1
00:00:07,266 --> 00:00:09,706
Speaker 1: The Season with Peter Schrager is a production of the

2
00:00:09,826 --> 00:00:24,306
Speaker 1: NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio. What's Up, Everybody, Welcome to

3
00:00:24,346 --> 00:00:27,546
Speaker 1: the Season with Peter Schrager, our week three edition of

4
00:00:27,586 --> 00:00:28,946
Speaker 1: the regular season.

5
00:00:28,706 --> 00:00:30,506
Speaker 2: Twenty twenty four. Got a really cool.

6
00:00:30,306 --> 00:00:34,466
Speaker 1: Guest up ahead, Mike moulva Hill, who is the president

7
00:00:34,546 --> 00:00:37,746
Speaker 1: of Insights and Analytics.

8
00:00:36,986 --> 00:00:37,866
Speaker 2: At Fox Sports.

9
00:00:37,906 --> 00:00:41,226
Speaker 1: I've grown to really love Mike and his insights over

10
00:00:41,266 --> 00:00:42,946
Speaker 1: the last several years of getting to know him. He's

11
00:00:42,946 --> 00:00:45,266
Speaker 1: a really cool guy, big horse racing fan. We're not

12
00:00:45,266 --> 00:00:46,866
Speaker 1: going to get into that. We're going to talk more

13
00:00:46,906 --> 00:00:51,146
Speaker 1: about behind the curtain of what you are seeing on

14
00:00:51,466 --> 00:00:54,906
Speaker 1: television every single week and how decisions are made as

15
00:00:54,946 --> 00:00:58,306
Speaker 1: far as which games go where, when they are placed,

16
00:00:58,306 --> 00:01:01,466
Speaker 1: which broadcast crew is calling each game, and Mike gives

17
00:01:01,546 --> 00:01:05,866
Speaker 1: us some really really interesting takes on football as a

18
00:01:05,866 --> 00:01:07,546
Speaker 1: whole that's come up in a second. I wanted to

19
00:01:07,586 --> 00:01:12,946
Speaker 1: start the podcast though, talking about young quarterbacks, their feelings,

20
00:01:13,506 --> 00:01:17,266
Speaker 1: their emotions, our feelings towards them. Why do I say

21
00:01:17,266 --> 00:01:22,906
Speaker 1: that two interesting things happened on Sunday that it becomes

22
00:01:23,026 --> 00:01:28,226
Speaker 1: rele towards our approach to talking about young quarterbacks and

23
00:01:28,266 --> 00:01:31,146
Speaker 1: the way young quarterbacks develop, and the first one of

24
00:01:31,186 --> 00:01:34,706
Speaker 1: them was Bryce Young being absolutely brutal again in a

25
00:01:35,186 --> 00:01:37,746
Speaker 1: terrible loss to the Chargers that was seen by about

26
00:01:38,026 --> 00:01:40,986
Speaker 1: one percent of the country Chargers fans, Panthers fans, and

27
00:01:40,986 --> 00:01:43,026
Speaker 1: nobody else because it was a game he couldn't watch.

28
00:01:44,066 --> 00:01:48,666
Speaker 1: It was horrible quarterback play from Bryce Young and horrible

29
00:01:48,986 --> 00:01:52,146
Speaker 1: offense from the Carolina Panthers for the second straight week,

30
00:01:52,186 --> 00:01:54,946
Speaker 1: and if you're going back to last year, really for

31
00:01:56,146 --> 00:01:59,866
Speaker 1: the eighteenth or nineteenth straight week. And you know, the

32
00:01:59,906 --> 00:02:04,186
Speaker 1: news came out on early Tuesday morning that Bryce Young

33
00:02:04,306 --> 00:02:08,786
Speaker 1: was being benched, and I think our initial reactions was like,

34
00:02:08,786 --> 00:02:09,986
Speaker 1: how the hell can you bench him?

35
00:02:10,026 --> 00:02:12,026
Speaker 2: This was a first overall pick, And in fact.

36
00:02:11,866 --> 00:02:16,346
Speaker 1: I've done the research, he is the only first overall

37
00:02:16,426 --> 00:02:20,666
Speaker 1: pick to be benched within the first two weeks of

38
00:02:20,746 --> 00:02:24,026
Speaker 1: his second season. If he was starting in week two,

39
00:02:24,426 --> 00:02:26,426
Speaker 1: it sounds like it's in the weeds. But basically it's like,

40
00:02:26,506 --> 00:02:29,946
Speaker 1: this doesn't happen. It's unprecedented in a sophomore season. You

41
00:02:29,986 --> 00:02:31,906
Speaker 1: become the starter if you're a number one overall pick

42
00:02:31,906 --> 00:02:33,426
Speaker 1: and you're given the reins and let's go.

43
00:02:33,786 --> 00:02:35,226
Speaker 2: They put in Andy Dalton and.

44
00:02:35,186 --> 00:02:38,626
Speaker 1: The initial reaction from a lot of people was the

45
00:02:38,666 --> 00:02:41,226
Speaker 1: owner is an idiot, the team has failed him, They've

46
00:02:41,266 --> 00:02:43,866
Speaker 1: done this thing wrong, and how is that beneficial for

47
00:02:43,906 --> 00:02:47,986
Speaker 1: anybody putting in Andy freaking Dalton. And my take is this,

48
00:02:50,386 --> 00:02:52,666
Speaker 1: You've got fifty two other people in that locker room,

49
00:02:53,386 --> 00:02:55,986
Speaker 1: and fifty two other men who play professional sports and

50
00:02:56,026 --> 00:02:57,386
Speaker 1: have their own stories, and a lot of.

51
00:02:57,306 --> 00:02:58,066
Speaker 2: Them are veterans.

52
00:02:58,666 --> 00:03:01,706
Speaker 1: I'm looking at Jadavian Clowney, I'm looking at Derek Brown,

53
00:03:01,786 --> 00:03:04,866
Speaker 1: one of the great defensive tackles in this league, and

54
00:03:04,866 --> 00:03:08,626
Speaker 1: they're at practice every day. And it does not benefit

55
00:03:08,946 --> 00:03:10,666
Speaker 1: Dave Canalis, the head coach.

56
00:03:10,546 --> 00:03:11,946
Speaker 2: In any way to.

