Is it time for the NFL's television rules to be overhauled?

[nelsonincharlotte]

The point was the "bonus coverage" on CBS ran past the 3:25 time and FOX had the DH. Up until a couple years ago CBS would have to leave the game and go to studio unless you had the game from the get-go (which was basically the friends and family game....Philly, Cincy, Lexington, Columbus and Dayton carried it from the get go). Last year this rule was relaxed and both CBS & FOX carried bonus coverage to the end. This game went way past 3:25 (it was like 3:55) yet the bonus coverage was allowed to be shown to all markets that had an early game

I’m so glad they got rid of that rule. Viewers who want to turn it to the start of the 4:25 game can do so.

 

[danderson6500]

Something i did notice this morning; a number of markets have switched to Indianapolis @ Cleveland- Denver CO; Pittsburgh PA; Baltimore MD; Knoxville, Chattanooga and Jackson TN; Huntsville AL; Tallahassee FL.

 

[WheelRob]

Why doesn't CBS schedule a "College Football Extra" like FOX and ABC do? Every Saturday, they schedule CFB until 7:00 PM, but CBS has never signed off in time for 7:00 in at least two years. CBS does the most postgame BS'ing of all the networks. Even when the game ends at like 6:53, the postgame will run until 7:10-15. Most often, CBS signs off at 7:30 on the dot, sometimes not until 7:45 or even 8:00, but I have been tuning into CBS at 7:00 every CFB night since last season and not once did they sign off at 7:00. Some CBS stations that schedule newscasts for 7:00/6:00 Central even end up skipping them entirely, which seems like a waste. Even WCBS, an O&O, schedules Entertainment Tonight, which is an hour on weekends, at 7:00 PM, and it always gets JIP'd. Why doesn't CBS just schedule a half-hour slot for the postgame show from 7:00-7:30 and encourage its affiliates to schedule local news at 7:30 leading into primetime?

ABC used to have the same problem when they used to leave the 7-8 PM hour to its affiliates, but they rarely ended up getting the full hour, if even half of it, so now they just schedule "CFB Scoreboard" between the second and third games.

 

[KeithE4]

Something i did notice this morning; a number of markets have switched to Indianapolis @ Cleveland- Denver CO; Pittsburgh PA; Baltimore MD; Knoxville, Chattanooga and Jackson TN; Huntsville AL; Tallahassee FL.

They were switched from the Giants/Cowboys to Colts/Browns on Friday. Probably to give that game a few more OTA viewers than just those in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.

 

[TheBigA]

They were switched from the Giants/Cowboys to Colts/Browns on Friday. Probably to give that game a few more OTA viewers than just those in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.

The NFC East is a disaster this year. It's a boat everyone wants to get off.

 

[CTListener]

They were switched from the Giants/Cowboys to Colts/Browns on Friday. Probably to give that game a few more OTA viewers than just those in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.

Getting the Southern markets off Giants-Cowboys is kind of surprising, but I guess the thinking is that the Giants, who look historically bad, may not be able to provide a competitive game for the neutrals and the appeal of the Cowboys (which, for many, is watching them get beaten) won't be enough to keep their attention. The Colts and Browns, while they won't remind anyone of the '60s Packers or the '70s Steelers, at least have a good shot at .500 or better and a wild card slot. I don't know if the networks "handicap" games in this manner when deciding who gets what, but if they do, then the move makes more sense to me.

 

[tbolt909]

The NFC East is a disaster this year. It's a boat everyone wants to get off.

It's rare for CBS to get a NY Giants vs Dallas game. The NFC East is bad, but that means 4 major markets(Philly, DC, NY, Dallas) will all be in contention for a playoff spot. That's enough to keep people watching in those places...

 

[Don CT]

How is CBS going to manage the NFL with the Masters in November.

 

[KeithE4]

The NFC East is a disaster this year. It's a boat everyone wants to get off.

Except the networks and advertisers. The NFC Least is still THE money division in the league, no matter how bad they stink up the football field. Not only does it have 4 Top 10 TV markets, but the Cowboys are the Team Everybody Loves To Hate. They are to the NFL as the Lakers are to the NBA, the Yankees are to MLB, and Ohio State is to college football.

 

[CTListener]

How is CBS going to manage the NFL with the Masters in November.

Excellent question! Surely the closing round won't be shunted to CBS Sports Network, which is weaker by far than NBC or Fox's sports nets. It's the MASTERS, for Pete's sake. But sending the 4:30 EST games there sounds just as improbable, as does CBS punting and letting the local stations in the teams' markets bid for them. What is the plan???

 

[Don CT]

Excellent question! Surely the closing round won't be shunted to CBS Sports Network, which is weaker by far than NBC or Fox's sports nets. It's the MASTERS, for Pete's sake. But sending the 4:30 EST games there sounds just as improbable, as does CBS punting and letting the local stations in the teams' markets bid for them. What is the plan???

Could they play the final round in the morning like they did last year with the weather?

