According to reports, NFL owners are campaigning league officials for changes to the Thursday Night Football schedule.
Some have complained that such games are difficult for some fans to watch, especially last season when they were broadcast on Amazon Prime, a service that many people do not have.
John Mara, one of the owners of the New York Giants, complained that “flex” scheduling for Thursday night games would be “abusive” to those who hold season tickets.
Giants co-owner John Mara says he is “adamantly opposed” to flexible scheduling to Thursday Night Football & calls it “abusive” to season ticket holders.
“At some point, can we please give some consideration to the people who are coming to the games?”
He’s glad vote didn’t pass
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) March 29, 2023
A vote on such scheduling didn’t pass, although owners could end up voting for an amended version of “flex” scheduling in the near future.
According to Sports Media Watch, viewership for Thursday Night Football fell in 2022, the first year it aired exclusively on Amazon Prime, compared to 2021.
Prior to last season, Thursday night contests were broadcast on FOX and NFL Network.
Although a growing number of people are “cutting the cord” and giving up traditional cable and satellite subscriptions in favor of streaming services, the majority of people, especially those in older age groups, still rely on the main networks or basic cable for their favorite sports, news and entertainment.
Even in 2023, that makes airing games on streaming services such as Amazon Prime iffy.
The NFL remains the most popular sports league in the nation, but making the wrong decisions as far as broadcast availability could cause it to lose ground, especially when the NBA has been doing rather well in recent years.
It is time for the league to not only think about season ticket holders, many of whom seem to be affluent, but also lower-income people who cannot afford to attend games in person and therefore have to watch them on television.
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