Tag Archives: nfl

High Stakes Game in TV Ratings

By TERRY LYONS, contributing columnist @TheDailyPayoff
@terrylyons

American Pharoah’s run to the Triple Crown grabbed our fair share of attention recently, watching intently as the once-in-a-generation thoroughbred won graded stakes at Churchill Downs, Pimlico and Belmont Raceway.

American Pharoah delivered on the track, but his Triple Crown win translated into only 18.6 million television viewers on NBC, down from the 20.6 million fans who tuned into California Chrome’s failed bid at The Belmont in 2014. When Pharoah had the Triple Crown on the line at The Belmont, you might’ve thought the stakes were as high as they’d get ,but as spring turns to summer and the stretch-run at Belmont is in the rearview, there’s no higher stakes in professional sports than that of the TV ratings game.

Certainly the National Hockey League and NBC benefitted from a strong audience lead-in from The Belmont, as Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final calculated a tune-in of 6.6 million viewers for Game 2 of the series between the Tampa Bay Lightening and Chicago Blackhawks, the strongest non-clinching game TV audience since 1994. The data will improve as the Stanley Cup series, split 2-2 as of this writing, moves on to Tampa for a pivotal fifth game.

Meanwhile, after the longest break in NBA playoff history between the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a memorable NBA Finals series, with MVP Steph Curry of the Warriors and the league’s best player, Lebron James of the Cavs doing battle on the court. However, the real numbers are being crunched off the court by the Disney Corporation, the caretakers of ABC Sports, cash cow cable entity ESPN and the NBA on ESPN property.

As of this writing, the 2015 NBA Finals are the highest-rated ever on ABC with Game 4 delivering a 13.9 overnight rating to be joined with the league’s soaring numbers after the first three games of the Finals. Those ratings points translate to some 18.6 million viewers turning into the series, with the numbers — like the NHL’s — sure to go up as the league is guaranteed no fewer than six games to determine the champion.

Delving deeper into the NBA on ABC numbers, the Nielsen ratings in Game 4 were up 31 percent from the Miami vs. San Antonio numbers of a year ago with the ABC ratings averaging 13.1 (overnight), up some 26 percent over 2014. Of course, those are record-setting numbers for ABC Sports and do not factor against the record numbers the NBA did when NBC Sports carried the property. During that run, veteran broadcast chief Dick Ebersol put the pedal to the metal to promote Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to the tune of a Game 6 1998 NBA Finals record rating of 18 No fewer than 30 million tuned into the NBA from United States households, alone, never mind the growing international audience for basketball.

To be clear, the television ratings game of the winter-spring sports, such as horse racing, ice hockey and basketball cannot and will not compete with the television audience for the NFL’s biggest game – The Super Bowl. Last February, the New England Patriots exciting victory over the Seattle Seahawks saw a Nielsen rating blockbuster of 47.5 that translated to a US audience of 114.4 million viewers for the NFL and TV’s biggest audience of the year. Quite simply, there will never be a sporting audience viewing a game on TV that is larger than the NFL’s Super Bowl audience.

The other interesting point of comparison in the high stakes ratings game for televised sports properties in Major League Baseball which saw an 8.2 ratings average and 13.8 million viewers tune into the 2014 World Series, according to Sports Media Watch. Between Jordan’s last game in 1998 and 2008, the World Series consistently out-rated the NBA Finals. But, over the past five years (2010-2014), the NBA Finals has out-rated Major League Baseball’s World Series and the trend is surely going to continue in 2015, unless October brings about a miracle story (Insert Chicago Cubs joke here!)

One other interesting factor in televised sports ratings is to look at the numbers from the competing local markets. In Cleveland, Game 4 of the NBA Finals generated a 45.7 rating for the 20+ point Golden State blowout of the Cavs. In the Bay Area (SF market), the broadcast delivered a solid 30.5 rating. Pretty amazing audience numbers for the NBA which was largely criticized, especially by NASCAR and Fox Sports tv executives, when the 2003 NBA Finals drew all-time ratings lows of 6.5 for the New Jersey Nets vs. San Antonio Spurs series.
That was a long time ago.

