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Get ready for Friday night games on.......Apple?

Record media contracts aren't free. I doubt most teams will play as many as two Friday night games per year. If so, sign up with Apple, then quit. Rinse/repeat.

I am willing to pay $10 or so to watch my football team. I sort of thought with everyone cutting cable that ALL games would be pay per view someday.
 
I probably will not see that PSU game..oh well
I'm afraid there will be more than a few people like that, myself included. It's just too inconvenient to get every imaginable service.

And stepping back and looking at things dispassionately, we've got these giant, economic powerhouses...Apple, Amazon, ESPN, networks, college football structure...sh*tting on the longtime traditional Americana that is high school football. Would it really be the end of the world if these behemoths just left Friday nights to our high schools and their communities?
 
I haven’t seen any reputable site reporting anything like this so I’m extremely skeptical. If anything the Big Ten seems to be working on maximal exposure which is why they wanted multiple network deals so they’d have three national network games every week.

The only thing I’ve seen about streaming is that Comcast may get some games exclusively on Peacock (not even clear this is football vs basketball or other sports). They’ve had Notre Dame games on there in the past.
 
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I haven’t seen any reputable site reporting anything like this so I’m extremely skeptical. If anything the Big Ten seems to be working on maximal exposure which is why they wanted multiple network deals so they’d have three national network games every week.

The only thing I’ve seen about streaming is that Comcast may get some games exclusively on Peacock (not even clear this is football vs basketball or other sports). They’ve had Notre Dame games on there in the past.
Everything is just rumors at this point. But streaming for Friday games makes some sense. They have been playing Friday night games already. Bet the ratings are pretty low. So low that networks don’t want them. So put them on streaming. These services like it because it gets their foot in the door.
 
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Apple also just got the MLS contract for 2023. I know CFB is a totally different animal though. As someone that doesn't like Apple products I wasn't very happy. But Apple has said the MLS package will be separate from their regular Apple TV service, so perhaps they'll do something similar for CFB. That's probably good if you aren't already a subscriber, it could mean a cheaper price to get only a very specific product. It's probably bad if you already pay for Apple TV, it would increase your bill.

The nice thing Apple announced is that MLS season ticket holders will get the package for free, so that's a nice perk that perhaps will carry over to CFB. On the very rare occasions I've watched sports on Apple, they do seem to have good video and production quality. They really fall flat with their broadcast and commentator teams though, those are so bad it makes me want to turn it off.

The other benefit they are bringing is simplifying the schedule. MLS games today are all over the place in terms of when games are played and Apple has said they want all games to be consolidated into a couple of viewing windows. This TV predictability works great for the NFL, I don't need a TV guide I know when games are on. MLS doesn't have that today. I guess that point isn't so relevant for CFB since they already have relatively consistent game times and Apple likely wouldn't be a big enough partner to influence scheduling, but it shows that Apple is pretty aware of what works in some sports and might not be a terrible choice.
 
I will never understand this argument.
When large entities have power on people they rely on for support and they use that power to dump on those same people, it (a) is wrong and (b) can backfire.

1. Large, rich entities rely on common people for support.

2. High school football is a cultural institution for common people in the US.

3. Those large, rich entities damage the cultural institution of the common people in the US to get even larger and richer.

4. Resentment builds among the common people in the US and a backlash ensues.

Even without playing football on Friday nights, the colleges and ESPN and Apple and all those very wealthy and powerful. They don't need even more.

It's like when the best looking girl in the school that can have any guy she wants takes the guy that's the boyfriend of her best friend. Just because she can get him doesn't mean it's right and it also doesn't mean it's in her best interest in the long run. Powerful doesn't mean all powerful.
 
Apple also just got the MLS contract for 2023. I know CFB is a totally different animal though. As someone that doesn't like Apple products I wasn't very happy. But Apple has said the MLS package will be separate from their regular Apple TV service, so perhaps they'll do something similar for CFB. That's probably good if you aren't already a subscriber, it could mean a cheaper price to get only a very specific product. It's probably bad if you already pay for Apple TV, it would increase your bill.

The nice thing Apple announced is that MLS season ticket holders will get the package for free, so that's a nice perk that perhaps will carry over to CFB. On the very rare occasions I've watched sports on Apple, they do seem to have good video and production quality. They really fall flat with their broadcast and commentator teams though, those are so bad it makes me want to turn it off.

The other benefit they are bringing is simplifying the schedule. MLS games today are all over the place in terms of when games are played and Apple has said they want all games to be consolidated into a couple of viewing windows. This TV predictability works great for the NFL, I don't need a TV guide I know when games are on. MLS doesn't have that today. I guess that point isn't so relevant for CFB since they already have relatively consistent game times and Apple likely wouldn't be a big enough partner to influence scheduling, but it shows that Apple is pretty aware of what works in some sports and might not be a terrible choice.
I think if Apple and the Big Ten agree to a deal, it will be similar to their current deal with MLB. They currently show one or two Friday night baseball games weekly. They were free to watch for anyone the first half of the season, but the second half required an Apple TV+ subscription.
 
I will never understand this argument.
Ever wonder why the NFL doesn’t play on Saturdays during the college football season? It’s because they realize that college football is actually their minor leagues, their prepatory training grounds. If they play Saturday’s and destroy college football, they destroy their very own structure.

Same with Friday Night Lights. If colleges start playing on Friday nights, they could end up destroying high school football. .....People stay home to watch college instead of going to high school games. Then they have far fewer skilled and experienced players for their own programs. Really stupid.