57
00:03:11,906 --> 00:03:16,746
Speaker 1: Do this unless it's the only way to be competitive

58
00:03:17,266 --> 00:03:21,186
Speaker 1: and it's the only way to keep the trust of

59
00:03:21,226 --> 00:03:24,746
Speaker 1: that veteran locker room. I would have to imagine that

60
00:03:24,786 --> 00:03:27,226
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton is out playing Bryce Young every single day

61
00:03:27,226 --> 00:03:29,626
Speaker 1: in practice. I would have to imagine that the rest

62
00:03:29,626 --> 00:03:31,986
Speaker 1: of the veterans in that locker room and the other

63
00:03:32,226 --> 00:03:34,106
Speaker 1: young players too, are looking at this and saying, we

64
00:03:34,106 --> 00:03:37,106
Speaker 1: cannot compete with that guy. And if you're a fan

65
00:03:37,186 --> 00:03:39,986
Speaker 1: of the team, the products has been so bad over

66
00:03:40,066 --> 00:03:44,826
Speaker 1: the last two seasons that this drastic measure has to

67
00:03:44,866 --> 00:03:47,906
Speaker 1: be taken if it gives them even a slightly more

68
00:03:47,906 --> 00:03:52,226
Speaker 1: competitive chance on Sundays. Maybe it blows up in the face,

69
00:03:52,506 --> 00:03:54,986
Speaker 1: maybe the Raiders win forty two to nothing this weekend

70
00:03:55,026 --> 00:03:57,826
Speaker 1: against the Carolina Panthers. But I could assure you David

71
00:03:57,826 --> 00:04:00,146
Speaker 1: Tepper does not want to bench Bryce Young. I could

72
00:04:00,146 --> 00:04:02,626
Speaker 1: assure you Dave Canalis does not want to bench Bryce Young.

73
00:04:02,826 --> 00:04:05,506
Speaker 1: I could assure you Dan Morgan, the general manager, does

74
00:04:05,506 --> 00:04:08,026
Speaker 1: not want to bench Bryce Young. And I can show

75
00:04:08,066 --> 00:04:11,146
Speaker 1: you Brent Tillis, who is one of the new executives,

76
00:04:11,146 --> 00:04:13,826
Speaker 1: there is in no way going into this season saying

77
00:04:13,826 --> 00:04:16,066
Speaker 1: I hope we bench Bryce Young in the second week.

78
00:04:16,826 --> 00:04:21,786
Speaker 1: This measure is so extreme and is so against the grain,

79
00:04:22,306 --> 00:04:26,826
Speaker 1: and is so unpopular that it tells me things are

80
00:04:26,866 --> 00:04:29,826
Speaker 1: as bleak as they seem. And they had to do

81
00:04:29,866 --> 00:04:34,986
Speaker 1: this to a salvage the season, be salvage the locker room,

82
00:04:36,266 --> 00:04:39,986
Speaker 1: and see salvage any chance of even being competitive at

83
00:04:39,986 --> 00:04:43,306
Speaker 1: this point. Now, as for Bryce Young's feelings, I don't

84
00:04:43,386 --> 00:04:46,666
Speaker 1: know that. It certainly doesn't help him being shelved and

85
00:04:46,706 --> 00:04:49,506
Speaker 1: embarrassed in this way, But does it help him being

86
00:04:49,506 --> 00:04:54,386
Speaker 1: behind center and losing by twenty thirty points and making

87
00:04:54,386 --> 00:04:58,066
Speaker 1: careless mistakes and being under durest because I don't know,

88
00:04:58,346 --> 00:05:00,986
Speaker 1: I don't think that helps him either. So he'll take

89
00:05:01,026 --> 00:05:03,826
Speaker 1: a step back and he'll watch now if you listen

90
00:05:03,826 --> 00:05:06,906
Speaker 1: to this podcast, we had Dave Canalis on the head

91
00:05:06,906 --> 00:05:09,666
Speaker 1: coach in July, and his big take with Bryce Young

92
00:05:11,666 --> 00:05:14,906
Speaker 1: was that he's gonna love him up and he's gonna

93
00:05:14,946 --> 00:05:16,866
Speaker 1: make sure he knows he's loved and he's going to

94
00:05:16,946 --> 00:05:19,186
Speaker 1: coach him up and make sure he gets everything he needs.

95
00:05:19,306 --> 00:05:21,706
Speaker 1: X's and o's wise. That's what he did, which you

96
00:05:21,706 --> 00:05:24,066
Speaker 1: know Smith when he helped resurrect his career in Seattle,

97
00:05:24,706 --> 00:05:26,786
Speaker 1: and that's what he did with Baker Mayfield when Baker

98
00:05:26,826 --> 00:05:28,906
Speaker 1: was signed to a one year deal for four million

99
00:05:28,946 --> 00:05:33,906
Speaker 1: dollars last year. So Canal has spent all summer, all spring,

100
00:05:35,186 --> 00:05:37,226
Speaker 1: in the early part of the fall with Bryce Young,

101
00:05:37,826 --> 00:05:41,586
Speaker 1: loving him up, coaching him up, and he believes that

102
00:05:41,666 --> 00:05:46,946
Speaker 1: his best option is to shelve him and bench him.

103
00:05:47,466 --> 00:05:50,586
Speaker 1: That tells me that it had to be done, that

104
00:05:50,746 --> 00:05:53,106
Speaker 1: there's a lot more there that we don't know, that

105
00:05:53,186 --> 00:05:55,946
Speaker 1: things are even worse than what we see on Sundays.

106
00:05:56,306 --> 00:05:58,586
Speaker 1: I am telling you, if you're a coach, who prides

107
00:05:58,666 --> 00:06:00,946
Speaker 1: himself on being a quarterback guru and being able to

108
00:06:00,946 --> 00:06:03,506
Speaker 1: resurrect anything and being able to get the most out

109
00:06:03,506 --> 00:06:08,826
Speaker 1: of someone. To bench that young player in the September

110
00:06:09,546 --> 00:06:12,026
Speaker 1: portion of the season tells me that this is an

111
00:06:12,066 --> 00:06:15,546
Speaker 1: extreme move that they felt had to be done to

112
00:06:15,546 --> 00:06:17,706
Speaker 1: salvage the rest of the team. Remember, it's not just

113
00:06:17,746 --> 00:06:20,306
Speaker 1: the quarterback you have to worry about. There are fifty

114
00:06:20,346 --> 00:06:23,546
Speaker 1: two other alpha males in that locker room. There's a

115
00:06:23,586 --> 00:06:27,706
Speaker 1: fan base in that building, and there is an overall

116
00:06:27,946 --> 00:06:32,146
Speaker 1: effort and competitive side of this game that maybe they

117
00:06:32,146 --> 00:06:34,346
Speaker 1: felt the best option was to just put.

118
00:06:34,226 --> 00:06:36,946
Speaker 2: Out Andy Dalton, who we know what we're getting. Andy's Andy, Like,

119
00:06:36,986 --> 00:06:37,586
Speaker 2: you know what you're getting.

120
00:06:37,586 --> 00:06:37,826
Speaker 3: I'm not.

121
00:06:37,906 --> 00:06:41,146
Speaker 2: He's not winning any awards in All Pro Awards. Now.

