The future of sports watching in America
jdip9
Posts: 1,894 ✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
To play off of Boo's thread about hockey, I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on the sports landscape in general, and specifically the trends in how we watch them. I've thought about this for the last year or so, as the economy has been swirling down the drain. Bill Simmons mentioned it in his piece on how to save the NBA a couple weeks ago:
Just know that gate revenues aren't down only because people have less money than three years ago. They're down because fans became tired of the illusion of regret, and also, because our consumption patterns changed. Many of us own nice televisions now. We can watch any game in HD on a 50-inch screen. We can watch one game while watching another on our laptop. If we want, we can watch the fourth quarters of 10-12 NBA games in one night. There's no real impetus to buy NBA season tickets anymore unless: (A) you're rich, and/or (B) you have great seats between the baskets....
Teams depend on season-ticket revenue because it's guaranteed income. With the current setup, I could skip getting season tickets, then use stubhub.com, ebay.com and even team-endorsed ticket sites to cherry-pick choice seats for six or seven big games per season. So if the NBA wants to keep me (or you, or anyone) as a customer, it needs to prevent me from sampling instead of buying. Ask any sales guy for any NBA team -- this is their biggest challenge. They don't want me for seven games. They want me for all of them.
With the unemployment rate at 10% and the costs of tickets, parking, concessions, etc, and the hassle of actually getting into and out of the city, why will people continue to buy season tickets in any sport?
Why will baseball fans in cities like KC, Pittsburgh, or San Diego continue to buy season tickets to support owners/franchises that can't build a team that can win because of the revenue structure?
I'm not even sure the NFL can escape a dwindling attendance phenomenon. With the popularity of fantasy football growing every year, fans are becoming more concerned with the success of their fantasy team rather than the local NFL franchise. They'd rather be somewhere where they can watch 8 games at once. The NFL will have to think long and hard about their blackout rule. I understand why it exists, but to maintain the popularity of its sport, they might have to rescind it sometime in the next 5 years.
Both the NFL and NBA are staring at lockouts square in the face in 2011. Those sports better learn the lesson that hockey gave us in 2004 - don't take for granted that the fans will return, because I don't think they will....and if they do, it will be from the comfort of their living rooms.
Just know that gate revenues aren't down only because people have less money than three years ago. They're down because fans became tired of the illusion of regret, and also, because our consumption patterns changed. Many of us own nice televisions now. We can watch any game in HD on a 50-inch screen. We can watch one game while watching another on our laptop. If we want, we can watch the fourth quarters of 10-12 NBA games in one night. There's no real impetus to buy NBA season tickets anymore unless: (A) you're rich, and/or (B) you have great seats between the baskets....
Teams depend on season-ticket revenue because it's guaranteed income. With the current setup, I could skip getting season tickets, then use stubhub.com, ebay.com and even team-endorsed ticket sites to cherry-pick choice seats for six or seven big games per season. So if the NBA wants to keep me (or you, or anyone) as a customer, it needs to prevent me from sampling instead of buying. Ask any sales guy for any NBA team -- this is their biggest challenge. They don't want me for seven games. They want me for all of them.
With the unemployment rate at 10% and the costs of tickets, parking, concessions, etc, and the hassle of actually getting into and out of the city, why will people continue to buy season tickets in any sport?
Why will baseball fans in cities like KC, Pittsburgh, or San Diego continue to buy season tickets to support owners/franchises that can't build a team that can win because of the revenue structure?
I'm not even sure the NFL can escape a dwindling attendance phenomenon. With the popularity of fantasy football growing every year, fans are becoming more concerned with the success of their fantasy team rather than the local NFL franchise. They'd rather be somewhere where they can watch 8 games at once. The NFL will have to think long and hard about their blackout rule. I understand why it exists, but to maintain the popularity of its sport, they might have to rescind it sometime in the next 5 years.
Both the NFL and NBA are staring at lockouts square in the face in 2011. Those sports better learn the lesson that hockey gave us in 2004 - don't take for granted that the fans will return, because I don't think they will....and if they do, it will be from the comfort of their living rooms.
