Bud Selig's legacy

[waroriole]

I guess you skipped past my list of largest TV markets. Those of you attending a WS game in California, Texas be damned, you skip work and go to the ballpark early, we have NY to think about.

They can at least start games in the east coast at 7-7:30.

[TonySoprano]

They can at least start games in the east coast at 7-7:30.

Obviously I'm not going to change your mind, but a 7:30 EST start time basically screws the rest of the country. None of the 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 games were played on the east coast.

Gee, I wonder how the NFL isn't going to pay a long-term price for scheduling football on Sunday and Monday nights in such a way that the younger generation of fans never sees many of the game's most dramatic moments....

[waroriole]

Obviously I'm not going to change your mind, but a 7:30 EST start time basically screws the rest of the country. None of the 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 games were played on the east coast.

Gee, I wonder how the NFL isn't going to pay a long-term price for scheduling football on Sunday and Monday nights in such a way that the younger generation of fans never sees many of the game's most dramatic moments....

What time does the Super Bowl start? I know it's a Sunday, but you don't see NFL playoff games (on Sunday) starting at night. Obviously it's different b/c they don't play during the week, but the point remains the same. Kids aren't staying up to watch the World Series b/c Bud has to maximize profit.

[TonySoprano]

What time does the Super Bowl start? I know it's a Sunday, but you don't see NFL playoff games (on Sunday) starting at night. Obviously it's different b/c they don't play during the week, but the point remains the same. Kids aren't staying up to watch the World Series b/c Bud has to maximize profit.

..and that profit is distributed throughout the league...to include the Orioles. Heaven forbid Bud cater to his advertisers, the same as the NFL does with the Super Bowl. Big difference between a one day a year event held on a Sunday and one that is played during the school and work week isn't it? Otherwise, why isn't the Super Bowl played on a weekday? Screw L.A., kids on the east coast need their sleep.

[Birds of B'more]

What time does the Super Bowl start? I know it's a Sunday, but you don't see NFL playoff games (on Sunday) starting at night. Obviously it's different b/c they don't play during the week, but the point remains the same. Kids aren't staying up to watch the World Series b/c Bud has to maximize profit.

Everyone has to maximize profit. The players, owners, Bud, networks, ad buyers. You do that by getting the largest audience possible...and from the advertiser's perspective you do that by getting the most 18-49 year-old viewers you can. That means 8pm ET start times.

[Birds of B'more]

..and that profit is distributed throughout the league...to include the Orioles. Heaven forbid Bud cater to his advertisers, the same as the NFL does with the Super Bowl. Big difference between a one day a year event held on a Sunday and one that is played during the school and work week isn't it? Otherwise, why isn't the Super Bowl played on a weekday? Screw L.A., kids on the east coast need their sleep.

Don't forget too that for Sunday WS games, Fox has NFL games to show during the day. They aren't going drop the NFL to go head-to-head against all of those games....they're going to do it at night when there is only one other football game going on.

[Frobby]

Last time I checked' date=' kids are not the target demographic of those who buy the ad time during WS games.[/quote']

That isn't the point. The kids who can't watch the critical moments of the playoff games simply aren't going to grow up caring much about baseball, and when they are adults, baseball is going to be down the list of sports they care about. In fact, this has happened already.

Tony S. makes a good point about the West Coast. I just think things are very tilted now, and exacerbated by the fact that most playoff games seem to last about an hour longer than regular season games. But by all means, only worry about today, and the hell with the future.

[byrdz]

I suppose it could be worse. Economically the sport has done well but I can't get past the steroid scandal. He basically let the players run the damn show until the government had to intervene. No wonder there hasn't been a work stoppage! This is neither socially responsible (considering many of the young fans) nor was it ethically responsible. To me these weigh more heavily than money.

[TonySoprano]

That isn't the point. The kids who can't watch the critical moments of the playoff games simply aren't going to grow up caring much about baseball, and when they are adults, baseball is going to be down the list of sports they care about. In fact, this has happened already.