122
00:06:41,186 --> 00:06:43,866
Speaker 1: Look last year Joe Flacco won Comeback Player of the Year.

123
00:06:43,866 --> 00:06:46,066
Speaker 1: Maybe Dalton does that. I don't foresee it. I don't

124
00:06:46,066 --> 00:06:48,066
Speaker 1: think the Panthers are going to rattle off seven wins

125
00:06:48,146 --> 00:06:51,426
Speaker 1: or anything. But I do think it tells you something,

126
00:06:51,426 --> 00:06:54,826
Speaker 1: and it's not just immediately how stupid everyone is. These

127
00:06:54,826 --> 00:06:57,386
Speaker 1: are smart people and they see it every single day

128
00:06:57,746 --> 00:07:01,266
Speaker 1: and they see what a lot of us didn't because

129
00:07:01,266 --> 00:07:04,386
Speaker 1: we didn't watch it on Sunday on tape on Monday morning.

130
00:07:04,586 --> 00:07:06,386
Speaker 1: I'm not a fan of the decision. I would have

131
00:07:06,506 --> 00:07:08,586
Speaker 1: love to have seen Bryce thrive this year because I

132
00:07:08,586 --> 00:07:10,786
Speaker 1: think he's a great kid and who knows, maybe he's

133
00:07:10,786 --> 00:07:13,066
Speaker 1: got a bright future ahead of him. But for the

134
00:07:13,066 --> 00:07:16,106
Speaker 1: Panthers to make that decision, it wasn't a popular one

135
00:07:16,146 --> 00:07:18,586
Speaker 1: and it certainly wasn't one that they desired. It tells

136
00:07:18,586 --> 00:07:21,666
Speaker 1: me that they had to. The other young quarterback that

137
00:07:21,706 --> 00:07:24,746
Speaker 1: I would focus on is Will Levis. So Levis is

138
00:07:24,746 --> 00:07:28,826
Speaker 1: coming into his first time full time starting season and

139
00:07:28,826 --> 00:07:30,186
Speaker 1: there's a lot of hype around him.

140
00:07:30,226 --> 00:07:30,426
Speaker 3: Here.

141
00:07:30,466 --> 00:07:32,266
Speaker 1: He had this great win on Thursday Night against the

142
00:07:32,346 --> 00:07:35,626
Speaker 1: Dolphins last year, and he's this alpha male, same type

143
00:07:35,626 --> 00:07:38,866
Speaker 1: of deal Bro's bro Whole deal made a knucklehead play

144
00:07:38,866 --> 00:07:42,386
Speaker 1: in Week one, and then in week two, they're playing

145
00:07:42,426 --> 00:07:44,386
Speaker 1: the Jets and they're winning and they're marching and they're

146
00:07:44,426 --> 00:07:45,706
Speaker 1: they're looking to put a field goal up to go

147
00:07:45,826 --> 00:07:47,186
Speaker 1: up ten nothing on the Jets.

148
00:07:46,866 --> 00:07:47,386
Speaker 2: And get a win.

149
00:07:47,426 --> 00:07:51,946
Speaker 1: Here he throws another bone headed interception or a bone

150
00:07:51,946 --> 00:07:57,106
Speaker 1: headed turnover, and on camera, Brian Callahan is caught saying,

151
00:07:57,466 --> 00:08:00,546
Speaker 1: what the bleep are you doing? And screaming at Levis,

152
00:08:01,066 --> 00:08:03,426
Speaker 1: they would go on to lose, and instead of us

153
00:08:03,506 --> 00:08:06,066
Speaker 1: as a media as a whole talking on Monday morning

154
00:08:06,106 --> 00:08:08,946
Speaker 1: about what happened to the Titans, how did they let

155
00:08:09,146 --> 00:08:11,266
Speaker 1: Brayleen Allen run through him? How did they let Breese

156
00:08:11,306 --> 00:08:14,146
Speaker 1: Hall catch that pass? Or even better, like, let's talk

157
00:08:14,186 --> 00:08:16,146
Speaker 1: about the positives of what Will Levis did a deep

158
00:08:16,186 --> 00:08:19,626
Speaker 1: pass to Calvin. All anyone wanted to focus on was

159
00:08:19,626 --> 00:08:24,546
Speaker 1: Will Levis's feelings and Brian Callahan being caught, you know,

160
00:08:24,666 --> 00:08:28,186
Speaker 1: trashing him, calling him a you know, what the blank

161
00:08:28,226 --> 00:08:31,906
Speaker 1: are you doing on camera? And Ryan Fitzpatrick, who I

162
00:08:31,906 --> 00:08:34,386
Speaker 1: think I respect as much as any X quarterback in

163
00:08:34,386 --> 00:08:36,626
Speaker 1: the league, as he played for everyone, He's seen it all.

164
00:08:36,946 --> 00:08:39,746
Speaker 1: He had thoughts on social media, didn't like it, didn't

165
00:08:39,786 --> 00:08:41,706
Speaker 1: like how we were treating the young quarterbacks, like what

166
00:08:41,706 --> 00:08:42,306
Speaker 1: are we doing here?

167
00:08:44,066 --> 00:08:44,546
Speaker 2: My take?

168
00:08:45,386 --> 00:08:48,506
Speaker 1: And I would talk to FITZI about it, like it was.

169
00:08:48,426 --> 00:08:50,826
Speaker 2: A moment Callahan lost his cool.

170
00:08:51,266 --> 00:08:55,306
Speaker 1: He too is a quarterback guru, was hired to nourish

171
00:08:54,746 --> 00:08:59,186
Speaker 1: and build up Will Levis, and in that moment, I

172
00:08:59,186 --> 00:09:03,426
Speaker 1: think he was really frustrated. And I would say, yeah,

173
00:09:03,546 --> 00:09:06,026
Speaker 1: that was his reaction, and it was caught on camera,

174
00:09:06,146 --> 00:09:07,346
Speaker 1: what the blank are you doing?

175
00:09:07,666 --> 00:09:10,626
Speaker 2: Because I could assure you he likely.

176
00:09:10,346 --> 00:09:14,306
Speaker 1: Spent a lot of time during the week saying you

177
00:09:14,666 --> 00:09:18,106
Speaker 1: cannot kill us with plays like this, and showed the

178
00:09:18,106 --> 00:09:18,626
Speaker 1: one from.

179
00:09:18,506 --> 00:09:21,226
Speaker 2: Week one over and over and over again.

180
00:09:21,026 --> 00:09:25,586
Speaker 1: And sure enough, as clear as the day is long,

181
00:09:26,386 --> 00:09:29,306
Speaker 1: he does it again, and Brian's reaction was a visceral

182
00:09:29,346 --> 00:09:29,986
Speaker 1: one of.

183
00:09:29,946 --> 00:09:32,706
Speaker 2: What are you doing? Come on, You're better than that.

