College Football “Execs” Want Shorter Games

[greenmachine]

I don't trust they won't make the game go faster and just air more ads.

I agree. they want shorter games so they can sell more advertising. total air time will be the same.
All of you B1G gaggers should want this, how you think networks gonna keep up with these conference contracts without more ad dollars.

 

[greenmachine]

I'd be interested to see how continuous clock would work. make each quarter a little longer, but then run it non-stop like soccer. injuries get XX seconds to clear the field or get penalized. reviews get XX seconds or play stands. timeouts don't stop the clock, just delay the play clock starting. commercials only run at end of quarters and split screen in between plays/injuries. win for the live crowd as well with longer potty breaks at end of quarters. not sure if any of this would work, could end up being a wash in the end, just a different method.

 

[stinger78]

I agree. they want shorter games so they can sell more advertising. total air time will be the same.
All of you B1G gaggers should want this, how you think networks gonna keep up with these conference contracts without more ad dollars.

Spot on.

 

[thegtstunner08]

It seems to me the actual game isn’t longer than it used to be, but all the extra breaks for commercials and reviews are stretching the length.


[/QUOTE
Love Josh's channel.

 

[andrew]

I'd be interested to see how continuous clock would work. make each quarter a little longer, but then run it non-stop like soccer. injuries get XX seconds to clear the field or get penalized. reviews get XX seconds or play stands. timeouts don't stop the clock, just delay the play clock starting. commercials only run at end of quarters and split screen in between plays/injuries. win for the live crowd as well with longer potty breaks at end of quarters. not sure if any of this would work, could end up being a wash in the end, just a different method.

I don't think a lot of this will work.

Regarding injuries, a lot of people have this idea but any rule that encourages players to hide or push through injuries is a non-starter. For this specific one, imagine that a player takes a legal but nasty hit and is down with a possible neck injury. It will be absolutely awful optics for a team's medical staff to either rush a decision on if it's safe to move the player or take a penalty. Even if it's just a leg injury, the first time a player injures himself worse trying to get off the field beause he's afraid of getting a penalty will be the end of the rule.

If timeouts don't stop the game clock, you are basically neutering the ability of teams to run two minute drills, which is one of the most exciting aspects of football. It would save time, but I don't think anyone would be happy about it. You could make a rule that it only applies outside of two minutes to go, but then you're not decreasing game length much because most timeouts are saved specifically for the end of the game.

I think split screen ads will probablly happen (and already do to some extent), but moving all ads to split screen would be worse than having commercial breaks. Imagine a great play happens, and instead of seeing three slo mo replays with announcers breaking it down, you instead get 75% of the screen covered by an ad with sound, and the replays are relegated to a tiny section of the screen to ensure people can't easily ignore the ad. They're not just going to stuff them all between quarters where we can easily switch channels or walk away and know when to come back.

The bottom line is that the only way to meaningfully reduce game length in a way that doesn't compromise the broadcast is to cut down on advertising. After that, you're just discussing how you want to make it worse. Injuries are out. I think neutering the buzz that two minute drills generate is out. So what's left is new ways to show ads while the game is on, and I really think it's going to be a "be careful what you wish for" situation.

 

[JJacket]

14 minute quarters

 

[Nehru Jacket]

One way to increase advertising they have already started doing. Giving every football action a sponsor. Such as the Gillette close shave measurement. The YouTube referees review. The Grady hospital injury timeout.

 

[1982Jacket]

Yeah that's a good one. 10 seconds per first down of stoppage x 30 first downs per game would shorten the game by 5 minutes.

Got a link for that 10 second stat? I find it hard to believe those fat-ass linesmen get the markers moved and ready for play in ten seconds on the regular after the previous play ends.

Not sure about the 30 first downs either. Just for giggles I looked at Tech vs UCF . . . 46 first downs. Ten seconds would mean almost 8 minutes. 15 seconds would mean 11 and a half minutes.

Anyway, 5 minutes is a start, and the delay serves no good purpose.

 

[juraitwaluzka]

I don't think a lot of this will work.

Regarding injuries, a lot of people have this idea but any rule that encourages players to hide or push through injuries is a non-starter. For this specific one, imagine that a player takes a legal but nasty hit and is down with a possible neck injury. It will be absolutely awful optics for a team's medical staff to either rush a decision on if it's safe to move the player or take a penalty. Even if it's just a leg injury, the first time a player injures himself worse trying to get off the field beause he's afraid of getting a penalty will be the end of the rule.

If timeouts don't stop the game clock, you are basically neutering the ability of teams to run two minute drills, which is one of the most exciting aspects of football. It would save time, but I don't think anyone would be happy about it. You could make a rule that it only applies outside of two minutes to go, but then you're not decreasing game length much because most timeouts are saved specifically for the end of the game.

I think split screen ads will probablly happen (and already do to some extent), but moving all ads to split screen would be worse than having commercial breaks. Imagine a great play happens, and instead of seeing three slo mo replays with announcers breaking it down, you instead get 75% of the screen covered by an ad with sound, and the replays are relegated to a tiny section of the screen to ensure people can't easily ignore the ad. They're not just going to stuff them all between quarters where we can easily switch channels or walk away and know when to come back.

The bottom line is that the only way to meaningfully reduce game length in a way that doesn't compromise the broadcast is to cut down on advertising. After that, you're just discussing how you want to make it worse. Injuries are out. I think neutering the buzz that two minute drills generate is out. So what's left is new ways to show ads while the game is on, and I really think it's going to be a "be careful what you wish for" situation.

Yeah, I think the game itself with the original rules is actually just fine it's all the ads that have spoiled the experience. I realize you can't have today's NFL without these things but that's really irrelevant to the point which is that over time my interest has continued to wane to the point of almost complete disinterest and stuff like this has played a big part in it. So they can do what they want I don't really care, sucks for the fans that are still trying to hang on though.

 

[coit]

Got a link for that 10 second stat? I find it hard to believe those fat-ass linesmen get the markers moved and ready for play in ten seconds on the regular after the previous play ends.

Not sure about the 30 first downs either. Just for giggles I looked at Tech vs UCF . . . 46 first downs. Ten seconds would mean almost 8 minutes. 15 seconds would mean 11 and a half minutes.

Anyway, 5 minutes is a start, and the delay serves no good purpose.

Yeah I was erring on the conservative side. Actual savings would be higher I'm sure.

 

[The Jacket]

Man this is ööööing sad.

 

[1982Jacket]

It's worse attending games than watching at home. You just sit there for five minutes during a TV commercial timeout with nothing going on around you except maybe some really loud, really crappy urban music blasted at you. You need some beers just to make it all go away, and they're nine bucks a pop. It's the biggest reason why I gave up my Redskins season tickets about 14 years ago. Also, their owner sucks, and I'm not really a Redskins fan anyway - they just happen to be the local team and I used to like to watch football live before the timeouts got so ridiculous. I get my live football fix now at high school games. Just wish they sold beer.

 

[Akinji07]

Great so if I'm ahead and on my own 20, I'll just launch 80 yard bombs that take the referee ten minutes to run down, pick it up and bring it back and spot it. Something, something, unintended consequences, yada, yada....

Subtle brag about arm strength