Deflategate Suspension Shifts Odds on Patriots’ Super Bowl Chances

By Frank Scandale @Fscandale @TheDailyPayoff
Las Vegas odds makers say the four-game suspension meted out to Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady triggered adjustments in their outlook on the Super Bowl champs repeating, but all bets are off on final lines until an appeal is heard.
For those who put the season opener against Pittsburgh back on the board, their point spread against Pittsburgh also got much tighter.
All of this might have been expected given untested, back-up quarterback Jimmy Garappolo is the likely on-deck replacement. But what is still uncertain for odds makers is how many games ultimately Brady will be suspended on appeal, which was filed by Brady Thursday and agreed to be heard personally by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

That decision by Goodell is in itself a controversy, as the players’ union had urged the commission to appoint a neutral party.

All this drama is being played out in public while sports books such as Johnny Avello, executive director of race and sports operations at Wynn Las Vegas, are busy adjusting lines and watching this like a Shakespearean play. Avello said after the news came out on the lengthy suspension, he made adjustments to who wins Super Bowl, dropping the odds for the Patriots from 7-1 to 9-1.

Johnny Avello Horizontal 2 4Mg

“I was giving the odds at 5-2 to win the AFC conference and now it’s 4-1,” Avello added. “The reason is if they miss him for four games, the other teams could get possible jumps. Miami, Jets, Buffalo all have been lowered a bit…if it is two games, I’ll back off a little bit, maybe go to 8-1.”
The opening game is Pittsburgh and without Brady Avello says its a pick ’em game. The second game at Buffalo will be “difficult.” Jacksonville is up next and at home and he gives the Pats a win there, but the fourth game (after the bye week) is a tough game with Dallas.
“They could be 2-2 after four games if he’s not around, Avello said. “The Super Bowl champs get a tougher schedule.”
He also believes the Pats will not look for another quarterback.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Vaccaro, head of South Point Casino’s Race and Sports Marketing division, said the point spread for the Patriots-Steelers opener dropped to 1.5 from six points once the suspension was announced.
“Brady can move a game about six points. But with lots of time to prepare, and you adjust for the Superbowl win, we move it up a tick, Vaccaro said. “As for the rest of the division…the Jets, Bills and Miami, they are all about even. So now if you put the four games without Brady, the division up for grabs. We are just waiting an seeing how many games this suspension will be.”

Jimmy Vaccaro

Jimmy Vaccaro

Bookmakers in general had the Patriots to win 10.5 games prior to the suspension but now lowered to 10 games on the over/under.
”You have to remember that Tom Brady is the top quarterback in the league, but you can’t throw away the rest of the team. It is still a Superbowl winning team.”

Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports operations at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, said originally there was not much of an adjustment planned as nothing in the investigation suggested a four-game suspension was likely.

Jay Kornegay

Jay Kornegay

“We were thinking a fine and a one-game suspension,” said Kornegay, a lifelong Broncos fan and Colorado self-professed “homer.” “And a one-game suspension would make minor adjustments.”
Once The Wells report came out, Kornegay took the opening game against the Steelers off the board, where the Pats had been a six-point favorite.
“Once they announced four games, it was chaos for day and we had to make adjustments,” he said.
Additional fallout included raising the Super Bowl champs’ odds for a repeat to 8-1 from 7-1 after the suspension was announced. They also simultaneously changed the Denver Broncos line to 12-1 from 14-1 on the news.
The odds of the Pats winning the AFC conference was raised to 7-2 from 3-1, as well.
Oddsmakers explained the reason for the relatively minor adjustments was because they knew Brady would appeal and there’s a good chance the suspension would be reduced.

“These numbers are based on a two-game reduction already factored into this line,” Kornegay said, adding the line would be adjusted again if the four games are upheld.
Though initially Westgate took the Patriots-Steelers game off the board, it is now back on with the Patriots a two-point favorite. Why?
“They’ve done this before with Matt Cassel (2008 season when Brady got injured in the opener and was out all season) and won about 10 or 11 games (11 actually). They’ll be at home and they’ll be a lot of emotion there.”
He also thinks Coach Bill Belichick will come out blazing with something to prove.

Now, let’s see what the line is on that bet.

