The NFL announced yesterday that, unless you live in Buffalo or Jacksonville, you won't actually be able to watch the Bills-Jaguars game in Week 7 on TV. If this was a normal Bills-Jaguars game that wouldn't be newsworthy. That's your typical No. 6 regional 1:00 game on CBS. But this is different. It's a 9:30 a.m. game in London.
Last year the NFL began that 9:30 a.m. experiment and it seemed to work out really well. It was the same week as Bills-Jaguars will be this year, which is the Sunday FOX has the World Series. So, instead of having a late game that could've run long and into their World Series coverage, FOX used the 9:30 a.m. Falcons-Lions game as its national game. To great success. The NFL loved it. It gave them a new time slot to show games, and they were no longer limited to just 1:00 starts for London.
It worked so well that Bills-Jaguars isn't the only game getting an early start this season. The Jets-Dolphins London game in Week 4 will also start at 9:30 a.m. Unlike Bills-Jaguars, though, that one will be televised nationally. I'm assuming CBS will do the same thing with that game that FOX did last year with Falcons-Lions. FOX will have the doubleheader, while CBS will treat the 9:30 game as the first part of its doubleheader.
But the Bills-Jaguars game won't be. Instead, the NFL is making it available only online, except in the two regional markets. It won't even be available on Sunday Ticket, which has been the only way to watch every NFL game regardless of market for years. It won't be on Red Zone either. And I've gotta admit, it's a bold strategy.
I have several theories as to why the NFL is trying this online only approach. First and foremost, I think CBS had absolutely no interest in wasting a national game on Bills-Jaguars. If this was a typical London game with the 6:00 (1:00 Eastern) start time, that wouldn't be a problem. They could simply just make Bills-Jaguars a regional game the way they would any other week. But with the early start, this was their only option other than making it a national game. Seeing as the Patriots, Broncos, Steelers, Colts and Ravens (all teams that are going bring in much higher ratings) are all in the AFC, I'm sure CBS was willing to give this game up rather than be forced to make a game such as Denver at Pittsburgh regional so that this one could be national.
And by making it an online exclusive, they kind of are making it a national game. If it was the typical 6:00/1:00 start time, it would've been regional. But you know there's plenty of people who are going to make it a point to find the game on NFL.com or wherever so that they can watch it. And that'll be a whole lot more eyeballs than just those in Western New York and Northeastern Florida.
Next, it gives them a chance to see if people will watch a game that's only available online. Especially a game between two crappy teams at 9:30 in the morning. It's a well-known fact that people have taken to watching sports on their phones and iPads and computers and various devices other than their actual televisions. But TV has always been one of those options. If that option is taken away, will people still watch? Or at least enough to make it worthwhile?
Just like last year when they decided to experiment with the 9:30 start time to begin with, the NFL thinks it's something worth trying. And I'd be willing to bet that by trying it with a mediocre matchup that not many people would've sought out otherwise, they're really going to see how well it can work. I'm not sure how they're going to figure out the ratings for this game, but I'm pretty sure they'll be satisfied.
You're also giving people who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity the chance to watch an NFL game. Yes, most games are available on free, over-the-air TV. But not everybody has a TV. I'm not saying everybody has access to the internet, either. Regardless, this is a new way to watch a game. And I don't know what the NFL's TV deals in other countries are like, but it's called the worldwide web. Assuming they don't have any sort of blackout restrictions where you have to be in a certain country to watch it, you'll be able to watch this game wherever you are in the world. I'm not sure that's ever been possible before.
Nobody's worried about this becoming a trend either. The NFL makes far too much money from its TV deals to start taking games off TV. But the idea of watching a game only via a live stream? The novelty of it alone is going to bring in viewers.
Actually, maybe it will start a trend. NBC live streams the Sunday night game every week, with alternate camera angles and other enhanced features. Like all ESPN programming, Monday Night Football is available on ESPN3. And the NFL Network games are on NFL.com for those that still don't have NFL Network. If this Bills-Jaguars stream works (which I'm pretty sure it will), maybe CBS and FOX will start streaming their regional games on their websites. Whether it's just the game that's on TV in your area or some sort of Sunday Ticket-type paid service would have to be decided, but you know people would pay for it if they had to. And think about how much more the NFL can get from the networks if digital rights are included?
In other NFL TV-related news, they've lifted the blackout rule for the upcoming season. The blackout rule has had very little effect in the past few years anyway. There weren't any last season and there were only two the year before. But by lifting it, they're making the NFL more accessible to the fan that might not be able to afford to go to a game. It doesn't hurt that they're most likely improving their TV ratings while they're at it. Just like a webstream-only broadcast, that's really what it's all about.
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