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Comments
And that is the point of my post. There are likely hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, in your same shoes. Sports are competing for a shrinking pool of discretionary spending dollars.
Sports have done so much to cater to the TV audience (putting games on in ET prime time, cameras to catch every angle of every play, etc.) that they are driving people away from the arenas/stadiums. Couple that with the fact that each of the 4 major sports (I'll throw hockey a bone here, and include them too) has fundamental problems with the either the level of competition or league structure, and I see the majority of sports franchises eventually losing money, as the TV contract dollars start to shrink. Franchises will continue to raise ticket prices, but all that will do is drive more people away, since the rise in ticket prices will likely outpace rise in people's incomes.
The coming lockouts in football/basketball will only accelerate this process.
<< <i>Because of the economy, I had to give up my season tickets to the Carolina Hurricanes. But, I did go to every game. Even the crappy preseason games. Why? Well, it was just the experience. I love watching hockey. I watch it on Center Ice and NHL network, but there is something about going to a game and sitting amongst familiar faces and having all of these people cheering along with you for the team. I don't know if everyone feels that way, but for me personally, I just like being there night in and night out. >>
That is just hockey. Squirt level hockey is more fun to watch in a rink than the NHL is on TV.
The other sports I actually like better on TV. Don't have to watch if it isn't close, and I get other stuff done as well.
If improved technology and multi-media increases the total audience or simply makes the current audience enjoy the product more, increased profit is only limited by creativity, even if fewer people are buying tickets
Ticket sales are such a small fraction of professional sports revenue
Perhaps, but less people in the seats has a trickle down effect on a lot of other sources of revenue, such as concessions and advertising.
I guess maybe the title of the thread should have been the future of sports in America, because even the TV ratings will be challenged. The way I see it, there are only a handful of regular season games in the NBA, NHL, and MLB that are interesting enough for appointment viewing. And this is from someone that lives in a market where all the teams in those sports are competitive. Lower TV ratings means less money that networks are willing to shell out in the next TV contract cycle because they won't be able to charge advertisers as much to advertise during games.
Tooooooooooooooooo expensive!!!
Much nicer to sit in my recliner and watch it on my 52" in HD for nothing.
I remember when tickets for baseball were as cheap as 7 bucks ..... I don't know what they are now. And the food is rediculious !!!!!! Probably 10 bucks for a hot dog by now.
It's just plain stupid to pay moon money to go see overpaid jocks play.
They are going to end up priceing themselves out of business.
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Ralph
<< <i>The way I see it, there are only a handful of regular season games in the NBA, NHL, and MLB that are interesting enough for appointment viewing >>
So what you are saying is that you predict interest in sports in all forms is going to drop. It may happen, but it will still remain higher than the vast majority of other recreations people devote their time to
I guess maybe to some degree, yes, that is what I'm saying. People that love sports won't stop caring about them, but I just think the overall feeling of NEEDING to watch a particular regular season game will dwindle. There are sooooo many more avenues for entertainment these days, largely created by the internet, that sports viewership has to decline. Besides, since we can now watch the highlights of every game on ESPN News, the Internet, etc., or follow on our cell phones give people a convenient excuse not park themselves in front of the TV or drag themselves to the arena.
Maybe I'm just getting jaded as I grow older. But I sense there are some fundamental problems with all 4 major sports that I'm not sure are easily fixable, which will lead to fans only finding time for the big games.
<< <i> Besides, since we can now watch the highlights of every game on ESPN News, the Internet, etc., or follow on our cell phones give people a convenient excuse not park themselves in front of the TV or drag themselves to the arena >>
Watching the highlights on SportsCenter and looking up stats and scores on the internet still makes someone part of the audience even if they aren't sitting in the stands or watching live on TV
So long as people are willing to spend their time on the sport in any way, they are only one step away from spending their money
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<< <i>Thats the most of Bill Simmons that I have read in two years. I now remember why I stopped reading him. >>
why?
John
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS