WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: I Know There's An Answer 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.359 Hig and everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:12.760 the Bengals Booth Podcast. Duh, I know there's an answer addition, 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:17.119 as NFL Executive Vice President Hans Schroeder joins me to 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.520 discuss a wide variety of topics, including why the Bengals 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:23.600 are playing a night game in Baltimore for the fourth 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:27.240 year in a row, and the possibility of the NFL 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:31.520 Draft coming to Cincinnati. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.000 to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:39.000 official HR software provider, by Ulta Fiber, future proof fiber 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:42.239 Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:45.840 a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:49.239 for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.720 provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:55.840 you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:59.840 right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.520 you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since a 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.720 pull through parking spot. For me, one of the simple 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:10.880 joys in life is when you're looking for a spot 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:13.640 in a busy lot and you not only find one, 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.640 but have the opportunity to drive through that spot right 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:21.200 into another open one that allows you to exit in 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:24.400 the same direction that you entered. For what it's worth, 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:29.440 the American Automobile Association or Triple A, advises pull through 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:33.560 parking whenever possible, since it allows for a safer view 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.920 when exiting. As far as I'm concerned, it could have 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:40.160 been the subject of a Seinfeld episode. Can't you picture 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:44.840 George saying, you gotta love a pull through? Jerry, everybody 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:49.600 loves a pull through. Now let's get to football. This 0:01:49.800 --> 0:01:53.360 is a short but timely episode of the podcast Following 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:57.240 Wednesday's schedule release. I was among many Bengals fans who 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.480 questioned the fairness of Cincinnati having a play a night 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.040 game in Baltimore for the fourth year in a row 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:07.000 and the third straight time on a Thursday. So I 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:09.680 discussed it the next day with one of the NFL 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:13.840 executives involved in putting together the schedule. The league's executive 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:20.119 vice president of Media Distribution, Hans Schroeder, ods, I appreciate 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.920 you joining me on the Bengals Booth podcast. You have 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:25.640 Cincinnati ties, correct, I. 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:26.160 Do, Dan. 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:29.919 I am a proud Cincinnati and I grew up most 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:33.480 of my life there. My dad was born in Cincinnati 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.320 in thirty six and lived most of his years in Cincinnati. 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.400 Went to Withrow and he played football at University of Cincinnati, 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:42.440 and I went to high school in Cincinnati, played football 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:45.800 at Sinsid Country Day, and then played football Princeton University 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.519 after that. So a lot of ties back to the 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:49.840 Queen City. 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.320 Did you attend a lot of Bengals games as a kid, 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.160 and if so, do you have a favorite memory. 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:01.040 We did attend a few, you know, there was one 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:04.480 game in particular, it was right around the Christmas time, 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:08.240 I think against the Vikings that stood out. I just 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:11.480 I don't know why that was so memorable. The other 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:15.160 one that was very memorable in a different way was 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.440 I think would have been the eighty seven strike season. 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.160 We were at the game the week before the strike, 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:26.000 I think, where they were ahead against the Niners. At 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:28.640 the end of the game. We were with friends. We 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.920 left early thinking the victory was in the books, and 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.040 then we got to the car and heard what had 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:37.880 happened at the tail end in that last minute touchdown 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:39.760 I think till Jerry Rice at. 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.440 The end of that game. So the different highs and lows. 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:44.280 I think we won that Vikings game, and that was 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.160 another game that that broke the other way. 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:49.760 So I think the Vikings game you're talking about they 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:52.840 won on a field goal at the gun by Doug Pelfrey, 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:56.320 and the forty nine Ers game they won that they lost. 0:03:56.640 --> 0:04:00.040 Sam White famously went for it on fourth down the 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.400 Bengals in their own territory, thinking they could like run 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:07.080 around in the backfield and kill the remaining clock. They didn't. 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:10.080 It gave the forty nine Ers one last chance touchdown 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:11.240 pass to Jerry Rice. 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:14.560 Not a great memory, but they're all fun. 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:17.000 As a kid, going to an NFL game and being 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:18.800 able to go to a football game like that was 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.880 always special. Even though Dad coached and was around the 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.440 game a lot, it was always just that magical experience 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:26.280 of walking into an NFL stadium. 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.080 All Right, we appreciate you joining us on the podcast 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:32.320 to talk about the NFL schedule. We have established your 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:35.040 Cincinnati bonafide, so I think I can get right to 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:38.680 the biggest gripe that Bengals fans have after seeing the 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.600 schedule release. This is the fourth straight year that the 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.080 Bengals are going to play a night game in Baltimore. 