 

Timing Is Everything; Brands Berra And Brady Linked Together

Timing Is Everything; Brands Berra And Brady Linked Together

by Joe Favorito @JoeFav

There is a tinge of irony that on the day Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were dealing with the heavy-handed ruling by the NFL, politicians on New Jersey were circulating a petition to have Yogi Berra recognized for The Presidential Medal of Freedom. While many opined about the issue of the Brady brand for the long term (there won’t be much damage if any), the Berra brand, on the Hall of Famer’s 90th birthday, is one to be cherished, and not just for his prolific baseball career. There are very few individuals in the New Jersey lore transcends the era in which they made their mark. Springsteen, Lombardi, Senator Bill Bradley, President Woodrow Wilson, Sinatra would fit the mold. And then there is Yogi.

Yogi Berra’s legacy is as vibrant today as it was when the St.Louis native first arrived in the area to take the first steps as a Hall of Fame catcher with the New York Yankees. The difference today is that Berra legacy is not just about sports or his Italian American heritage or even his larger than life presence in and around Montclair, New Jersey. It is about pride, consistency, leadership and education, a legacy which can now be told year-round to an even larger audience with the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, hard by the first base line of Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University.
The Center underwent a $3.2 million renovation in 2011, and houses plenty of things Yogi, and features new video displays and other tidbits to enhance the experience, as well as the stadium shaped auditorium, which hosts more programs dedicated not just to baseball, but to learning experiences for all ages, with programs that focus on sportsmanship and social justice, two traits Berra has always held in high regard on and off the diamond.

But how can Berra’s legacy, built on malapropisms and baseball, withstand such a test of time? The key comes from the man himself, someone who was able to balance a successful business career in the offseason with a legendary career on the field. A man who stood by his principals and rarely bent the rules, and went on to take those same ideals to the front office, leading both the Mets and Yankees to the World Series.

In a time where athletes were not really known for thinking long-term for business, the Yogi brand was seen on Yoo-hoo and Wiffle Balls, even a spot withWiffle Balls, in commercials and card shows, and was never associated with anything that was controversial in nature. It is a brand that stands for loyalty and family, and as the years go on, has incorporated stronger social values and education into the plan as well. All of those factors speak very clearly in a challenged society, and have made the museum and learning center so much more than the precious artifacts it has and the events it holds. It speaks to a larger societal issue of positive values and dedication to community, which is really why the Yogi brand has continued so long. Yes it is about a quirky former ballplayer and the stories he can still tell so well. But more importantly it stands for quality in a world where sometimes quantity is placed on a higher level and the quick win is better than long term success.

That is not to say that leadership in athletics or entertainment is fully compromised today. A legion of leaders both in and away from sport can point to what Berra built as a standard for what they have tied themselves to today, even with all that goes on and the microscope anyone of note is under today. As far as Brady goes, his reputation for the long term will also survive and thrive in all likelihood. However for a lasting brand that has transcended time largely unscathed, one could look to the Yankee legend as a standard-bearer, and one who is deserving of any honor, event from POTUS, more now than ever.

– See more at: http://joefavorito.com/2015/05/12/timing-is-everything-brands-berra-and-brady-linked-together/#sthash.rM2BweM1.dpuf

Talking Sports, Media and Digital with Tom Richardson

Tom Richardson is the founder and president of a consulting outfit focused on the intersection of sports and media. He has worked in pro sports, taught college classes, lectured, consumed copious amounts of relevant and random information, is father to a pair of Millennials and a former English major.
Seemingly everywhere on the sports and media scene, Richardson exudes boundless energy, insatiable curiosity and unmitigated opinion about a wide range of subjects.
We asked Richardson about his involvement in all things sports, digital, and venture capital.

Your Preferred Titles: Founder and President, Convergence Sports & Media; Adjunct Professor


Duties: CEO/CMO/CRO/CTO — chief cook and bottle washer; teaching, mentoring


HomeTown: Massapequa, Long Island, NY

First Paid Job: Cutting lawns around the neighborhood ($3/lawn!) starting around age 12

Favorite Sport: Football

Favorite Team: Giants

Your most important Epiphany: Your reputation is your most important asset

Your Life Credo: Follow the golden rule

Twitter : @ConvergenceTR

 

Tom Richardson

TDP: Tell me about your company Covergence Sports & Media and how it integrates into the landscape of gaming

TR: Convergence, which I founded in 2004, is consulting and advisory business that works with a variety of companies, from well-established properties to start-up ventures, in sports, media and entertainment. The focus is on helping companies develop products and services profitably, to leverage assets in order maximize value and to compete more effectively in a converged media world. Working from time to time with gaming companies (e.g. early sage fantasy sports company, data provider), we’ll focus on business and strategic planning, digital marketing, business development, resourcing, etc.

