NFL Business Bullish at Super Bowl Despite Mounting Issues

The Fox pact which not only threw shade on the celebration of the Patriots and Eagles but NBCamp8217s coverage of the NFL championship comes on the heels of the 25 billion fiveyear pact the league reached with Verizon in December doubling the price of its former deal amp160The new agreement enables streaming of the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl on Verizonamp8217s Yahoo and Yahoo Sports in addition to go90 and the NFL mobile app Unlike the last deal that gave the company exclusive streaming rights for inmarket live games only on mobile phones the live inmarket games are now available on the Verizon platforms on phones of all carriers amp160In 2018 those rights will extend to include all tabletsVerizon is also on the ground in downtown Minneapolis with a number of fan activations as a presenting sponsor of Super Bowl Live with food concerts and attractions stretching throughout Nicollet MallThe Fox and Verizon pacts underline the strength of the NFL as American mediaamp8217s mostprized property despite the league being under siege on a number of frontsGame audience fell 97 during the 2017 regular season and that followed an 8 drop in 2016Ingame NFL ad revenue dipped 12 to 242 billion on NBC CBS Fox and ESPN despite a 30second unit pricing uptick to 505000 from 499000 in 2016 according to Standard Media Index amp160The networks were undone by ratings decline that resulted in makegoods representing 23 of spots versus 21 the prior yearThere are other worries for Goodell who recently received a fiveyear contract extension despite much angst and consternation from the head Dallas Cowboy Jerry Jonesamp160 President Trump stuck his nose into the anthem protest debate exacerbating a problem that has led many fans to profess they are punting on the gameConfusion and anger about what makes for an end zone catch with the Patriots on the right end of several of these replay calls is also turning some away from the gameLonger term mounting evidence about the violent sportamp8217s relationship to head injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are keeping many moms and dads from letting little Jimmy put on a helmet and shoulder padsMeanwhile Patriots alltime tight end Rob Gronkowski was excised from the AFC championship game following the helmettohelmet blow issued by Jaguars safety Barry Church Bet that Gronk will exit the concussion protocol in time for the title game on SundayAlthough some could write off the regularseason ratings falloff to anyall of the above reasons the expectation was that the postseason audience would rally to some extentInstead all 10 playoff games delivered fewer eyeballs than the corresponding matchups from the prior season amp160The absence of such popular squads as Green Bay Dallas and the New York Giants didnamp8217t help mattersAll that being said Super Bowl LII will score the biggest audience in American media until Super Bowl LIII kicks off on Feb 3 2019For its part NBC is nearing a sellout for Sunday with 30second spots drawing an average price above the 5 million mark amp160Factoring in pre and postgame coverage and a special edition of This Is Us NBCU expects to score some 500 million in ad revenue the biggest oneday tally by a single media companyCreatively the many fans who tune in the title game may be excited by Amazonamp8217s 90second spot for voice assistant product Alexa featuring such notables as Anthony Hopkins Gordon Ramsey and Rebel Wilson and a newcomer Jeff Bezosamp160 Many eyes will be on the Monster Products ad featuring Iggy Azalea and the first one produced by NBCUamp8217s inhouse Content Innovation Agencyamp160 Meanwhile viewers will be rewarded with amp8220high skyamp8221 views as NBC which is also putting seven 4K ultrahighdefinition cameras into play will become the first network to employ dual SkyCams at the Super BowlFor a league that strivesthrives for big the 14 billion league is looking to reach 25 billion in revenue by 2027 the big question is how many people will tune in to the Big Gameamp160 As Bill Belichick and Tom Brady look to further burnish their legacies as the leagueamp8217s alltime coach and quarterback will Patriot fatigue sack a good portion of the audienceFoxamp8217s coverage of Super Bowl LI produced 1113 million viewers the fifthlargest audience in US history as the Patriots rallied from a 283 deficit and beat the Atlanta Falcons on the first possession in the first Super Bowl to go into overtimeamp160 NBCamp8217s last Super Bowl XLIX drew the top TV audience to date with 1144 million viewersWhat if Super Bowl continues the downward Nielsen trend and suffers a doubledigit audience declineamp160 That would make for another big NFL business story line come Monday afternoonClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of 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NFL Business Bullish at Super Bowl Despite Mounting Issues

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J.P. Fields

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

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