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:46.800 It's the third straight year that the game is on 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:51.280 a Thursday night. It's obviously tough to win under those circumstances. Now, 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:53.320 I think we all get you've got thirty two teams 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:57.040 to satisfy. It's impossible to come up with a complete 0:04:57.040 --> 0:05:00.720 fairness when you put the schedule together. But was there 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.159 an effort made to try to avoid having that happened 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:05.200 for the fourth year in a row. 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:08.880 There, you know, there was, And look, we look at 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:12.359 things over time year to year. Things are going to happen. 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:14.239 They may happen a couple of years in a row, 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.520 but we were certainly aware of that. We were also 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.839 aware of being on the road a lot recently in 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:26.080 prime time, particularly against division opponents, and those were things 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:28.760 we looked at some options along the way, and certainly 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:33.080 saw some schedules with different mixes of prime time for 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.280 the Bengals. But I think then, like what we tried 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.320 to look at is the totality of it. And you know, 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:41.680 one of the things the Bengals have done over the 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:43.680 last four or five years has played their way onto 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.720 the national stage, and I think their schedule reflects that. 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:51.320 You see that across their primetime windows, but you also 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:54.400 see that across the doubleheaders and them being featured with 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.960 Green Bay and featured in Buffalo and featured with Detroit, 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.599 which those are also really big wins for us, are 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:04.160 our biggest windows across the ear and so we certainly 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:08.360 saw it. We saw it when we were in Baltimore again, 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:11.159 and I'll come back to Thanksgiving in a second, but 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:14.800 we also saw the totality of the schedule, and I 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:16.880 think if you look at the Bengals, no three game 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:20.680 road trips, you know they're away obviously have this this 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.240 year just based on who they play, the shortest travel 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:25.560 time of any team in the league, which hopefully makes 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:26.000 your life a. 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:26.680 Little bit easier. 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:31.839 But you know, every team looks at things differently, but 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.520 we thought there was a really nice mix of being 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:35.320 on the road. 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:35.960 Being at home. 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.279 You know, different teams will look at when they're in 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:40.400 Green Bay or when they're in Miami. You know, you're 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:42.200 in Green Bay a little bit earlier this year, you're 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:44.280 in Miami a little bit later. Teams will probably sort 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:46.800 of like that based on the weather and the dynamics 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:50.320 or otherwise, and so well, ultimately we were a little 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:54.080 bit more focused on the right overall schedule. You know, 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:56.400 we saw some schedules late for Cincinnati that had a 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:58.880 three game road trip in it for an example, and 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.080 again Visa VI this schedule, we thought this was a 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:05.200 better overall schedule for the club. But seeing that again 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:08.880 they're in four primes, I think threer on the road. 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:10.800 You know, we're mindful of that, and I think as 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:13.520 we get into next year will probably be even a 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:15.760 little bit more forceful on how we think about that. 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.040 But overall, we really like the Bengals schedule, like we 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:21.600 try to do for all thirty two teams, and be 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:24.160 really fair and make sure we're not doing anything to 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:27.160 disrupt the competitive aspect. The last thing I'd say then 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:31.200 on Thanksgiving specifically, Look, we went into the year. Thanksgiving 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:34.160 has become such a big day for NFL fans and food, 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:39.560 family football, and you can see across that day. We 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:41.800 saw last year there are forty million viewers that tuned 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:46.360 into Detroit's game in Chicago against Chicago after two thirty. 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:49.200 The highest few regular season games ever are that four 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:53.200 to thirty game in Dallas, and so we saw there 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:55.840 as an opportunity with a lot of really good matchups 0:07:55.840 --> 0:08:00.680 this year to really try to cater to our fans 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.200 we know are tuning in and really big and high 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:05.800 levels that day, and so we put our thumb on 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:08.880 the scale to try to get really great matchups across 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:12.000 that Thanksgiving Day and into Black Friday too. And so 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:14.920 one thing I'd say to the Cincinnati fans is, you know, 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:16.679 a lot of that's a sign of where the Bengals 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:17.680 have come and played too. 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:19.480 They've played their way into prime. 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.560 They played their way into the biggest stages in primetime 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:24.280 on Thanksgiving nights one of those. 