184
00:09:32,986 --> 00:09:35,706
Speaker 1: He would later come out and say he's got to

185
00:09:35,746 --> 00:09:38,266
Speaker 1: be smarter about thinking about what's on camera, but he

186
00:09:38,346 --> 00:09:44,106
Speaker 1: does not regret his reaction and his feelings to that reaction. Again,

187
00:09:44,306 --> 00:09:47,546
Speaker 1: we are quick to bash the coach, bash the adult,

188
00:09:47,706 --> 00:09:51,106
Speaker 1: and say, let's treat these kids with kids glove. Will

189
00:09:51,146 --> 00:09:54,706
Speaker 1: Levis is it adult himself, and he is the quarterback

190
00:09:54,706 --> 00:09:57,186
Speaker 1: of an NFL team. I think Will Levis would tell you,

191
00:09:57,546 --> 00:09:59,586
Speaker 1: although he doesn't love being shown up by his coach,

192
00:10:00,586 --> 00:10:02,746
Speaker 1: he's got to be better than that and he shouldn't

193
00:10:02,746 --> 00:10:05,466
Speaker 1: do that. It's interesting how we talk about these young

194
00:10:05,546 --> 00:10:07,746
Speaker 1: quarterbacks because I think in the same breath that we

195
00:10:07,786 --> 00:10:09,866
Speaker 1: want to throw out that Ryan Leaves a bust and

196
00:10:09,946 --> 00:10:12,386
Speaker 1: JaMarcus Russell was a bust, and this guy was a

197
00:10:12,426 --> 00:10:15,306
Speaker 1: Buss and yet in twenty twenty four, I think we're

198
00:10:15,346 --> 00:10:18,306
Speaker 1: a lot more sensitive to these quarterbacks, and maybe in

199
00:10:18,346 --> 00:10:21,746
Speaker 1: some cases we shouldn't be. Maybe Bryce Young had to

200
00:10:21,746 --> 00:10:24,626
Speaker 1: be benched, maybe Will Levis had to be yelled at.

201
00:10:25,386 --> 00:10:29,146
Speaker 1: And that is my sermon on this beautiful Wednesday morning.

202
00:10:29,906 --> 00:10:32,266
Speaker 1: Our guest is Mike Moulva Hill. I had talked about

203
00:10:32,306 --> 00:10:34,146
Speaker 1: him already. I think you're really going to enjoy this.

204
00:10:34,666 --> 00:10:37,346
Speaker 1: Let's get to the interview from the season with Peter.

205
00:10:37,226 --> 00:10:49,466
Speaker 2: Schrager with no further ado.

206
00:10:49,586 --> 00:10:53,026
Speaker 1: One of the smartest men in sports television and a

207
00:10:53,066 --> 00:10:56,546
Speaker 1: guy who's insights I not only read week to week

208
00:10:56,626 --> 00:11:00,146
Speaker 1: on his Twitter feed, but I also seek out proactively

209
00:11:00,306 --> 00:11:02,626
Speaker 1: because we're colleagues at Fox Sports. I think he's one

210
00:11:02,626 --> 00:11:05,506
Speaker 1: of the most brilliant guys in our industry, and he's

211
00:11:05,506 --> 00:11:06,306
Speaker 1: a great dude.

212
00:11:06,786 --> 00:11:08,146
Speaker 2: His name is Mike Mulva Hill.

213
00:11:08,266 --> 00:11:11,466
Speaker 1: He's the president of Insights and Analytics at Fox Sports,

214
00:11:11,586 --> 00:11:13,746
Speaker 1: and I am thrilled to have him on the season

215
00:11:13,786 --> 00:11:17,546
Speaker 1: with Peter Schreeger. Mike, good afternoon from your old home,

216
00:11:17,706 --> 00:11:18,466
Speaker 1: New York City.

217
00:11:19,266 --> 00:11:21,506
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm thrilled to be here. Thanks for having me on.

218
00:11:21,546 --> 00:11:23,586
Speaker 3: We've been talking about doing this for a while, and

219
00:11:23,866 --> 00:11:25,506
Speaker 3: I'm excited to get into it with you. I got

220
00:11:25,546 --> 00:11:27,466
Speaker 3: an extra ice coffee with me today to try to

221
00:11:27,506 --> 00:11:29,866
Speaker 3: keep up with your energy level. We'll see how that goes.

222
00:11:30,346 --> 00:11:33,666
Speaker 3: But yeah, I see you've got one too, and just

223
00:11:33,706 --> 00:11:35,786
Speaker 3: anxious to dive in and talk about what we're seeing

224
00:11:35,826 --> 00:11:37,346
Speaker 3: so far this season, all.

225
00:11:37,306 --> 00:11:40,506
Speaker 1: Right before we start your job, because I think a

226
00:11:40,506 --> 00:11:42,426
Speaker 1: lot of people see what you tweet and it holds

227
00:11:42,426 --> 00:11:42,986
Speaker 1: a lot of weight.

228
00:11:43,106 --> 00:11:44,706
Speaker 2: And then you speak at these conferences.

229
00:11:44,706 --> 00:11:46,706
Speaker 1: But like your job, if you were to give an

230
00:11:46,746 --> 00:11:50,626
Speaker 1: elevator's speech to a college student who you meet and say, well,

231
00:11:50,706 --> 00:11:52,506
Speaker 1: you've got a really cool title, you work at a

232
00:11:52,506 --> 00:11:53,346
Speaker 1: really cool company.

233
00:11:53,746 --> 00:11:55,906
Speaker 2: What is your job exactly? What would you say you'd

234
00:11:55,906 --> 00:11:56,906
Speaker 2: do at Fox Sports.

235
00:11:58,226 --> 00:12:00,066
Speaker 3: I think a lot of people wonder what exactly I

236
00:12:00,106 --> 00:12:03,026
Speaker 3: do at Fox Sports, so I will try to explain it.

237
00:12:03,066 --> 00:12:05,546
Speaker 3: I think the elevator pitches. I use every source of

238
00:12:05,626 --> 00:12:09,466
Speaker 3: data that's availed to us, which often means Nielsen TV ratings,

239
00:12:09,826 --> 00:12:13,426
Speaker 3: to come up with strategies that will grow our audience,

240
00:12:13,506 --> 00:12:16,106
Speaker 3: get more people watching games on Fox, and hopefully just

241
00:12:16,146 --> 00:12:18,146
Speaker 3: make us a more efficient company.

