I was thinking about watching the Miners play football this season and so I looked to find out and found an announcement about the schedule of upcoming games and an alliance with the Stadium network. Now, having a foggy memory of something like this before where finding games was some kind of quest I thought that perhaps the whole football/media thing might be worth a discussion.
Part of the discussion will have to include the subject of viewer age. It is critical! The nexus between age of viewer, and the form of media used to deliver the game cannot be understated. More on that later.
In the past, nationally known teams would fill the few televised games on the three networks. Generations would sit and watch football rooting for a team that they connected with. Those conferences struck it rich, as the money television was willing to pay for games was big because the costs were low. Then came cable television. Soon, ESPN realized that this was the perfect business model for television. The public loved watching sports and it was cheap to produce, especially with satellites able to bounce beams around. At first they filled time showing other teams from the major conferences. That worked so well they began adding more channels. After filling time with other teams from the major conferences, more channels came and more money for some what were called mid-majors. The money was huge. It meant much more than money though. It meant power. It meant rivalries were born or cemented. It put places on the map and in people’s minds. It meant recruiting gold. It meant that the best players could go anywhere and still be seen by Mom, Dad, Gramma and Grampa, and all of the rest of the family IF they went to play at the right schools.
Then came the internet. Geez, what a God send/cluster fuck it is. Remember that I said age of the viewer is critical. You know what’s coming. But, it isn’t just about old farts not being technology savvy. You have to add to it the fact that the internet has had an enormous impact on what younger generations watch and it’s impact on sports in general. The major conferences still have a stranglehold on most of the money coming in and thus being shoveled back through the networks. But, there is till money to be made, pocket change for the big boys, but for all of the rest about all it means is that their fans may have a chance to see game they would not have before.
What I wonder is will the internet eventually be the demise sports. Yep, I said it. You see, much of sports had traditionally individual competition such a prize fights. Eventually schools and organizations such as the YMCA found that team sports provided many positive aspects in helping channel the energy of young men, developing teamwork and leadership skills, and a esprit de corps. What else followed naturally was spectators, rivalries, and an unexpected money stream for the organization. Cars made it possible to carry players from one town to others near by. Professional teams sprang up, with players made famous in the area and who people would pay a little to see play against others they had known. Rivalries based on teams representing communities grew and huge stadiums were built to accommodate the crowds that wanted to pay to watch teams play. Television allowed to get involved without having to pay to watch as commercials to care of that, and to see games in which we would not have been able to travel to.
But cable television brought many other choices of something to watch than sports. The media that has helped sports grow had also given more choices of what to spend viewing time on. For children. You see, the three generations watching a team together on a Saturday had changed over the years to the point that now, the youngest generations may not even look up from the smart phones. There is always a delay in these things. They don’t show up immediately. But ask yourself if the current generation has the same attachment to sports as their grand parents or great grandparents? Now, throw in the growth in internet universities and the move away from brick and mortar. Much of the regional connections are fading due to it and it will only increase.
It won’t happen in the next few years, but I believe it is possible that it will show up at some point and when it does it may come shockingly quick.
Let me know what you think here at the Den; http://kyyotesden.com/den/index.php?topic=14.0