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:28.000 No doubt about it. And in fairness, the Bengals do 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.960 have a Thursday night home game against the Steelers this year, 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.000 so they do have an AFC North primetime game at home, 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.400 which they hadn't had for a few years. I just 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:38.760 want to quickly get back to the Baltimore thing, though, 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.800 final question on that topic. This might be overly simplistic 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:46.520 on my part, but couldn't they simply have been flip 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:51.560 flopped Bengals at home. I'm Thanksgiving against Baltimore Ravens in 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:53.480 Cincinnati at one o'clock two weeks later. 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:57.800 Look, we looked at we certainly saw some configurations like 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:02.199 that and flipped again, it's it's solving for a really 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:05.320 complex puzzle with all and how the different pieces come 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:10.920 together and in this one and where the final one 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.160 that we like the best for everybody. But I will 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.680 tell you for Cincinnati too, we like their schedule with 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:19.679 this configuration a little bit better. But I think we 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:22.440 totally get it, We totally hear it. You know, we'll 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.880 try to mix that up. I think, you know, great example, 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:27.559 green Bay has been on the road to start the 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:28.640 year a lot of straight years. 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:29.679 You see him at home this year. 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.280 So there's things that when we've seen that happen for 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:35.320 an extended period, and I think we're getting close to 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:38.439 that with the Thursday night in Baltimore. I think that we'll, 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:40.400 you know, we'll look at that maybe a little bit 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:43.080 differently in the future, but we really like the overall 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:44.520 schedule this year for Cincinnati. 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.680 NFL Executive vice President Hans Schroeder is our guest. You 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:52.760 have seven media partners. Now, do those media partners say 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:54.240 we want a Joe Burrow game. 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:55.160 Yes. 0:09:55.800 --> 0:10:01.120 Yeah, that's a simple and straightforward question. And Joe is 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:04.760 obviously incredible and in that you know, handful of of 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:08.680 you know, best quarterbacks in the league, but there's a 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:10.960 lot more to it. You know, they're they're an exciting 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.560 you know last year you know No. Nine and eight, 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:16.360 but a lot of really exciting games. I mean, both 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:19.360 those Ravens games are super exciting. The Commander's game on 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:23.240 Monday Night super exciting. They're a fun team to watch, 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:28.080 and so yeah, they're definitely a team that that partners 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:30.200 asked for, and partners are excited when they see them 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.720 on their schedule, and I think they're on you know, 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:36.120 put aside that the one offs of of maybe Christmas Day, 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:40.040 I think you know, you'll see the Bengals across to 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.200 all our partners or at least all our major days 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.520 like a Thanksgiving too. So they're on Amazon, They're on 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:48.720 Monday Night, They're on Sunday Night, They're on both Box 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:53.040 and CBS's key big double headers going across the entire country. 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.480 I think in back to back weeks weeks five and 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:58.520 six against Detroit and then coming back in Lambeau the 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.600 next week, those are our biggest dude windows of the 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:05.560 of the weeks. So definitely you see that interest across 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:06.719 our partners. 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:09.959 I read today that more than four thousand computers are 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:12.520 involved and trying to put together as close to a 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:16.120 perfect schedule as you possibly can. What are the things 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:20.000 that you input that you try to avoid. You referenced 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:24.360 trying to avoid three game road trips, that's obviously one. 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:26.520 What are the some of the things that you're trying 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:28.400 to get those computers to avoid. 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:33.760 You know, it starts with the really basics. Every stadium 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:37.160 across the league has certain dates for whatever reasons, they're 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:40.400 just not available. So Cincinnati is a great one. Almost 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.280 every year we have a weekend or two early in 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:46.000 the year where the Reds are at home, and that's 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:47.160 a challenging date. 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:48.600 For us to play Cincinnati at home. 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:52.000 So think about that first lens of we go in 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:54.600 and say, here are the dates we just can't play right, 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:58.640 and then you layer on things like travel and sort 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:01.280 of again, we mentioned three game road trips or things 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:03.080 we like to avoid. We're never perfect. I think this 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:06.120 year's final schedule had three of those. But we look 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:09.080 to avoid things like teams playing on the road road 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.320 after a Monday night. You know, we try not to 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:14.960 have teams be on the road, traveling home, getting late 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:17.760 to their facility Monday night, back on the road the 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:20.800 following Sunday, try to put them at home on Thursday night. 