242
00:12:18,986 --> 00:12:23,066
Speaker 1: Okay, And in that purview, you deal with not just NFL,

243
00:12:23,426 --> 00:12:27,666
Speaker 1: but you're talking women's volleyball, and you're talking college hockey

244
00:12:27,746 --> 00:12:30,186
Speaker 1: and whatever we have on FS one in the middle

245
00:12:30,226 --> 00:12:32,626
Speaker 1: of May, like you're overseeing all of it as far

246
00:12:32,666 --> 00:12:35,426
Speaker 1: as giving your insights and your analytics to the executives

247
00:12:35,426 --> 00:12:36,866
Speaker 1: who make those programming decisions.

248
00:12:37,346 --> 00:12:39,346
Speaker 3: Yeah, trying to write. I do that for both the

249
00:12:39,346 --> 00:12:42,826
Speaker 3: sports side and the entertainment side. We try to act

250
00:12:42,866 --> 00:12:46,146
Speaker 3: as almost an advocate for the audience and an advocate

251
00:12:46,186 --> 00:12:48,466
Speaker 3: for sports fans. Right the fans are telling us every

252
00:12:48,546 --> 00:12:51,426
Speaker 3: day with their remote controls what they like and what

253
00:12:51,466 --> 00:12:53,626
Speaker 3: they don't like about what we're putting on the air.

254
00:12:54,066 --> 00:12:56,986
Speaker 3: We try to listen to that via the ratings, and then,

255
00:12:57,026 --> 00:12:59,866
Speaker 3: as you say, communicate to the most senior people in

256
00:12:59,906 --> 00:13:02,906
Speaker 3: the company what's working, what isn't, what we think could

257
00:13:02,906 --> 00:13:05,586
Speaker 3: be working better. And we work with our league partners

258
00:13:05,586 --> 00:13:08,746
Speaker 3: at the NFL, collegiate conferences, Major League Baseball, and all

259
00:13:08,786 --> 00:13:11,706
Speaker 3: our other content partners to just try to come up

260
00:13:11,706 --> 00:13:14,666
Speaker 3: with the smartest way to grow the popularity of their events.

261
00:13:15,226 --> 00:13:18,506
Speaker 1: Okay, so ten years ago you'd go by Nielsen ratings,

262
00:13:18,546 --> 00:13:22,466
Speaker 1: which might be archaic. Now, what types of tools do

263
00:13:22,546 --> 00:13:25,146
Speaker 1: you have and which types of metrics do you guys

264
00:13:25,226 --> 00:13:28,106
Speaker 1: use now in a twenty twenty four landscape.

265
00:13:27,786 --> 00:13:30,786
Speaker 3: Well, we still use the Nielsen ratings very heavily. We

266
00:13:30,866 --> 00:13:33,226
Speaker 3: rely on that data a lot. It's probably the most

267
00:13:33,226 --> 00:13:35,426
Speaker 3: important source that we have because it's still the currency

268
00:13:35,466 --> 00:13:38,546
Speaker 3: of our business, right like, all of our advertising is

269
00:13:38,586 --> 00:13:40,906
Speaker 3: bought and sold based on the data that we get

270
00:13:40,946 --> 00:13:44,386
Speaker 3: from Nielsen. But we're also looking at other sources. Lately,

271
00:13:44,426 --> 00:13:48,546
Speaker 3: we've become really focused on using Google Search trends, right Like,

272
00:13:48,586 --> 00:13:52,226
Speaker 3: we can look at Google Search activity city by city,

273
00:13:52,466 --> 00:13:55,786
Speaker 3: team by team, athlete by athlete and try to get

274
00:13:55,786 --> 00:13:58,866
Speaker 3: a very real time read on what fans are most

275
00:13:58,906 --> 00:14:01,426
Speaker 3: interested in. So when we sit down and do our

276
00:14:01,546 --> 00:14:03,906
Speaker 3: NFL map every week and figure out what game is

277
00:14:03,906 --> 00:14:06,466
Speaker 3: going to go into every market in the country, a

278
00:14:06,466 --> 00:14:09,226
Speaker 3: lot of cases we're looking at Google activity in a

279
00:14:09,226 --> 00:14:12,306
Speaker 3: particular city just to see if one team or one

280
00:14:12,386 --> 00:14:16,306
Speaker 3: game is popping over another game. And because that Google

281
00:14:16,626 --> 00:14:21,146
Speaker 3: data is so real time, it's so immediate and current,

282
00:14:21,866 --> 00:14:24,386
Speaker 3: we're probably actually leaning on that more than we're leaning

283
00:14:24,426 --> 00:14:28,026
Speaker 3: on our ratings history. Google has become a really important

284
00:14:28,066 --> 00:14:30,546
Speaker 3: source of information for us that's fascinating.

285
00:14:30,546 --> 00:14:32,826
Speaker 1: So you'll see what people are searching online Is that

286
00:14:32,866 --> 00:14:34,546
Speaker 1: how they do it or is it they have a

287
00:14:34,706 --> 00:14:36,546
Speaker 1: more comprehensive algorithm.

288
00:14:37,066 --> 00:14:39,146
Speaker 3: No, it's really just as simple as what are people

289
00:14:39,186 --> 00:14:41,986
Speaker 3: searching for on a market by market basis, and Google,

290
00:14:42,626 --> 00:14:46,386
Speaker 3: to their credit, makes that data freely accessible to anybody

291
00:14:46,386 --> 00:14:49,266
Speaker 3: that takes the time to look at it. So we're

292
00:14:49,306 --> 00:14:53,106
Speaker 3: looking at that not just for guidance in our sports decisions,

293
00:14:53,146 --> 00:14:54,986
Speaker 3: but we're trying to use it as a measure of

294
00:14:55,426 --> 00:14:58,146
Speaker 3: awareness of entertainment programming. We use it to try to

295
00:14:58,186 --> 00:15:02,426
Speaker 3: measure interest in current news events, whether that's the campaign

296
00:15:02,546 --> 00:15:05,826
Speaker 3: or the conventions, the debates. It's a really good real

297
00:15:05,906 --> 00:15:09,466
Speaker 3: time measure of what people are actually interested in right now.

298
00:15:10,266 --> 00:15:12,826
Speaker 3: And as I say, it's become a key source of

299
00:15:12,866 --> 00:15:13,986
Speaker 3: information for us.

300
00:15:14,506 --> 00:15:17,706
Speaker 1: So I would imagine Google is very very active on

301
00:15:17,906 --> 00:15:22,386
Speaker 1: Gordon Ramsey, Joel McHale, Rob Low and cooking shows.

302
00:15:22,426 --> 00:15:24,426
Speaker 2: Are we in? Does that sound accurate or No?

303
00:15:25,106 --> 00:15:27,666
Speaker 3: That's right, and we charged job to get even more

304
00:15:27,706 --> 00:15:29,306
Speaker 3: active on those terms.

305
00:15:29,386 --> 00:15:32,226
Speaker 1: Right, big fan of it, and I'm excited for the

306
00:15:32,306 --> 00:15:33,986
Speaker 1: McHale show that's coming out.

