimme a break. You take the gambling out of football, and their ratings go right in the terlet.
If they could keep players like Terrell Owens from trying to turn the NFL into the WWF/NFL with their showboating, childish antics, then the NFL would be even more enjoyable to watch.
You're forgetting that football is very television-friendly, too. The TV screen does proper justice to watching the game, and there is enough breaks between plays to have comments from the play announcers (which can be of questionable quality a times!) and also time to squeeze in commercials.