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:23.720 We have certain geographic distances, you know, we can't play 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:28.520 and don't play three time zone travel and trips, so 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:30.600 that limits who and where and where you can play 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:34.720 on a Thursday night. Again, we try to look across 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.640 the year with division opponents and sprinkle those up when 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:42.120 and where and look at the pairings. Again, this isn't 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.360 necessarily an AFC North the issue, but you know, one 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:46.360 of the things we liked about the schedule this year 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:50.679 is in the NFC East is an example, Washington and 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:53.679 Dallas had played each other in Week eighteen the last 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:56.040 three or four years in a row. We remixed that 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.079 up this year and changed the shuffle. So we look 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:01.120 at some things like that. There's bye weeks and trying 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:03.959 to be equitable for the bye weeks all but also 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:07.000 see where they're short weeks with Thursdays fall. There's the 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.800 European and the international travel that gets layered on there, 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:13.280 and so it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle as 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:16.360 all those different things come together. Then trying to make sure, 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:20.479 like you said, we get teams into different partners packages 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.280 as well. So that's another limitation Okay, I want to 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:25.800 make sure I see Cincinnati in a Thursday night, in 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.960 a Monday night, in a Sunday night. So all those 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:33.000 things sort of go into the soup of how the 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:36.040 computer has to think about it. Computers only as smart 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:38.400 as we ask it to be, with the rules and 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:40.720 the things we act, you know, we asked it to do. 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.240 But all those factors are things we asked them to 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.719 wait and include in the schedules they output to us. 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.360 And you referenced international games. I was a little bit 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.480 surprised the Bengals weren't selected to play in an international 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:55.320 game this year. Katie Blackburn has already come out and 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:58.240 said publicly that she expects to host one in twenty 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.079 twenty seven, the next time the Bengals have nine home games. 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.880 If that's the case, does it make it less likely 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.640 that the Bengals would play as a road team next year, 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.400 knowing there's a high probability there'll be a home team 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:12.320 the year after. 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:13.839 Nope. 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:16.480 In fact, we saw a lot of schedules this year 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.920 that had the Bengals playing in international games. We saw 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:21.760 a lot that had them. I know, there was a 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:25.120 lot of speculation for some reason, and maybe Joe said 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:25.560 it at. 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:28.680 Some point, but I think maybe I saw along the way. 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:33.240 Yeah, So the mayor of Madrid came out publicly and 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.760 said that Cincinnati was going to be Miami's opponent. We 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:38.880 don't know where the mayor of Madrid got that, but 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.840 it led to all this speculation that somehow that had 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:43.640 been leaked to the mayor and it was going to happen. 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:46.960 So that's a great example, right of how this all 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:50.160 ties together. And this isn't a hard and fast rule, 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.760 but one of the things that we saw with just 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:56.040 how the timing laid out was if the Bengals, which 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.640 were very very much a candidate to go to Madrid, 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.160 if they went to Madrid, then they would come home, 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:04.520 have a week, and then potentially be on the road 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.280 on a short day Thursday. Because we really liked that idea, 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.880 not that it had to necessarily be Baltimore, but like 0:15:10.920 --> 0:15:14.400 the idea of Cincinnati in primetime on Thanksgiving Night, particularly 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.800 with Baltimore, given those games when you stitch it all together, 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.080 then we weren't going to necessarily make them go to Madrid, 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.480 come back, have one week, and then play a short 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.400 week Thursday. We were allowed to do it but it 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:28.160 was one of the things we just felt, you know what, 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.040 for the right schedule for them, probably something we avoid 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:34.120 this year. So great example of how these things connect 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:37.560 to one another, and sort of the Thanksgiving Thursday probably 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:43.000 definitively impacted how we were thinking about them in Madrid, 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:46.080 But they were certainly a candidate and will certainly be 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:49.240 a candidate again next year for international slate of games. 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:51.880 This is only the second time the Bengals have played 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:54.960 on Thanksgiving, and the previous time was a long time 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:58.720 ago twenty ten. Was that one of the things that 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.120 you considered, Hey, I have not had that team on 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:02.960 Thanksgiving in a long long time. 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:06.200 For sure, And look, I think it's such a big 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.720 stage now for us, you know, it has to be 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.200 a game and a matchup that we feel good about 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.120 as that threshold. But then we also love, you know, 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:17.680 the traditions in Detroit and Dallas are awesome. I mean, 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.760 even for somebody that's not from either place, it feels 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.360 like Thanksgiving. It feels like watching John Matten back in 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:27.000 the day covering a game, like they feel naturally organic 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:30.400 to Thanksgiving into the NFL and the football. But we 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.000 also love the fact that we can rotate that primetime 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.360 game around and it can go to different places and 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:37.720 other markets. Green Bay last year was one of them. 