307
00:15:33,746 --> 00:15:36,626
Speaker 2: The crime what is the crime scene Kitchen? I saw

308
00:15:36,706 --> 00:15:38,746
Speaker 2: the bit he did with Edelman this week and I'm like, Yep,

309
00:15:38,866 --> 00:15:39,906
Speaker 2: I'm in. I love it big.

310
00:15:39,986 --> 00:15:43,066
Speaker 3: Joel Mcheal guy, we love that. Please keep promoting Fox

311
00:15:43,186 --> 00:15:45,506
Speaker 3: entertainment shows on this podcast. We encourage that.

312
00:15:45,866 --> 00:15:47,186
Speaker 2: We will do that. We will do that.

313
00:15:47,306 --> 00:15:50,186
Speaker 1: I don't have much history with Chicago Fire or the

314
00:15:50,266 --> 00:15:52,386
Speaker 1: NBC shows. I am a Fox guy through and through,

315
00:15:52,706 --> 00:15:56,026
Speaker 1: and I rock with the masked singer as you know.

316
00:15:56,106 --> 00:15:59,866
Speaker 2: All right, let's get into football. It's very early on.

317
00:16:00,226 --> 00:16:01,066
Speaker 2: We're just two.

318
00:16:00,986 --> 00:16:04,866
Speaker 1: Weeks in, but every year is different as far as trends,

319
00:16:04,906 --> 00:16:08,306
Speaker 1: as far as what we're seeing. What are some takeaways

320
00:16:08,466 --> 00:16:12,146
Speaker 1: audience wise, just two weeks into this current NFL season.

321
00:16:12,826 --> 00:16:16,186
Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, I think that the primary takeaway is that

322
00:16:16,226 --> 00:16:19,146
Speaker 3: the league has come back at least as strong as ever,

323
00:16:19,346 --> 00:16:22,586
Speaker 3: if not stronger than ever. And we hear a lot

324
00:16:22,746 --> 00:16:26,306
Speaker 3: about changes in our business and the fact that people

325
00:16:26,426 --> 00:16:30,186
Speaker 3: are cutting the cord, maybe getting out of their cable packages,

326
00:16:30,306 --> 00:16:33,426
Speaker 3: moving more of their viewership to streaming platforms, and all

327
00:16:33,466 --> 00:16:36,706
Speaker 3: of that is real. And yet even as people move

328
00:16:36,786 --> 00:16:40,986
Speaker 3: out of their traditional cable bundles, the audiences for the

329
00:16:41,146 --> 00:16:44,666
Speaker 3: NFL and for college football just continue to grow. The

330
00:16:44,706 --> 00:16:48,506
Speaker 3: resilience of those properties is pretty remarkable. So we're two

331
00:16:48,546 --> 00:16:52,346
Speaker 3: weeks into the season, the average audience for all NFL games,

332
00:16:52,386 --> 00:16:55,786
Speaker 3: not just on Fox but across every carrier is up

333
00:16:55,826 --> 00:16:59,386
Speaker 3: eight percent. The audience share that we're seeing is amazing.

334
00:16:59,626 --> 00:17:02,386
Speaker 3: You know, if you look at all games, all networks,

335
00:17:02,906 --> 00:17:07,666
Speaker 3: the average share of men ageat into thirty four that

336
00:17:07,746 --> 00:17:11,746
Speaker 3: are watching a typical NFL game is sixty six percent.

337
00:17:11,946 --> 00:17:15,066
Speaker 3: So sixty six percent of all the young men that

338
00:17:15,146 --> 00:17:18,586
Speaker 3: are watching TV at any particular time are watching an

339
00:17:18,666 --> 00:17:22,506
Speaker 3: NFL game. Maybe even more amazing, the share of women

340
00:17:22,626 --> 00:17:25,426
Speaker 3: eighteen to thirty four for a typical NFL game is

341
00:17:25,466 --> 00:17:28,266
Speaker 3: a fifty. So while we think of the of the

342
00:17:28,386 --> 00:17:30,906
Speaker 3: NFL and we think of football as being a traditional

343
00:17:31,346 --> 00:17:35,066
Speaker 3: male vehicle, that female audience becomes more important to us

344
00:17:35,106 --> 00:17:37,706
Speaker 3: all the time. I think if you go through television history,

345
00:17:37,746 --> 00:17:39,786
Speaker 3: you're just not going to find that many shows that

346
00:17:39,826 --> 00:17:43,306
Speaker 3: are doing a sixty six share or a fifty share.

347
00:17:43,346 --> 00:17:44,946
Speaker 3: You really have to go back to, you have to

348
00:17:44,946 --> 00:17:48,946
Speaker 3: go back decades to things like I Love Lucy Max Shard,

349
00:17:49,026 --> 00:17:51,826
Speaker 3: Theater Mash, you know, shows that just come from a

350
00:17:51,826 --> 00:17:55,746
Speaker 3: different era of media consumption. That's the stranglehold that the

351
00:17:55,866 --> 00:17:59,666
Speaker 3: NFL has on the audience. And yes, we're only two

352
00:17:59,746 --> 00:18:03,106
Speaker 3: weeks in, but it just shows no signs of slowing

353
00:18:03,146 --> 00:18:06,066
Speaker 3: down or reversing. I think the degree to which the

354
00:18:06,146 --> 00:18:09,386
Speaker 3: NFL bell sort of towers over everything else on the

355
00:18:09,426 --> 00:18:12,226
Speaker 3: TV landscape just becomes greater and greater each year.

356
00:18:12,506 --> 00:18:15,466
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's that stat we get every end of the season.

357
00:18:15,586 --> 00:18:16,946
Speaker 2: It's like or at the end of the year.

358
00:18:16,826 --> 00:18:19,906
Speaker 1: Like eighty eight of the top one hundred shows or

359
00:18:20,026 --> 00:18:23,906
Speaker 1: NFL related like that only gets bigger and bigger, and

360
00:18:23,946 --> 00:18:26,746
Speaker 1: the pie, if you will, only gets to be gobbled

361
00:18:26,826 --> 00:18:29,146
Speaker 1: up more and more by the NFL. Can you can

362
00:18:29,186 --> 00:18:31,866
Speaker 1: you share us with some of those analytics and metrics

363
00:18:31,946 --> 00:18:35,026
Speaker 1: historically over I guess the last calendar year of just

364
00:18:35,066 --> 00:18:39,026
Speaker 1: how dominant football is and then NFL. Yes, But then

365
00:18:39,066 --> 00:18:41,186
Speaker 1: when you add in college football, I think that gets

366
00:18:41,186 --> 00:18:43,146
Speaker 1: an even bigger share of the top one hundred shows.

367
00:18:43,226 --> 00:18:43,426
Speaker 2: Right.

