Less than a year ago, Tom Brady, Logan Mankins, Osi Umenyiora and seven other players filed an antitrust suit against the NFL, a key moment in a convoluted and contentious labor dispute between the union and league that threatened to cut short — or even wipe out — the 2011 season.
On Sunday, Brady and Mankins of the New England Patriots and Umenyiora of the New York Giants will play in a Super Bowl that might very well draw more viewers than any TV show in history.
What lockout? What recession?
Nothing, it seems, can get in the way of the NFL, whose ratings and revenues climb and climb, no matter what. Indeed, some say both those issues managed to push even more attention and money the league’s way.
Put simply, the NFL has the Midas Touch.
“The uncertainty of the lockout — `Will it be settled? When will the deal come? Will it happen?’ — created a sense of anticipation for the new season. It fed into the public’s awareness of the NFL. Even the concussion stories helped, because the public has become aware of the issue and is watching games to see how the rules are enforced, to see how the game changes,’’ said Neal Pilson, a former president of CBS Sports who now runs a media consulting firm.
“They talk about it Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and they watch it on Sunday,’’ Pilson said. “The more separate issues related to the NFL that become part of the public discourse feed into the audiences.’’
NFL games accounted for 23 of the 25 most-watched telecasts last fall, and a total of 37 games drew at least 20 million viewers each.
That, Pilson says, is at least in part a result of the country’s financial state. After all, what’s cheaper than plopping down on the couch to watch a game?
“Sports is, to a certain extent, recession-proof. You can see a sports event 10 different ways: on television, on your laptop, on your iPad, on your mobile phone, in bars and restaurants, in airports. There’s no other entertainment property that is so ubiquitous,’’ Pilson said. “When the economy went south, guess what? Americans stayed home, made a single investment in hi-definition television and watched sports. And what they watch more than anything is the NFL.’’
The last two Super Bowls were the two most-viewed programs in U.S. television history.
NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus is eager to see how many people tune in for his network’s broadcast of Sunday’s championship game between the Patriots and Giants. It’s a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, when Eli Manning led New York to an upset that ruined New England’s bid for a perfect season.