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.200 As an example, that felt like a really cool way 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:44.760 to end Thanksgiving Thursday of football in Lambeau. Like again, 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:47.880 it feels like a really great football game to Baltimore 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:49.240 in a Rayvends Bengals game. 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:52.160 How you're ending Thanksgiving night? That feels very special. 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.840 I know NBC is thrilled to have that game to 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.080 end that day, but yeah, we try to rotate and 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:00.680 get different exposures, whether it's there or now we have 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.160 Black Friday, now we have Christmas. You know it is 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:06.560 delivered for us. We wanted different teams to host some 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.200 things will play on both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but wanted 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.080 to mix that up a little bit, give different teams 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:15.439 the opportunity to host on Christmas. So definitely something we 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:16.200 look at. 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:20.240 NFL Executive VP Hunts Schroeder is our guest. Last year, 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:22.679 the Bengals played Dallas in a game that featured an 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:27.000 alternative Simpsons telecast. Will there be something similar this year? 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.320 And do you try to pick different teams every year 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.160 for those special productions? 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:36.000 Definitely do the latter, and you know that was something 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.480 we came up with a couple of years ago. We 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:42.199 really like Disney has been an awesome partner, first with 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:45.879 the Toy Story experience and then last year with the 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:49.520 Simpsons experience. Probably not going to be in Cincinnati game 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.320 again this year. I think your Monday night game for 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:56.520 that game on is side by side where you're in 0:17:56.600 --> 0:18:01.200 Denver alongside another game that we so we'll probably look 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:04.119 to do something else for another Monday Night game with 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:07.480 Disney throughout the year. But for us, those are really 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:11.720 fun ways to take football and present the differently it's available, 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:14.639 and it ultimately goes available to ninety plus countries around 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:17.399 the world, and to take sort of that ip that 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:21.000 Disney has, that's really fun to marry it to an 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:23.800 NFL game, to use the next gen stats platform that 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:27.400 we have, just a different and fun expression of the game. 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:29.560 So we thought it was really cool last year. The 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:33.240 Bengals were great to work with and that game, obviously 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:35.639 if you're a Cincinnati fan, was really special with how 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:39.359 it ended and seeing I think was it Barter was 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:43.760 at least that was playing Jamar with that touchdown down 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:45.760 the sideline to sort of bring it home was just 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:47.679 a fun way when you saw the replays of that 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:48.440 were pretty cool. 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.160 Yeah, it's the only time in Bengals history that they 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.760 had their own punt blocked and that enabled them to 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.640 win the game when Dallas kind of botched the recovery 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:00.880 of the block punt. I'm always in intrigued cons by 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:04.560 things that we don't even think about that impact the 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:08.560 NFL schedule. Are there any big concert tours or other 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:12.200 unusual events that pose challenges this year? 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:18.040 There's always something, and there's always something you know there 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.280 you hit on some of them, the concerts. Some of 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:23.720 them are baseball stadiums and shared parking lots. Some of 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:27.080 it are marathons, right. Some of it you never know 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:30.480 what the events and where it's going to be. Sometimes 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.680 it's an international soccer game or something that that's happening. 0:19:34.040 --> 0:19:38.280 Sometimes it's college football based on some of those buildings. 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:41.359 So you know, there's a handful of things that that 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:45.600 all can factor into that. You know, our buildings are 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:50.200 incredible facilities or incredible facilities for football. You know, they're 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:54.479 incredible facilities for other events that oftentimes our clubs do 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.439 really good jobs. Are giving us the flexibility so we 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.480 can try to get to the best NFL schedule we can, 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:03.280 but there's certainly a handful of other things that will 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:04.800 pop up from time to time, and all of a 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:07.200 sudden you find and sale kid as a handful of 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:07.960 dates here or there. 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:09.520 We just can't get into it a building. 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:12.399 I don't know if this topic crosses your desk or not, 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:14.639 but I'll ask the question anyway. The Bengals in the 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:17.240 city of Cincinnati are hoping to host the Draft in 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:20.520 twenty twenty eight or shortly after that. As a city 0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:23.640 that doesn't have a dome and therefore will probably never 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:27.560 host a Super Bowl, does that increase the chances of 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:29.760