368
00:18:44,586 --> 00:18:47,186
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know. There are a lot of ways that

369
00:18:47,226 --> 00:18:49,346
Speaker 3: we can parse the data to try to make that

370
00:18:49,546 --> 00:18:52,106
Speaker 3: argument about the power of live sports. But I think

371
00:18:52,186 --> 00:18:56,346
Speaker 3: one that tends to be really understandable to people and

372
00:18:56,426 --> 00:18:58,346
Speaker 3: gets a lot of pickup in the press is that

373
00:18:58,466 --> 00:19:01,826
Speaker 3: look at the hundred most watch shows of any given year,

374
00:19:02,026 --> 00:19:05,786
Speaker 3: and so last year, ninety three of the hundred. Most

375
00:19:05,826 --> 00:19:09,906
Speaker 3: watch shows on television were live sports events, and the

376
00:19:10,026 --> 00:19:14,466
Speaker 3: vast majority of those were NFL games. In fact, it

377
00:19:14,466 --> 00:19:16,706
Speaker 3: may even be the ninety three were NFL games and

378
00:19:16,746 --> 00:19:20,146
Speaker 3: a few more were other sports events. So if you

379
00:19:20,186 --> 00:19:22,906
Speaker 3: were to go back twenty or thirty years, that number

380
00:19:22,946 --> 00:19:25,026
Speaker 3: of the top hundred that comes from live sports, it

381
00:19:25,106 --> 00:19:27,586
Speaker 3: used to be like twenty of one hundred. Right now

382
00:19:27,626 --> 00:19:30,946
Speaker 3: it's virtually everything. And I think that has to do

383
00:19:31,026 --> 00:19:34,706
Speaker 3: with the fragmentation of the entertainment audience, the fact that

384
00:19:34,986 --> 00:19:39,186
Speaker 3: some of that entertain entertainment audience has gone to streaming,

385
00:19:39,666 --> 00:19:42,826
Speaker 3: and I think there's something going on there where sports

386
00:19:42,946 --> 00:19:47,026
Speaker 3: and especially the NFL has become really the only thing

387
00:19:47,626 --> 00:19:50,786
Speaker 3: that still brings people from all walks of life together

388
00:19:51,426 --> 00:19:54,786
Speaker 3: in real time. Right Like when I was a kid, Yes,

389
00:19:54,866 --> 00:19:57,586
Speaker 3: the NFL did twenty five million viewers a week, but

390
00:19:57,626 --> 00:19:59,386
Speaker 3: there were a lot of TV shows that did twenty

391
00:19:59,386 --> 00:20:01,626
Speaker 3: million viewers a week, and we all watched the same TV,

392
00:20:01,786 --> 00:20:04,226
Speaker 3: We listened to the same music, we saw the same movies.

393
00:20:04,706 --> 00:20:08,106
Speaker 3: People were sort of more engaged in community based activities then,

394
00:20:08,186 --> 00:20:10,666
Speaker 3: whether it was a school board or a bowling league

395
00:20:10,746 --> 00:20:13,226
Speaker 3: or their church and all these things that sort of

396
00:20:13,306 --> 00:20:17,986
Speaker 3: used to bring people from different walks together have fragmented

397
00:20:18,186 --> 00:20:21,666
Speaker 3: or declined in popularity, and there's been this decline of

398
00:20:21,666 --> 00:20:24,626
Speaker 3: what we sometimes call the monoculture. And in a lot

399
00:20:24,666 --> 00:20:26,506
Speaker 3: of ways, that's probably a good thing, because it means

400
00:20:26,506 --> 00:20:29,866
Speaker 3: that people are getting what they want rather than just

401
00:20:29,906 --> 00:20:32,666
Speaker 3: getting what happens to be available. But it leads us

402
00:20:32,666 --> 00:20:35,586
Speaker 3: in a circumstance where the only thing that still kind

403
00:20:35,626 --> 00:20:38,186
Speaker 3: of represents that monoculture, the only thing that can get

404
00:20:38,226 --> 00:20:41,466
Speaker 3: twenty five million people to pay attention to the same

405
00:20:41,546 --> 00:20:44,786
Speaker 3: thing at the same time, is sports, and it is

406
00:20:44,826 --> 00:20:48,146
Speaker 3: the NFL. And it leaves our business in a really

407
00:20:48,266 --> 00:20:51,186
Speaker 3: unique position, and I think it gives the NFL more

408
00:20:51,306 --> 00:20:55,866
Speaker 3: cultural influence and currency than ever before. And it also

409
00:20:55,906 --> 00:20:59,266
Speaker 3: is really powerful to our business partners, our advertisers who

410
00:20:59,266 --> 00:21:03,106
Speaker 3: are looking for simultaneous attention, right, how can they reach

411
00:21:03,226 --> 00:21:07,026
Speaker 3: the most people at the same time. It really is

412
00:21:07,146 --> 00:21:10,426
Speaker 3: nothing else that delivers that simultaneous audience on the scale

413
00:21:10,666 --> 00:21:11,506
Speaker 3: of the NFL.

414
00:21:12,146 --> 00:21:15,466
Speaker 1: So in a cord cutting streamer world where I don't

415
00:21:15,506 --> 00:21:19,186
Speaker 1: know what streamer this show that everyone's talking about is

416
00:21:19,226 --> 00:21:21,146
Speaker 1: on and I've got to find it all, we know

417
00:21:21,266 --> 00:21:23,426
Speaker 1: that someday at one pm Eastern, there's going to be

418
00:21:23,426 --> 00:21:25,586
Speaker 1: Fox and CBS games kicking off, and that is a

419
00:21:25,666 --> 00:21:28,266
Speaker 1: ritualistic thing. And if you go online, if you live online,

420
00:21:28,346 --> 00:21:29,706
Speaker 1: which so many people.

421
00:21:29,826 --> 00:21:33,466
Speaker 2: Do, the conversation usually circles around.

422
00:21:33,146 --> 00:21:36,066
Speaker 1: Whatever's happening on the football field or what the broadcast

423
00:21:36,106 --> 00:21:37,506
Speaker 1: is saying about that game.

