Thursday, December 27, 2007
Hut one, hut two, hut three channels to see the big game!
I'm not the biggest fan of the NFL, but when my home team Patriots are set to make NFL history with the possibility of becoming the first team in NFL history to go undefeated with a 16-0 record, it's a little hard not to get wrapped up in all the excitement.
Until a few days ago, the game was only going to be seen on the very limited subscriber-based NFL Network. You can't help but laugh, or get upset, because the NFL Network is like trying to find a needle in the haystack - not every cable provider in the country offers the channel. Ouch! For die-hard fans, this meant that the historical game would be seen by less than 40% of the country.
So people made noise. A lot of noise. Even lawmakers got involved and the pressure and attention was brought straight to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Similar to my blog (or rant...) on the U.S. Postal Service putting a stop to toy drops at the post office, this is a clear case of a company doing the right thing and listening to its public.
As a result of all the clamoring, the game will now be seen on three stations: NBC, CBS and the NFL Network. You have to wonder, was it a marketing strategy gone bad? Did the NFL expect to see a spike in subscriptions as the big game day drew closer? Who knows, but if the NFL were my client, I'd give them a big pat on the back and let them know they did good. It's not often you see a company listen to its core audience, but low and behold, it happened. The NFL did the right thing, and that's good news for us Pats fans... or for those of us who like to get wrapped up in the exciting game-du-jour.
Until a few days ago, the game was only going to be seen on the very limited subscriber-based NFL Network. You can't help but laugh, or get upset, because the NFL Network is like trying to find a needle in the haystack - not every cable provider in the country offers the channel. Ouch! For die-hard fans, this meant that the historical game would be seen by less than 40% of the country.
So people made noise. A lot of noise. Even lawmakers got involved and the pressure and attention was brought straight to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Similar to my blog (or rant...) on the U.S. Postal Service putting a stop to toy drops at the post office, this is a clear case of a company doing the right thing and listening to its public.
As a result of all the clamoring, the game will now be seen on three stations: NBC, CBS and the NFL Network. You have to wonder, was it a marketing strategy gone bad? Did the NFL expect to see a spike in subscriptions as the big game day drew closer? Who knows, but if the NFL were my client, I'd give them a big pat on the back and let them know they did good. It's not often you see a company listen to its core audience, but low and behold, it happened. The NFL did the right thing, and that's good news for us Pats fans... or for those of us who like to get wrapped up in the exciting game-du-jour.
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