All Kinds of Fans

I’d be very curious to find out what the NFL, or the networks, or the advertisers know about the difference between the audiences for Sunday Night and Monday Night Football.  The reason I raise the issue is because I am struck by how very different the two television products are.

The game, of course, is the same.  And so, as a football fan, both networks can count me in for watching the game.  But the pregame approaches are so distinctive.

NBC’s Football Night in America strikes me as a pretty cerebral pregame program.  Lots of conversation and analysis.  Good reporting.  Even some good debate from time to time -- though it is the style of debate that favors reason over bombast.

ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, by contrast, seems much more visceral.  The coverage of games is more hysterical, the debate less articulate, and even the promotional pieces that get you in and out of the programming is louder and more in-your-face.  I suppose the C’mon, Man! segment is characteristic of what I mean about ESPN’s product.

The NBC product is more likely to make the viewer say, “Hmmm, that’s interesting.” The ESPN product is more likely to appeal to viewers who say, “Awesome, dude!”

But they’re all football fans.  Some would rather hear Bob Costas’ thoughtful reportage, others prefer Chris Berman’s nicknames-and-song-lyrics shtick. 

The other evidence of how broad is the football fan base, I suppose, is the variety of commercials you see during games.  Some are so clever, some are funny the first time, and some are just dumb every time you see them.

Speaking of the commercials, I really like Aaron Rodgers’.  I don’t think his State Farm or Associated Bank ads are the brightest, but he is such a likeable guy.  Also, I really appreciate and respect his readiness not to take himself too seriously. 

Conversely, is there a more stupid, contrived, and ubiquitous ad out there than the GEICO cheerleader-caveman commercial?   It’s like some ad exec at GEICO lined up Brian Orakpo for a commercial, and when the rest of the execs said, “Who’s he?”, this is all they could come up with. 

So I wish I knew what the NFL -- or the networks or the advertisers -- know about their audiences.  I’d be very curious to read our profiles.

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