Tony S. makes a good point about the West Coast. I just think things are very tilted now, and exacerbated by the fact that most playoff games seem to last about an hour longer than regular season games. But by all means, only worry about today, and the hell with the future.

The longer playoff games seem to be more this year than the others. Your last sentence is a head-scratcher. What do you propose to do with the start times considering the other time zones and the network commitments to the NFL on Sunday?

[Birds of B'more]

That isn't the point. The kids who can't watch the critical moments of the playoff games simply aren't going to grow up caring much about baseball, and when they are adults, baseball is going to be down the list of sports they care about. In fact, this has happened already.

Tony S. makes a good point about the West Coast. I just think things are very tilted now, and exacerbated by the fact that most playoff games seem to last about an hour longer than regular season games. But by all means, only worry about today, and the hell with the future.

First of all, money is the point. Only the naive or uninformed think otherwise.

Second, I don't buy the argument that a kid who had to go to bed before the end of a World Series game is going to grow up not caring about baseball. If the kid is watching it in the first place, then odds are he or she already likes baseball. If they're forced to go to bed before the end of a WS game, I seriously doubt they are going to curse Bud Selig's name and decide right then and there they don't care anymore. They're just going to be angry at mom and dad for a while for making them go to bed.

[TonySoprano]

First of all' date=' money is the point. Only the naive or uninformed think otherwise.

Second, I don't buy the argument that a kid who had to go to bed before the end of a World Series game is going to grow up not caring about baseball. If the kid is watching it in the first place, then odds are he or she already likes baseball. If they're forced to go to bed before the end of a WS game, I seriously doubt they are going to curse Bud Selig's name and decide right then and there they don't care anymore. They're just going to be angry at mom and dad for a while for making them go to bed.[/quote']Also, in this century, there are these things called DVRs which the parents could use to record the rest of the game for the kids.

ETA: My son may be one of a handful that wears Orioles gear to school. Ravens gear outnumbers the O's at least 20-1, probably more. This has nothing to do with missing late innings of a world series game. What about the 162 regular season games before it when the Orioles are at a competitive disadvantage? There are high school freshman who weren't born the last time the Orioles had a winning record. That's a valid reason to rant about Selig, and Angelos.

[BaltimoreTerp]

How about the other three time zones? L.A., Chicago, Dallas, and S.F. are the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th largest TV markets; Houston is 10th, Detroit 11th, Phoenix 12th (reference)..... shall I go on?

The kids in the central, mountain, and pacific time zones aren't prevented from seeing the end of a game that starts at 8:30 EST. Let's not get all ESPN here and assume that Boston(7th) and NY (1st) in the east are what baseball should revolve around.

http://www.newtimezones.com/pdfs/current_economic_crisis.pdf

According to this PDF, the Eastern time zone has 47% of the US population, with another full third in the Central. That is eighty percent of the United States that would not be, or would be minimally affected by an earlier start time.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Everyone has to maximize profit. The players' date=' owners, Bud, networks, ad buyers. You do that by getting the largest audience possible...and from the advertiser's perspective you do that by getting the most 18-49 year-old viewers you can. That means 8pm ET start times.[/quote']

What happens when those viewers start skewing towards the 49 and not the 18? Then pass it?

[BaltimoreTerp]

First of all' date=' money is the point. Only the naive or uninformed think otherwise.

Second, I don't buy the argument that a kid who had to go to bed before the end of a World Series game is going to grow up not caring about baseball. If the kid is watching it in the first place, then odds are he or she already likes baseball. If they're forced to go to bed before the end of a WS game, I seriously doubt they are going to curse Bud Selig's name and decide right then and there they don't care anymore. They're just going to be angry at mom and dad for a while for making them go to bed.[/quote']

How many sporting events to you know of that are more interesting and exciting early rather than late?

[sangar]

I went to elementary school during the mid 60's. During the World Series, television sets were wheeled into the classrooms and the kids watched and cheered like we were at home.

I don't have a point in saying this, except to agree that children should be exposed to baseball more than they are, and that Frobby's point of MLB chasing the immediate dollar while ignoring the future generation is valid.