I talked about the NFL and its marketing a few weeks ago,
but upon seeing this item in the Washington Post (thanks Matt Mosley for posting this. It’s very important whether fans realize it or not), I feel I have to revisit the topic.
Under NFL Rule , Websites Are Given Just 45 Seconds To Score
If you are a news website such as Philly’s NBC10.com, you will be limited to 45 seconds of video content per day. That means any interviews with players, coaches, etc., will be limited. Why would the NFL do this? Because they want you to get more of your content from the team websites. Does this stink incredibly to anyone else? This goes back to what I was talking about a few weeks ago about marketing and the league having a death grip on its brand.
I emailed NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello, and asked him why the NFL would do this.
“There is more information about the NFL available to fans from more sources now than ever before,” he said via email. “We just further expanded access for the news media to our players and coaches through revisions in our media access policies. Our policies are aimed at supporting extensive independent news coverage of the NFL.”
Anyone else fully understand that? I don’t think I do. Yes, I get that there is more information available than ever before, that kind of happens when a whole new platform of information is developed (the internet). I have a feeling there was no Profootballtalk.com coverage of the 1958 NFL Championship game. There are tons of websites, television and radio stations, and that number continues to grow. That’s not the NFL’s doing. And his comment about the NFL’s policies supporting more independent coverage is patently false in my opinion. I’m not calling Aiello a liar, but I think he’s forced to spin some bad decisions into just the opposite. I’m not slamming Aiello here, that would be shooting the messenger.
“Interest in the nfl [sic] has continued to grow,” he continued. “That is because we ensure that news media coverage of our league is omnipresent.”
Yes, but that’s not really the case here. You have restricted unbiased coverage of the league and shifted more into league-filtered content. This is another attempt to take the power away from the people and hold onto it for their own. This shows me clearly that the NFL’s growth has a ceiling. I don’t know what that ceiling is or when they will hit it, but they eventually will, and I think it’s getting closer than they think. This is mainly because I don’t trust the people in charge of making brand decisions to make the correct ones.
Do you remember the Saturday Night Live spoof commercial of “Bad Idea Jeans?” I think the NFL’s brand management team has a closet full of Bad Idea Jeans and they are sure to wear them to meetings. These types of policies largely go unnoticed by the casual fan, but consumers have to keep an eye on them. Through its content clamp downs (Youtube) and incestuous network of media outlets, the NFL is inching towards becoming the sole media vehicle that covers the league. Someday, we might not be able to tell the difference between the NFL and NFL media. Maybe I’m overreacting to a perception, but I certainly don’t like what I’m seeing.
micahw@feverpitchmedia.com
