Saturday, December 02, 2006

NFL Copying FSG and the Red Sox

The NFL is in discussions with "National Amusements Inc. and other movie exhibition chains about screening live sports in digitally equipped theaters. National Amusements president Shari Redstone screened high-definition broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games at her Showcase Cinemas in several New England cities."

Now, in theory this could be a great idea for the NFL. The league could receive additional revenues from the events, continue to promote the league and make some additional money from having companies sponsor the events.

Here’s what is wrong with this idea:

• The Red Sox have had success with this type of business endeavor because Red Sox Nation branches all across New England. Fans don’t have the opportunity to attend games at Fenway since tickets are scare and it costs over $250 for a family of four to attend a game. A lot of fans don’t want to go to bars with their children to watch the games.
• Most football fans go to bars or have gatherings at their homes to watch the games. If you have a flat screen, are you really going to leave your house to watch a game at a money theater?
• The one way it might work is to promote the events to the youth leagues. The movie theaters could bring in athletes or coaches to talk about football during halftime. The NFL would be developing a new generation of passionate fans. The NFL could also create the aura that watching the games is a great family experience.

In theory, this idea sounds great, but the NFL will have its work cut out for it trying to attract a lot of fans.

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