Wednesday, March 24, 2010

TV's Most Poweful? The Masters, NFL

We're nowhere near the on-field part of pro football season, and golf season (at least to casual fans) remains a couple weeks away, but two out-of-season entities -- The Masters and the NFL -- clearly rank as two of the most powerful TV sports property owners in the United States.

First, The Masters, which controls almost everything about how golf gets portrayed during the sport's first major each April. While CBS Sports has held rights to the event for decades, it operates on a year-to-year contract with Augusta National Golf Club, and that enables the private club and its leaders to wield all the power in the relationship.

So, viewers get beautiful pictures of the course and references to "patrons" as opposed to "fans" or "the gallery." At the same time, CBS works under an ever-present threat that controversy or missteps could impact whether or not the network covers the tournament in subsequent years.

While the relationship has never been seriously threatened -- because CBS has toed the line and because, well, it's golf, not life or death -- Augusta National has flexed its muscle from time to time. Most notably, club officials chafed in 1995 when CBS analyst Gary McCord referred to the 17th green as so fast it was "bikini-waxed." He also said body bags were stacked behind the green for golfers who missed their approach shots.

He was removed from coverage of the tournament the next year and has never returned, despite the fact that he covers every other golf tournament the network broadcasts.

Like The Masters, the NFL is clearly in charge -- though not usually as overbearing -- in its relationship with broadcast partners. And a broadened definition of those partners made that clear a couple weeks ago.

While many were justifiably focused on the NCAA's likely effort to opt out of its television deal and look for higher bidders, the NFL sealed a $720 million deal with Verizon for mobile TV rights for the next four years. That's $5.6 million per year for each team in the league the next four years, and that's four what has been a small piece of the NFL's inventory.

In addition, every action the league makes garners attention. Big attention, even when its the off-season.

Alter the overtime rule during the league meeting? Covered. Speculate about the trade of Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb? Covered. Announce the team that would be the subject of the annual "Hard Knocks" series on HBO? Covered.

While some might wonder about the news value of some NFL-related items at this time of year, the nation's most-watched sport certainly generates year-round interest ... and merits year-round coverage.

Also, in contrast to Major League Baseball, which spaces out the announcements of its post-season awards in a manner that seems slow and tiresome, the NFL offers a tidbit here and a tidbit there (while knowing where they fit in the big picture) in a manner that only seems to whet appetites for more.

Best of all for the NFL, nobody questions the approach -- just as nobody will question how the The Masters goes about its business. No other TV property owners get such treatment, and none could warrant an approach, either.

It works for those two simply because they are so powerful, and because people are so interested. Because of that, they can set the rules -- such as extending the NFL Draft over a three-day period and moving into prime time this year -- and their TV partners (and the media in general) almost have to follow. Sometimes it's just good to be the king.

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