Someone teach the yinzer the Saints v Falcons rivalry birthed the NFC South out of the NFC West. Godfrey knows the pain of getting guts pulled put by the 49ers and Cowboys all through the 80s and 90s.
Conspiracy theory: ratings discourse is designed to make fans of non-super league teams internalize their lesser-than status in a quantifiable way that will be directly related to their non inclusion so that they will self-victim-blame rather than identify the cause of the problem
I disagree with Alex's point about women's sports and pushing TV ratings. We saw the same phenomenon this past Spring. As a big college basketball fan, I would watch the studio shows on CBSSN regularly. They rarely, if ever, discussed what was going on in the women's game. Meanwhile, it was all over ESPN's nightly coverage. Why? ESPN has the women's tournament and CBS has the men's tournament. At it's core, it's the same narrative pushing that we see in college football.
I wouldn’t declare this “unwinnable” because the last time CFB played on an NFL Saturday (in 2020 due to COVID), they more than doubled NFL viewership.
I blame college football for this. Did anyone really expect that, after years of CFB not making any kind of decision on an expanded playoff, the NFL was just going to give back a valuable TV slot? As soon as the NFL announced that the Saturday games were going to feed the new XMas package, you knew those games were going to be good. Meanwhile, CFB insists on playing 4 quarters in Bowl games on New Years Day and (this is an unpopular opinion, I'm sure) having Army Navy as a standalone game the weekend after Conference Championships. Therefore, they end up with this ridiculous playoff schedule where they go head to head with the NFL, 4 teams play wait 3.5 weeks before playing their first playoff game, then they play semis on Thursday Friday, followed by 10 straight NFL playoff games before the Championship. Godfrey's right, ESPN quit on Thursday's, but it's also a result of none of the ratings powerhouses agreeing to play mid week. If OSU, Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, etc. would once every 2 years play on a Thursday and once every 4 years host a Thursday game, there wouldn't be a window for the NFL. It's the same with Black Friday. Sure, everyone loves Iowa Nebraska, but that doesn't scare the NFL like the Iron Bowl, LSU/Georgia, or USC Notre Dame would. Yes, the NFL has grabbed all of the good real estate, but only because College Football let them. Sorry for the long rant.
As a post script, I think it's possible that Purdue stays in a Power Conference for a while, but I don't believe that they are winning more than 3/4 games any time soon. Love the podcast.
Someone teach the yinzer the Saints v Falcons rivalry birthed the NFC South out of the NFC West. Godfrey knows the pain of getting guts pulled put by the 49ers and Cowboys all through the 80s and 90s.
I stand with NFC South fans. Charlatans (Godfrey) are trying to pry us apart!
Conspiracy theory: ratings discourse is designed to make fans of non-super league teams internalize their lesser-than status in a quantifiable way that will be directly related to their non inclusion so that they will self-victim-blame rather than identify the cause of the problem
I like this idea
I disagree with Alex's point about women's sports and pushing TV ratings. We saw the same phenomenon this past Spring. As a big college basketball fan, I would watch the studio shows on CBSSN regularly. They rarely, if ever, discussed what was going on in the women's game. Meanwhile, it was all over ESPN's nightly coverage. Why? ESPN has the women's tournament and CBS has the men's tournament. At it's core, it's the same narrative pushing that we see in college football.
I think you're right that a lot of what's at play is just networks boosting their own inventory.
Some of RJ's best work during the NFL convo
Hopefully College football will heed Richard’s advice and pen an apology letter to The League for existing
The NFC South DOES matter, Alex. Especially the Saints who matter the most. The other 3 teams also matter because they are rivals with the Saints.
FTF Godfrey
I wouldn’t declare this “unwinnable” because the last time CFB played on an NFL Saturday (in 2020 due to COVID), they more than doubled NFL viewership.
https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/12/acc-championship-ratings-up-clemson-notre-dame-sec-lowest-since-2006/
Good point. Had forgotten all about it! But seems challenging to replicate.
I blame college football for this. Did anyone really expect that, after years of CFB not making any kind of decision on an expanded playoff, the NFL was just going to give back a valuable TV slot? As soon as the NFL announced that the Saturday games were going to feed the new XMas package, you knew those games were going to be good. Meanwhile, CFB insists on playing 4 quarters in Bowl games on New Years Day and (this is an unpopular opinion, I'm sure) having Army Navy as a standalone game the weekend after Conference Championships. Therefore, they end up with this ridiculous playoff schedule where they go head to head with the NFL, 4 teams play wait 3.5 weeks before playing their first playoff game, then they play semis on Thursday Friday, followed by 10 straight NFL playoff games before the Championship. Godfrey's right, ESPN quit on Thursday's, but it's also a result of none of the ratings powerhouses agreeing to play mid week. If OSU, Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, etc. would once every 2 years play on a Thursday and once every 4 years host a Thursday game, there wouldn't be a window for the NFL. It's the same with Black Friday. Sure, everyone loves Iowa Nebraska, but that doesn't scare the NFL like the Iron Bowl, LSU/Georgia, or USC Notre Dame would. Yes, the NFL has grabbed all of the good real estate, but only because College Football let them. Sorry for the long rant.
As a post script, I think it's possible that Purdue stays in a Power Conference for a while, but I don't believe that they are winning more than 3/4 games any time soon. Love the podcast.