TDP: How did you get involved with the NY Venture Community sports group, and what is its greatest asset these days?

TR: One of the founders, Jeff Volk, is a longtime sports industry colleague and friend of mine. I started helping out informally early on and gradually got more involved and became the first board member. The greatest asset is the knowledge that is shared and the camaraderie that is fostered at each live event. NYVC Sports has become a catalyst in broadening and energizing an already robust sports/investment/tech network in/around NY City.

TDP: Where do you see the biggest opportunities on the horizon regarding gambling, sports and technology?

TR: The rapid proliferation of tracking technologies is ushering in a bit of revolution in the area of sports data and team/player performance analytics. Examples include MLB’s Statcast, NBA’s SportVU and the things that the NFL are dong with Zebra Technologies. The output of all those initiatives could be the poster child of the “Big Data” movement. There’s an enormous amount of data that is being generated, much of which would be of great interest to gamers and gamblers. So I think the biggest opportunity is in the “productization” of all this data, finding B2B and B2C applications that will find a sustainable market.

TDP: Tell me how you first landed on the Digital side and had you any inkling it would grow so quickly and diversely as it did?

TR: I joined the NFL in the pre-Internet era but I knew about the early online business (companies like Prodigy and Compuserve) from my prior job at Ziff-Davis, the leading publisher of computer magazines. So I lived and managed through the transition while at the NFL, where we did the first online deal (w/ Prodigy) and the first CD-I and CD-ROM deals in pro sports. And that led to NFL.com. At that point I got a good sense of the potential and where things might go and I quickly became hooked on the digital side of the business. So I eventually moved to the NHL, where I was the GM of the league’s digital business.

TDP: How does the digital technology change the gambling , egaming and fantasy landscape? What are its limits?

TR: The immediate, real-time aspect of data capture and sharing is obviously making everything faster, which is a good thing for people who trade on or or make livings around data. Also, the world is now truly flat – it’s a global business where customers can come literally from all corners of the earth. That point, as well as the rapid growth of Over The Top video, is helping propel eSports into a huge, global sports business.

TDP: Tell me about your academia life and how it dovetails with the sports world?

TR: I’ve been teaching sports business (mostly digital media and marketing) for almost five years Columbia, NYU and Iona. It’s a labor of love for me for two reasons: 1) I love to learn, so keeping up with things, as good teachers should, comes naturally to me. I read a lot of articles and white papers, listen to a lot of podcasts and watch a lot of videos about the sports, media, entertainment, technology, start-ups, etc. That learning helps me stay fresh and enables me to put a complicated subject into the proper perspective for students; 2) I like to meet and interact with younger people — the millennial generation. As “digital natives,” they often have interesting insights and perspectives on this rapidly changing world and business environment. So while they learn form me, I also learn from them, which helps me as a consultant — I’m able to keep my finger on the pulse of the market.

TDP: How do you see Over The Top (OTT) content delivery changing the sports media, and by extension, fantasy and gaming landscape?

TR: OTT is a game changer for a few reasons: 1) Just about anyone can do it, so it’s great tool for “attacker brands” — those that are competing against the big incumbents; 2) There’s an immediate global reach, which means the potential audience can be found and engaged faster and cheaper than ever; 3) There’s interactivity as well as social elements that create like-minded communities around passions; eSports (and Twitch) is a great example; 4) There’s a high level of user tracking and measurement that allows for efficient and valuable targeted marketing and advertising.

TDP: Tell us something that very few people know about you.

TR: I spend a lot of time on/with music. I’m an avid self-taught guitar player (been hooked since age 15) and a self-taught hacker piano player. I’m also a big listener (in my office, on the train, walking around Manhattan) and lyric tweeter — on Twitter, @lyricbuff is my scrapbook of great lyrics worth remembering and sharing.