"Roger Goodell Think HDTV Is Killing NFL Ticket Sales"

From FanSided.com and SportsBusiness Journal

Review by Nate Wise in SRM 334 (section 3)

The article that we chose for our current event presentation discusses the possibility that the at-home experience of watching NFL games is causing a decline of ticket sales to see the games in person. The article references the common notion, shared even by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, that HDTV is the main reason why ticket sales have reached a 13-year low. According to the article, TV ratings have increased 12 percent over the last five years and ticket sales have decreased four percent in the same time period. Some in the organization feel the ticket sales numbers are still very strong and others have been brainstorming ideas on how to bring fans back to the stadium i.e. adding Wi-Fi to stadiums.

While HDTV is definitely one of the reasons ticket sales are declining, I believe there are plenty of other reasons as well. Traffic on game days, high ticket prices, a struggling economy, and the addition of channels such as NFL Network and NFL Redzone are easily just as responsible for low sales. Lowering ticket and food prices as well as investing more in the game day experience may help to get fans off the couch and into seats but it’s a difficult balance when the organizations need to make a profit.

This topic/issue is relevant to this course because television is a major component of how we consume sport media. Technology is constantly evolving and with additional ways that fans can view the sporting events they want to view, the sport industry as a whole must evolve as well. It’s important for us to look at in class so we are prepared when we become members of the sport industry ourselves.

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Review by Stephanie Nielsen in SRM 334 (section 3)

Sports Business Daily wrote an article on how NFL fans prefer the at-home experience to attending games. According to ESPN’s Bob Ley, many NFL ticket buyers feel that the stadium experience is not what it used to be. Eric Grubman, Executive VP/Business Ventures, stated that the at-home experience from the fans point of view has gotten much better and has gotten cheaper. Stadiums have become increasingly empty. Although television channels are watering down the “blackout rule,” which restricts games local broadcasts for games that aren’t sellouts is helping somewhat to have stadiums fill their seats.

There are three factors that are affecting the attendance at NFL stadiums: cost, convience, and comfort. Between the price of tickets, cost of eating out at games, the inconvenience of waiting in ridiculous lines, fans are choosing to not go to the games like they use to. There is no better atmosphere than the energy of a loud crowd but it is certainly more convenient to stay at home with the family and enjoy a football game. Personally, I enjoy the comfort of my home and being with my family when I’m watching my Giants play but if someone offered me tickets I wouldn’t pass them up.

The Sports Business Daily article is relevant to our class since many of us want to go work in professional sports. It is important to have fans continue to go to games and watch their favorite teams. As sports professionals we will need to market and attract fans to continue to go out and buy tickets. We also need to understand what attracts fans to go out to games and buy tickets along with making it convenient and easy for them to attend.

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Review by Natalie Bernstein in SRM 334 (section 3)
The article that was chosen from Sports Business Daily is about the main reason behind a decline in NFL ticket sales. That reason being the increasingly popular HDTV home viewing of NFL games. According to the article, NFL ticket sales have been declining by four percent annually while television ratings are up twelve percent. To help regain interest, the NFL is working on improving the product, which in this case is the stadium experience. In order for fans to have a more enjoyable time at the games, teams are rebuilding arenas to improve customer satisfaction. ESPN’s Darren Rovell discusses one major improvement in the works, Wi-Fi availability. This expensive addition to stadiums costs at least $8 million to set up the network from scratch. The NFL team owners and managers feel that this is a crucial step in improving the game day experience for fans. 

I feel that the NFL is making the right choice by trying to improve the quality of the fan experience. Watching televised games has become increasingly more appealing in the last decade. It’s convenient, cheap, and delivers an unbeatable close-up of every play. Each fan can feel as if they’re on the field with the players while watching the game from the comfort of their own couch. The alternative is an expensive ticket that offers the fan a crammed and overcrowded arena with unpredictable weather, and often a terrible view of the game. I was surprised to see that in this article they didn’t mention lowering ticket prices as a way to entice viewers. However, the main issue is the experience the fans get at the game, so improving quality of their stay is the best way to gain happy fans and filled stadiums. This issue is relevant to the course because the article represents the sometimes negative effects of sports media. In this case, as stadiums become harder to fill, the NFL teams and owners suffer.