NFL Television Ratings Expected to Skyrocket
The NFL regular season kicks off on September 9th, but off the field the sport’s economic winners are already being crowned. The pro football business is booming, and the expectation is that the NFL will set new records for fan viewership during the 2010 season. The regular season NFL TV audience enjoyed a 9% increase in 2009, and there are suggestions that they could experience a whopping 15% gain in viewership during the upcoming 2010 season.
This is good news not only for the NFL, but for a variety of businesses that owe their success directly or indirectly to the fortunes of North America’s most powerful sports league.
The strong viewership numbers extend beyond the league’s championship game to more mundane NFL events. The 2010 NFL draft coverage on ESPN and NFL Network also set viewership records, with an estimated 23.3 million people tuning in to the first round. The strong showing of the draft was also blamed for lower than average numbers for NBC’s hit sitcoms ’30 Rock’ and ‘The Office’. More importantly from the networks’ perspective, the NFL draft captured several highly coveted segments of the total TV audience including adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and all male demographics. Even the much maligned Pro Bowl, annually criticized as the most irrelevant major sport all star game, saw a 40% increase in their TV audience from 2009 to 2010.
Other industries are also expecting their NFL related business to boom this season, albeit in a more indirect fashion. Betting on NFL is big business, and sportsbooks from Nevada to Costa Rica are expecting a banner year. Read more
NFL Mobile From Verizon Wireless Sports a New Look and More Video in Time for the Season
For fans who can’t get enough of America’s favorite game, the new version of NFL Mobile from Verizon Wireless arrives tomorrow on America’s most reliable wireless network. NFL Mobile sports a new look and feel and gives users two options to stay up to date on teams, players and happenings around the league.
The new NFL Mobile lets every user see the latest news, headlines, stats and scores from the first drills in training camp all the way to Super Bowl XLV in North Texas in February 2011. NFL Mobile also will feature live audio broadcasts of every regular season game during the 2010 season.
NFL Mobile users who want exciting premium NFL video content on their wireless phones can simply add a V CAST Video subscription to get video on demand with player and team news and to watch live streams of: Read more
2011 Super Bowl Package in Cowboys Stadium Offered by Sports Link Through Platinum Rainmakers
Sports Link, a premier custom events ticket company, has created a unique event package for the Feb. 6, 2011 Super Bowl in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event package is only available to Texas residents through Platinum Rainmakers.
Sports Link has created a unique event package for the Feb. 6, 2011 Super Bowl in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event package is only available to Texas residents through Platinum Rainmakers.
The special Sports Link package, available to the public, is loaded with exclusive events from tickets to the game to an official NFL alumni pre-game party and Super Bowl memorabilia.
The complete package includes:
– Tickets to Super Bowl XLV: Lower level end-zone seating with ticket groupings guaranteed to be in pairings or better
– Ground Transportation: a 56-passenger private coach with customized imaging and signage
– Official NFL Alumni pre-game party
– Official NFL Memorabilia: Super Bowl duffle bag, golf shirt, game-day program, Super Bowl hat/visor and ticket lanyard with commemorative
pin
– On-Site Sports Link Event Staff Member
– Online Event Planner Service
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Gatorade and NFL Launch Beat the Heat Campaign
NFL players, coaches join their families in an effort to boost hydration awareness and raise charitable funds
To help keep athletes safe and performing at their best during the hot summer months The Gatorade Company has once again joined forces with the NFL to educate athletes, parents and coaches about heat-related illness and the importance of proper hydration and nutrition before, during and after practices and games. As part of the 2010 Beat the Heat program, NFL players, coaches and their families will lead hydration awareness efforts and help raise funds for two organizations dedicated to preventing heat-related illnesses – the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) and the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation (KFMF).
“What athletes, parents and coaches need to know is that heat-related illnesses are largely preventable,” said Douglas Casa, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of KSI, which is housed at the University of Connecticut. “The Beat the Heat program aims to raise awareness about this issue and provide educational resources to optimize the prevention, recognition, and treatment of heat-related illness during the summer practice season.”
The ongoing team effort between Gatorade, the NFL and their designated charities is built on communicating heat-illness prevention and treatment techniques. The organizations have collaborated to create and distribute the Gatorade Heat Safety Kit, an educational resource for athletes, parents and coaches which beginning in July can be downloaded at no cost from the NFL’s official Web site at www.nfl.com/trainingcamp. For every unique download of the Gatorade Heat Safety Kit, Gatorade will donate $1, up to $20,000, to Beat the Heat charities.
The Korey Stringer Institute is named for the late NFL player Korey Stringer, who died of complications after an exertional heat stroke that occurred during football practice. The institute, created with the support of the NFL and Gatorade, is the result of a collaboration between Casa, a noted exertional heat stroke expert, and Korey’s widow, Kelci Stringer. The Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation was founded by Mike and Rhonda Fincher in memory of their son Kendrick, an Arkansas teenage football player who succumbed to complications from heat stroke during the summer of 1995.
“The Beat the Heat program unites a number of outstanding organizations whose goal is to reduce the number of heat-related injuries by engaging parents, coaches and players,” said Jennifer Storms, vice president of sports and event marketing for Gatorade. “Our shared commitment is a great way to educate on how to prevent heat related tragedies nationwide.” Read more