Something about gooses and golden eggs.
 
Ever wonder why the NFL doesn’t play on Saturdays during the college football season? It’s because they realize that college football is actually their minor leagues, their prepatory training grounds. If they play Saturday’s and destroy college football, they destroy their very own structure.

As I understand it, but the NFL is actually legally prevented to play on Fridays or Saturdays during high school/college football season due to the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act. It's tough to argue that they are doing it out of the kindness of their hearts when they don't have that option to play those days.
 
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Ever wonder why the NFL doesn’t play on Saturdays during the college football season? It’s because they realize that college football is actually their minor leagues, their prepatory training grounds. If they play Saturday’s and destroy college football, they destroy their very own structure.

Same with Friday Night Lights. If colleges start playing on Friday nights, they could end up destroying high school football. .....People stay home to watch college instead of going to high school games. Then they have far fewer skilled and experienced players for their own programs. Really stupid.

Something about gooses and golden eggs.
That seems like a stretch. CFB actually has tons of viewers and is often nationally televised, which NFL games would cannibalize. High school football has a small fraction of the popularity and almost no television presence.
 
Ever wonder why the NFL doesn’t play on Saturdays during the college football season? It’s because they realize that college football is actually their minor leagues, their prepatory training grounds. If they play Saturday’s and destroy college football, they destroy their very own structure.

Same with Friday Night Lights. If colleges start playing on Friday nights, they could end up destroying high school football. .....People stay home to watch college instead of going to high school games. Then they have far fewer skilled and experienced players for their own programs. Really stupid.

Something about gooses and golden eggs.
So high school football talent develops based on attendance? I think that, even if nobody went to the games, high school kids will still see the prize of college (and pro) stardom and will work just as hard as if the stands were full.
 
That seems like a stretch. CFB actually has tons of viewers and is often nationally televised, which NFL games would cannibalize. High school football has a small fraction of the popularity and almost no television presence.
As I stated previously.........If people stay home to watch college football it could seriously damage high school football. What about that is so hard to understand?
 
So high school football talent develops based on attendance? I think that, even if nobody went to the games, high school kids will still see the prize of college (and pro) stardom and will work just as hard as if the stands were full.
And schools will still have football teams if no one shows up?
 
When large entities have power on people they rely on for support and they use that power to dump on those same people, it (a) is wrong and (b) can backfire.

1. Large, rich entities rely on common people for support.

2. High school football is a cultural institution for common people in the US.

3. Those large, rich entities damage the cultural institution of the common people in the US to get even larger and richer.

4. Resentment builds among the common people in the US and a backlash ensues.

Even without playing football on Friday nights, the colleges and ESPN and Apple and all those very wealthy and powerful. They don't need even more.

It's like when the best looking girl in the school that can have any guy she wants takes the guy that's the boyfriend of her best friend. Just because she can get him doesn't mean it's right and it also doesn't mean it's in her best interest in the long run. Powerful doesn't mean all powerful.
That post didn't clear anything up for me.
 
As I stated previously.........If people stay home to watch college football it could seriously damage high school football. What about that is so hard to understand?
There have been college football games on Friday's for several years now. Miraculously high school football still exists! I think it is an a very simplistic belief that high school football will fall apart just because some people will stay home to watch a college football game. High school games are played across the country and many are played in front of very few fans, some are played on Saturday's believe it or not, and people attend those games despite college football games being played at the same time. Some people are just opposed to change.

I can't tell you the last time I went to a high school football game, so playing college football games on Friday nights could possibly benefit someone like me. There are a lot of people like me who don't go to high school football games.
 
My high school played their games on Saturday afternoons because the stadium didn't have lights. And we weren't a small school. I know the major schools that develop Div 1 talent all would generally play on Friday nights, but is that the case everywhere? I mean, there were a bunch of Big Ten schools that haven't even had lights until recent times.
 
Just looked at our schedule and unless they move a game, all games are listed as Saturday with the exception of Purdue which is Thursday.
 
Everything is just rumors at this point. But streaming for Friday games makes some sense. They have been playing Friday night games already. Bet the ratings are pretty low. So low that networks don’t want them. So put them on streaming. These services like it because it gets their foot in the door.

So, the good news is that there was no deal with Apple TV (or Prime) though there is a streaming component with Peacock for 8 football games a year and 32-47 men's basketball games a year. No indication that the football games are on any other day other than Saturday.

The only non-Saturday games I have seen talked about are potential Labor Day Sunday (reportedly an NBC night game) and Black Friday (either CBS afternoon or NBC night or both). That said, more information will come out and I wouldn't be shocked if there's a few Thur or Friday games as have already been happening, perhaps still on BTN or FS1. But probably not many.
 
So, the good news is that there was no deal with Apple TV (or Prime) though there is a streaming component with Peacock for 8 football games a year and 32-47 men's basketball games a year. No indication that the football games are on any other day other than Saturday.

The only non-Saturday games I have seen talked about are potential Labor Day Sunday (reportedly an NBC night game) and Black Friday (either CBS afternoon or NBC night or both). That said, more information will come out and I wouldn't be shocked if there's a few Thur or Friday games as have already been happening, perhaps still on BTN or FS1. But probably not many.
Shame they don’t go back to Thanksgiving Day. Used to be the best day of football, even better than New Years. Now it is really boring pro ball. Detroit EVERY year? Seriously?
 
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