The "hypothesis" is that broadcasting is "dead", that only cable viewers
watch it, and that to "compete" with cable, broadcasters need to do (fill in
any absurd thought).
Here's a way to test the hypothesis.
This fall, Monday Night Football went from being a staple of ABC's fall
Monday line up, to being a staple of ESPN's fall Monday night line-up.
At the same time, Sunday night football moved from being on ESPN to being on
NBC.
Aside from a change in a few announcers, and the ability of NBC to change
the line of of games late into the season, that's it.
So, the questions are: when Monday Night football moved to cable, did it
gain/lose or stay the same in average viewers? What was the delta as a
percentage of last season's viewers?
Did Sunday Night Football gain/lose or stay the same in viewers? What was
the delta as a percentage of last season's viewers?
Of course I know the answers, but looking into the figures and thinking
about them is as important as the answers.
John Willkie
P.S. One hint: fall 2005 on ESPN, Sunday Night Football had on average, 9.7
million viewers. This fall, the NFL network is said to be under-performing.
It averages 7.9 million viewers per the 8 NFL games it aired.
