The shorten the game charade

[RockyDog]

We have traded 12-15 plays of football so ESPN can have more commercial breaks and show the SAME DAMN Chick-fil-A and AFLAC commercials on repeat. We are STILL gonna end up at 3 hours+ of game time.

[Bothrops]

I can't stand it. I really hate corporate America

[Bdawg]

I think we started the fourth in our game 2hrs and 20 mins in. Seemed pretty fast to me. In my opinion, if I go to the game I want my experience there to last a while.

[Coach34]

We have traded 12-15 plays of football so ESPN can have more commercial breaks and show the SAME DAMN Chick-fil-A and AFLAC commercials on repeat. We are STILL gonna end up at 3 hours+ of game time.

Game times are shorter all the way around. It's hurting the game IMO

[MrCoachKlein]

Seems to be 15-25 min shorter to me. They're gonna get their ad time one way or another. That may just be air raid bias. Games tend to be longer when you throw 60+ times.

Doesn't really matter to me. I watch 2 games at once and no commercials or if 1 game is on just start it 45 late.

[civildawg]

College football is dying a long slow death all because of greed

[bobtail bob]

Their model is dying and they are trying to squeeze every cent out of it before they give it up. People are turning it off in droves.
Honestly I find myself more into games with audio while perusing and participating in game threads. If I have a game on I will glance but not be glued to it. Whatever entity finds a way to merge the video with media catered to a certain audience will become the next thing.

[chef dixon]

The original idea was to do this AND keep the clock running after incomplete passes. I think I would have quit watching if they did that, but I'm sure it's coming

[Schultzy]

Four hours is too long - but if games arent shortened with the new rules that’s terrible. Commercials are too long and often if you flip back and forth several times only to see a commercial every single time.

[parabrave]

Their model is dying and they are trying to squeeze every cent out of it before they give it up. People are turning it off in droves.
Honestly I find myself more into games with audio while perusing and participating in game threads. If I have a game on I will glance but not be glued to it. Whatever entity finds a way to merge the video with media catered to a certain audience will become the next thing.

I've listen to radio for years. Hate to watch a game while all they talk about is Bama, Kentucky or the Yankees

[Cooterpoot]

High Tempo offenses will gain an advantage.

[viverlibre]

People, College Football ain't going no where and is more popular than ever. It's going to do nothing but increase, viewership will continue to grow, wait until the 12 team playoff. No one is turning off games because of a few less games or games running 3 hours vs 3:15 or 3:30. Live sports is the one thing folks can't binge or speed through commercials, live sports will become even more valuable.

[BulldogBear]

Their model is dying and they are trying to squeeze every cent out of it before they give it up. People are turning it off in droves.
Honestly I find myself more into games with audio while perusing and participating in game threads. If I have a game on I will glance but not be glued to it. Whatever entity finds a way to merge the video with media catered to a certain audience will become the next thing.

^This

And this superconference minor league nonsense is going to be the coup de grace. I hope the SEC is far thinking enough to realize any further expansion will hurt more than it helps. They're trying to save a failing business model. College football is, always has been, and always will be a regional sport with a nod to national implications with an overall champion of some sort and some interesting non conference scheduling. Look at the business world for all kinds of examples of fundamentally changing a product too much from what made it awesome to begin with and shocked when it doesn't sell. College is not the NFL. And that is precisely why it is better. When they turn it into minor league....well, we all now how successful minor league sports are and how much the average sports fan cares about it******

[SpaceWranglerDawg]

Game times are shorter all the way around. It's hurting the game IMO

It will affect attendance in stadiums, no question.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

To me the issue is that these "shorter games" are not benefoting us in the form of free time, it's a benefit to the advertisers. I'd rather watch 15 more minutes of football than 10 more minutes of adds and have 5 more minutes of free time due to the game ending quicker.

It's just greed. Like everything else, the trick is to squeeze the consumer as much as possible before they say "this isnt worth it anymore". In this case, it's "how many minutes of adds will CFB fans sit though?". They will keep adding adds and reducing plays until it hurts them. And they are very short sited so even of the adds "hurt them" long term by turning off potential fans, they will keep going until your I have enough and they see the impact that quarter. Pros don't have this issue because their commissioners do have a longer term view than ESPN or FOX or a conference commissioner just trying to get more money for his schools.

[redstickdawg]

To me the issue is that these "shorter games" are not benefoting us in the form of free time, it's a benefit to the advertisers. I'd rather watch 15 more minutes of football than 10 more minutes of adds and have 5 more minutes of free time due to the game ending quicker.

It's just greed. Like everything else, the trick is to squeeze the consumer as much as possible before they say "this isnt worth it anymore". In this case, it's "how many minutes of adds will CFB fans sit though?". They will keep adding adds and reducing plays until it hurts them. And they are very short sited so even of the adds "hurt them" long term by turning off potential fans, they will keep going until your I have enough and they see the impact that quarter. Pros don't have this issue because their commissioners do have a longer term view than ESPN or FOX or a conference commissioner just trying to get more money for his schools.

We need to look at ourselves in the mirror every time we celebrate a new big$ contract with ESPN and others they must generate revenue to pay the conferences and schools and this is the result. The only way that they can generate more revenue they think is to sell more commercials and reduce actual game time, but that is self defeating and viewers will stop watching at some point in the not too distant future.

[viverlibre]

It will affect attendance in stadiums, no question.

Attendance, as a whole, has been trending down for several years. I don't think a shorter game, or having to sit through another TV timeout, is going to have a huge impact either way. I've attend almost every home game for the last 10 plus years, getting out of a three hour event 10-15 minutes earlier is a plus for me. Do you want the preacher to end the service at 12 or 12:15?

[SpaceWranglerDawg]

Attendance, as a whole, has been trending down for several years. I don't think a shorter game, or having to sit through another TV timeout, is going to have a huge impact either way. I've attend almost every home game for the last 10 plus years, getting out of a three hour event 10-15 minutes earlier is a plus for me. Do you want the preacher to end the service at 12 or 12:15?

That in and of itself won't, but compounded with everything else, it doesn't help move things in the other direction. None of it has a "huge" impac, But 5% here, and 5% there adds up.

[Tater]

Less plays means more upsets on average.

Less opportunity to average out to the expected mean. More variation.

[LC Dawg]

Shouldn't less possessions help a team like ours this year that will rely on defense more than offense to win games? Especially against teams that have more talent than us.

[chef dixon]

Shouldn't less possessions help a team like ours this year that will rely on defense more than offense to win games? Especially against teams that have more talent than us.

Maybe, but I am dreading even more now the next time we are playing at Kentucky and down 13-3 with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.