 

[TheBigA]

Excellent question! What is the plan???

Here's the plan: They start The Masters at 9AM:

https://golf.com/news/how-cbs-weekend-affect-masters-sunday/

 

[Don CT]

Here's the plan: They start The Masters at 9AM:

https://golf.com/news/how-cbs-weekend-affect-masters-sunday/

I quite enjoyed breakfast at The Masters last year.

 

[KeithE4]

Excellent question! Surely the closing round won't be shunted to CBS Sports Network, which is weaker by far than NBC or Fox's sports nets. It's the MASTERS, for Pete's sake. But sending the 4:30 EST games there sounds just as improbable, as does CBS punting and letting the local stations in the teams' markets bid for them. What is the plan???

All 6 early games will air on Fox, and the Masters should be done in time for the late games on CBS.

EDIT: My previous post was based on incomplete info.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

All 6 early games will air on Fox, and the Masters should be done in time for the late games on CBS.

EDIT: My previous post was based on incomplete info.

CBS did something similar, albeit in reverse, when they had the US Open Tennis rights. Since at that time the last day of the US Open (the men's final) was played on the Sunday of NFL Week 1. CBS would have only Early NFL games in Week 1, then the US Open in the late slot while Fox had the doubleheader.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Why doesn't CBS schedule a "College Football Extra" like FOX and ABC do? Every Saturday, they schedule CFB until 7:00 PM, but CBS has never signed off in time for 7:00 in at least two years. CBS does the most postgame BS'ing of all the networks. Even when the game ends at like 6:53, the postgame will run until 7:10-15. Most often, CBS signs off at 7:30 on the dot, sometimes not until 7:45 or even 8:00, but I have been tuning into CBS at 7:00 every CFB night since last season and not once did they sign off at 7:00. Some CBS stations that schedule newscasts for 7:00/6:00 Central even end up skipping them entirely, which seems like a waste. Even WCBS, an O&O, schedules Entertainment Tonight, which is an hour on weekends, at 7:00 PM, and it always gets JIP'd. Why doesn't CBS just schedule a half-hour slot for the postgame show from 7:00-7:30 and encourage its affiliates to schedule local news at 7:30 leading into primetime?

ABC used to have the same problem when they used to leave the 7-8 PM hour to its affiliates, but they rarely ended up getting the full hour, if even half of it, so now they just schedule "CFB Scoreboard" between the second and third games.

I just posted similar thoughts in the pre-emptions thread and I agree. CBS needs to schedule college football until 7:30 ET to allow for the length of most games and a scoreboard show for what time is left if any.

 

[nelsonincharlotte]

Why doesn't CBS schedule a "College Football Extra" like FOX and ABC do? Every Saturday, they schedule CFB until 7:00 PM, but CBS has never signed off in time for 7:00 in at least two years. CBS does the most postgame BS'ing of all the networks. Even when the game ends at like 6:53, the postgame will run until 7:10-15. Most often, CBS signs off at 7:30 on the dot, sometimes not until 7:45 or even 8:00, but I have been tuning into CBS at 7:00 every CFB night since last season and not once did they sign off at 7:00. Some CBS stations that schedule newscasts for 7:00/6:00 Central even end up skipping them entirely, which seems like a waste. Even WCBS, an O&O, schedules Entertainment Tonight, which is an hour on weekends, at 7:00 PM, and it always gets JIP'd. Why doesn't CBS just schedule a half-hour slot for the postgame show from 7:00-7:30 and encourage its affiliates to schedule local news at 7:30 leading into primetime?

ABC used to have the same problem when they used to leave the 7-8 PM hour to its affiliates, but they rarely ended up getting the full hour, if even half of it, so now they just schedule "CFB Scoreboard" between the second and third games.

Agreed. And in a perfect world CBS would have NFL postgame until 8pm Eastern on doubleheader weeks and 60 Minutes would start at 8pm those weeks so the local news would hardly ever be delayed past 11:30pm Eastern in the Eastern Time Zone on doubleheader weeks. “60 Minutes Extra” would air at 8pm Eastern on singleheader weeks.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Agreed. And in a perfect world CBS would have NFL postgame until 8pm Eastern on doubleheader weeks and 60 Minutes would start at 8pm those weeks so the local news would hardly ever be delayed past 11:30pm Eastern in the Eastern Time Zone on doubleheader weeks. “60 Minutes Extra” would air at 8pm Eastern on singleheader weeks.

That's how Fox does it.

 

[nelsonincharlotte]

That's how Fox does it.

Yep

 

[Don CT]

Agreed. And in a perfect world CBS would have NFL postgame until 8pm Eastern on doubleheader weeks and 60 Minutes would start at 8pm those weeks so the local news would hardly ever be delayed past 11:30pm Eastern in the Eastern Time Zone on doubleheader weeks. “60 Minutes Extra” would air at 8pm Eastern on singleheader weeks.

I bet people would complain if 60 Minutes started at 8. As long as they hit somewhere in the 7 window they are fine.