According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.
In other words, if you tally up everything that happens between the time the ball is snapped and the play is whistled dead by the officials, there's barely enough time to prepare a hard-boiled egg. In fact, the average telecast devotes 56% more time to showing replays.
So what do the networks do with the other 174 minutes in a typical broadcast? Not surprisingly, commercials take up about an hour. As many as 75 minutes, or about 60% of the total air time, excluding commercials, is spent on shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps. In the four broadcasts The Journal studied, injured players got six more seconds of camera time than celebrating players. While the network announcers showed up on screen for just 30 seconds, shots of the head coaches and referees took up about 7% of the average show.
I hope I never have to listen to another football fan try to explain to me that he won't watch soccer because "nothing happens."
4 comments:
Crazy, but true. This also explains how I can zip through a tivo'ed football game in about half an hour. I have to catch at least SOME of the commentary, replays, etc.
When are we supposed to get other things done? I like to watch the Football while cooking. When the teams are close I just stop and watch then continue on with what I am doing. Much more civilized that way.
US broadcasters could take a lot of the fun out of soccer.
Another example of the evil of the recent clock rules changes. There isn't that much action to begin with; why bleed 5-10 more plays out of the game?
New, Improved Football (now with less football)!
Like SusieAndrew I watch all my sports via my DVR and speed through all the dead time and dont ever stop to listen to the Talking Heads.
Soccer? LOL. I would speed through the whole match and only slow down to watch the goal. (Sorry Grits)
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