Three changes to make NFL preseason broadcasts better

Let corporate partners sponsor broadcasts, with limited commercials

One of the biggest issues with watching an NFL game is the constant ads. The average NFL game includes 63 minutes of commercials, or nearly 33% of the broadcast, according to the Wall Street Journal. That is a crazy number of ads! Sure, it is an expected part of football, but it doesn’t have to be.

Fewer broadcast viewers mean less advertising money from that broadcast, making the preseason football games a time to try primary-sponsor broadcasts. Asking a single company to sponsor a whole game broadcast is asking too much. That price would likely reach into the millions, if not tens of millions, even for preseason games.

But, imagine Pepsi sponsoring a preseason game. Their logo is on the game ticker, the announcing booth, the replays, everything. Not large, but noticeable. Otherwise, why would companies pay for it? The whole broadcast is “presented by Pepsi”, taking away 70% of the average broadcast’s commercial time.

Then, in between quarters and at halftime, there are lengthy commercial breaks, totaling approximately 20 minutes. Fans would certainly watch that, getting more actual football and fewer bank commercials. That is a win for fans and certainly for companies who can afford such an undertaking.