NFL On Fire: It's an NFL World and We're Addicted To It

Not exactly shocking news, but the NFL is on a serious roll and there is no end in sight. Sure, we knew the addiction rate was on the rise with the fantasy football population ballooning to an estimated 15 million participants. The fantasy football industry alone is now a billion-dollar annual juggernaut. But as good as fantasy football has been for the NFL, the ultimate prize is mass-audience appeal on television. In one word, ratings. And right now, the NFL literally owns cable television.

ESPN's Monday Night Football this season now occupies seven of the top eight highest-rated cable audiences of all time

Last week's Giants-Cowboys game shattered the all-time cable audience record which was previously held by the 1993 Ross Perot-Al Gore NAFTA debate on CNN's Larry King Live.

The NFL is clearly pioneering and perfecting the art of taking back their own product. Major sports leagues have historically looked for partners to broadcast and market their games, but the NFL is currently putting on a clinic on how to bring television, brand strategy and marketing execution completely in-house. First it was the NFL Network. Then came the exclusive access, the highlight shows, and now the Thursday-Saturday NFL-exclusive night games. What's next? The internet. The NFL website has been managed in partnership with CBS Sportsline for the last 5 years. On Tuesday, October 24th the NFL essentially told CBS Sportsline the game is over. Beginning in Spring 2007 the NFL.com website, it's future development and all content will be exclusively managed at NFL HQ with a major makeover and relaunch due prior to the start of the 2007 season.

"In a rapidly changing digital landscape, bringing NFL.com in-house provides us greater control of our valuable content and enables us to strategically build the site as a media asset," said Brian Rolapp, the NFL's vice president of media strategy. "Fans can look forward to an even more entertaining, interactive and informative site built upon the expertise of the NFL and its other in-house media outlets such as NFL Network and NFL Films."

Keyshawn Johnson's line from his NFL Network promo 'With a new team, in a new town, it feels like I'm just getting started' rings even more true for the league as a whole these days. With a new commissioner, a relatively new NFL Network strategy beginning to blossom, new broadcasting agreements in place and the prospect of at least one and maybe two new teams in the second-largest TV market still untapped, it would appear the NFL is indeed just getting started.

MNF Draws Cable's Largest Audience Ever [MediaWeek]
NFL to bring NFL.com operations in-house [NFL.com]

( Add your comments )

Recent Entries:
· Grant enters not guilty plea
· Davis apologizes for missing practice
· Can Indy finally grab Super Bowl?

[ READER COMMENTS ]

(Note: separate multiple email addresses with commas)

NFL On Fire: It's an NFL World and We're Addicted To It

Add your comments...

We kindly ask that you keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Abusive or inappropriate comments or comments that are specifically promotional in nature may be removed.