2010 NFL Draft moves to primetime.

[Hostile]

Older guys always make me laugh. You're going to watch it if they put it on at 2AM on monday morning. But you guys are like, 'OH MY GOD SOMETHING IS CHANGING AND MY XENOPHOBIA IS KICKING IN. OMG NEXT THING YOU KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE PLAYERS TWITTER AND TEXT ON THE SHOW.'

I have never really watched the draft because I go out on the weekends and like to sleep in. 6AM on a tuesday might be great for you and make you feel great but for most people its just not doable. They are going to make it easier for casual people to watch and have been making it so for the last two decades.

What am I, a pup?

I am all for anything that makes the Draft even bigger. Prime time slots does that.

I'm going to watch because I am an addict.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Older guys always make me laugh. You're going to watch it if they put it on at 2AM on monday morning. But you guys are like, 'OH MY GOD SOMETHING IS CHANGING AND MY XENOPHOBIA IS KICKING IN. OMG NEXT THING YOU KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE PLAYERS TWITTER AND TEXT ON THE SHOW.'

I have never really watched the draft because I go out on the weekends and like to sleep in. 6AM on a tuesday might be great for you and make you feel great but for most people its just not doable. They are going to make it easier for casual people to watch and have been making it so for the last two decades.

So any and all change is good?

And the draft wasn't at 6am. What are you even talking about?

 

[CATCH17]

What am I, a pup?

I am all for anything that makes the Draft even bigger. Prime time slots does that.

I'm going to watch because I am an addict.

Who cares if the draft gets bigger?

All they want to do is get the attention of the fan who is going to watch almost nothing but the 1st round and the people who watch dang near the entire thing are the ones who will suffer from this.

I hope it fails miserably and the NFL somehow take some type of financial hit from this that makes the go back to the old way but it won't happen.


LOL @ starting it @ 3pm on Sat and LOL @ starting it mid week.


Good job Roger.

 

[Hostile]

Who cares if the draft gets bigger?

All they want to do is get the attention of the fan who is going to watch almost nothing but the 1st round and the people who watch dang near the entire thing are the ones who will suffer from this.

I hope it fails miserably and the NFL somehow take some type of financial hit from this that makes the go back to the old way but it won't happen.


LOL @ starting it @ 3pm on Sat and LOL @ starting it mid week.


Good job Roger.

I do.

 

[DallasEast]

This will be a great topic to revisit after next April's draft. We can then see how its Nielsen numbers fared versus past pure weekend drafts. By comparison, I believe that the numbers will actually dip on Thursday and Friday nights for the first, second and third rounds.

That's not to say that, with time, those numbers will improve and exceed previous first day drafts, but there should be a quantifiable effect on the overall numbers in my opinion. There is a difference in competing for viewership during basically Saturday or Sunday morning/afternoon programming and Thursday and Friday night broadcast and cable show lineups in primetime.

Another danger will be timing. May is a sweeps month and new episodes debut both during the month and in late April. Fresh material is always a draw for popular shows' loyal viewers.

With time, the draft could be deemed a primetime ratings success by the NFL if it appeal remains level or regresses slightly at the beginning. At the very least, the NFL should devote as much of a time investment in the primetime move as it had in the creation of the NFL Eupore, but hopefully not with the same negative results.

 

[Jay]

But his point, and mine and DE's is that they won't get any more viewers. Not substantially enough to make a difference.

Of course, we are all speculating, and I absolutely agree it's about money. But I just can't see people switching from their long-standing shows, which are typically in 30 minutes episodes to try to jump over to ESPN and maybe catch a pick or three. Watching the draft is about endurance and buildup - all the talk between picks about potential picks, team needs, etc.

I just don't believe it'll mesh. And any gains will be neglible. Especially when you balance all the promos (expense) they'll be running to try to attract viewers. It'll be the hardcore fans sitting alone in the basement with the second TV as usual. And as someone else pointed out, they may lose some of those hardcore fans from the west coast simply because of the timing.

Yes, they will get more viewers.. more viewers than whatever else would be displayed on that Thursday and Friday night. That's what he's trying to say. He's not necessarily saying you will get more viewers overall, but by stretching it into 3 separate events, you will get more viewers than ESPN normally does on whatever TV programming they showcased Thursday/Friday before the draft. Because the draft will now take up 3 days instead of 2, ESPN is guaranteed to pull in an extra day of nice ratings, the NFL makes more money.

That said, I think this is an awful idea. I personally hate it, but oh well.