Page 33 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 75

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #75 February 2019 33

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Sports Energy presents Sports Panel

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Super Bowl LIII was held in Atlanta February 3. Do you think NFL football
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is the most popular sporting event in North America, and is interest in the NFL

as strong as ever?
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Gilles Gaudet - Sports Enthusiast - In a world where everything is being quantified, and where big data and analytics
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seem to be redefining the definition of success, the NFL is still king. Sure, information abounds showing that the
NFL’s numbers are down, and that the NBA is making positive inroads into hearts of the ever paying customer.
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Surmising that interest in the NFL is waning is like saying that the sun is never coming back after an overcast day.
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Here’s one stat that helps characterize the NFL’s financial hold on America’s sports dollar. The revenue from this
year’s Super Bowl will exceed the combined revenue of the entire NBA and MLB playoffs. This year’s Super Bowl
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will see one million visitors coming to Atlanta during the 10 days surrounding the game. In addition ad sales will
total approximately 500 million dollars for same day game ads, or 4.6 million for a 30 second TV slot. Ticket and
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concession income from sales will come in at nearly 90 million for the game. All that adds up to the Super Bowl
generating over 600 million dollars in revenue. Therefore the NFL will retain its title as the most valuable sports
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brand event in the world. The pro sport that has the most to fear in terms of attendance is major league baseball,
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with its tedious pace and lack of action, today’s youth are not enthralled by America’s “National Pastime”. In fact it
MLB as a national pastime may be past its prime. So hopefully you were among the 100 million plus viewers who
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enjoyed Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, chances are that you were!
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Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach -I thought I would start with a little history. American football evolved in
the United States, originating from rugby. The first match of American football was played on November 6th 1869,
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between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton.
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The National Football League was founded in 1920 and has overtaken baseball in popularity over the last 25 years.
Basketball has continually made a big surge in popularity as well and sits at #2 behind football.
NFL television ratings are the highest among all pro sports in North America hence Corporate America’s hunger for
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air time during the games. Even the commercials have become an event as part of the whole package.
In 2018, advertisers dished out over $5 million” for 30 seconds of ad time in the NFL championship game and
corporations know they’re getting value for their money.
Is NFL football is the most popular sporting event in North America, and is interest in the NFL strong as ever? Yes
it is; just follow the money!

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - The NFL is still by far the most popular sport in North America. League
attendance numbers over the past ten years (2008-18) have remained constant at between seventeen and eighteen
million per season. National anthem protests and concussion issues have brought negativity to the league and TV
ratings are down. Lower network ratings may give the perception of declining interest, but with fewer people

subscribing to pay TV, the ratings are down on almost anything cable. Cord cutters have shifted the focus to mobile
devices and a different means of viewing the game. The NFL is now covered by every mobile carrier allowing fans
to watch games wherever and however they want to.