424
00:21:37,946 --> 00:21:40,026
Speaker 3: Right, And you know, I sometimes like to say that

425
00:21:40,146 --> 00:21:44,106
Speaker 3: television used to be America's biggest stage, and increasingly it's

426
00:21:44,146 --> 00:21:47,026
Speaker 3: become America's biggest library. You know, it's a place that

427
00:21:47,106 --> 00:21:50,146
Speaker 3: you can go to anytime and get any TV show

428
00:21:50,266 --> 00:21:53,226
Speaker 3: or movie that has ever been made and watch it

429
00:21:53,266 --> 00:21:55,786
Speaker 3: at your convenience. And so as you go from that

430
00:21:56,146 --> 00:22:00,346
Speaker 3: stage model to a library model where all that on

431
00:22:00,466 --> 00:22:03,666
Speaker 3: demand consumption is happening, the thing that still kind of

432
00:22:03,946 --> 00:22:07,746
Speaker 3: represents TV as America's biggest stage is sports and news

433
00:22:07,786 --> 00:22:09,346
Speaker 3: like those are the only things that you feel like

434
00:22:09,386 --> 00:22:11,786
Speaker 3: you have to consume it in real time. If you're

435
00:22:11,786 --> 00:22:13,866
Speaker 3: not seeing it as it happens, you're left out of

436
00:22:13,906 --> 00:22:16,706
Speaker 3: the social media conversation. You're left out of what we

437
00:22:16,826 --> 00:22:20,706
Speaker 3: used to call water water. Now it's like text message dialogue.

438
00:22:21,066 --> 00:22:23,386
Speaker 3: You've got to see it as it happens. So as

439
00:22:23,426 --> 00:22:26,826
Speaker 3: the rest of the business has become focused on on demand.

440
00:22:26,866 --> 00:22:30,266
Speaker 3: I can watch anything I want, anytime I want. Sports

441
00:22:30,306 --> 00:22:32,946
Speaker 3: really stands alone as the thing that you're compelled to

442
00:22:32,986 --> 00:22:34,626
Speaker 3: see in the moment that it's happening.

443
00:22:34,786 --> 00:22:37,026
Speaker 1: Yeah, if I want to go binge the West Wing,

444
00:22:37,066 --> 00:22:39,106
Speaker 1: I can do that tomorrow. If I want to go

445
00:22:39,186 --> 00:22:42,666
Speaker 1: find out what's happening in you know, the Texans Bear

446
00:22:42,706 --> 00:22:44,666
Speaker 1: Sunday night game, I have to watch it live. That

447
00:22:44,706 --> 00:22:47,666
Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense that that does work out

448
00:22:47,706 --> 00:22:49,706
Speaker 1: if you think about the way people consume right now.

449
00:22:49,986 --> 00:22:52,746
Speaker 3: It's really why the entertainment business has become so challenging,

450
00:22:52,826 --> 00:22:55,466
Speaker 3: right because when you make a new TV show, you're

451
00:22:55,506 --> 00:22:59,186
Speaker 3: competing with every TV show that's ever been made. When

452
00:22:59,186 --> 00:23:00,946
Speaker 3: we play a football game at one o'clock on a

453
00:23:00,946 --> 00:23:03,666
Speaker 3: Sunday afternoon, we're really just competing with other football games

454
00:23:03,666 --> 00:23:06,146
Speaker 3: that are on at the same time. So we get

455
00:23:06,146 --> 00:23:08,626
Speaker 3: to cot with what's happening in the moment. And on

456
00:23:08,666 --> 00:23:11,826
Speaker 3: the scripted side, the entertainment side, they're competing with the

457
00:23:11,826 --> 00:23:13,946
Speaker 3: best that the medium has ever delivered. And that's a

458
00:23:13,986 --> 00:23:15,906
Speaker 3: really challenging circumstance.

459
00:23:16,346 --> 00:23:17,786
Speaker 1: This is why I love having you, and I never

460
00:23:17,826 --> 00:23:19,706
Speaker 1: thought of that, like I could watch any episode of

461
00:23:19,706 --> 00:23:21,306
Speaker 1: Friends I want at any time.

462
00:23:21,826 --> 00:23:23,946
Speaker 2: I just have to have the right app if I

463
00:23:24,066 --> 00:23:26,466
Speaker 2: want to see what Caleb Williams is doing.

464
00:23:26,226 --> 00:23:28,386
Speaker 1: This week to bounce back from Sunday Night's game, Like,

465
00:23:28,426 --> 00:23:30,706
Speaker 1: you have to watch it live and the conversation's over

466
00:23:30,786 --> 00:23:32,786
Speaker 1: by the morning, So you really, if you want to

467
00:23:32,786 --> 00:23:35,226
Speaker 1: be a part of it, you have to actually sit

468
00:23:35,306 --> 00:23:39,026
Speaker 1: and watch it and get through it good insights. So

469
00:23:39,026 --> 00:23:42,026
Speaker 1: we've had Mike North on several times on this podcast,

470
00:23:42,146 --> 00:23:45,666
Speaker 1: and he is, amongst other things, he works in the

471
00:23:45,666 --> 00:23:48,346
Speaker 1: broadcast group at the NFL. He also is part of

472
00:23:48,346 --> 00:23:51,106
Speaker 1: the group that creates the schedule, and he's taken us

473
00:23:51,346 --> 00:23:55,026
Speaker 1: from the NFL's vantage point on how they pick which

474
00:23:55,106 --> 00:23:58,186
Speaker 1: games when and what they weigh in as factors. And

475
00:23:58,226 --> 00:24:01,026
Speaker 1: he always talks about how the networks play a key role.

476
00:24:01,106 --> 00:24:03,466
Speaker 1: The teams in the clubs, they'll send some things like hey,

477
00:24:03,466 --> 00:24:05,346
Speaker 1: we've got a concert this week, we can't have a

478
00:24:05,386 --> 00:24:07,426
Speaker 1: home game that week, or we'd really.

479
00:24:07,346 --> 00:24:09,506
Speaker 2: Like to be home this week because of X, Y

480
00:24:09,506 --> 00:24:12,746
Speaker 2: and Z. And then there's the network side of it,

481
00:24:12,826 --> 00:24:14,026
Speaker 2: the media partners who.

482
00:24:13,986 --> 00:24:17,666
Speaker 1: Are all paying big checks to have NFL games broadcasted.

483
00:24:18,306 --> 00:24:20,266
Speaker 2: But we've never spoken to someone from.

484
00:24:20,186 --> 00:24:23,186
Speaker 1: The network side of it on how they compile their

485
00:24:23,226 --> 00:24:25,826
Speaker 1: preferences and make their lists. You're part of that crew

486
00:24:25,866 --> 00:24:28,786
Speaker 1: at Fox who does so. And Fox makes their list,

487
00:24:28,826 --> 00:24:32,226
Speaker 1: and NBC makes theirs, and ESPN and now Amazon and CBS,

488
00:24:32,266 --> 00:24:34,746
Speaker 1: we all put together, here are the games that we'd

489
00:24:34,786 --> 00:24:37,266
Speaker 1: love in our wish list. Can you take us behind

490
00:24:37,266 --> 00:24:39,626
Speaker 1: the curtain a little bit? And how you guys decide

491
00:24:39,666 --> 00:24:43,386
Speaker 1: which games you request to the NFL be broadcast on Fox?

492
00:24:44,266 --> 00:24:48,106
Speaker 3: Sure? So you know, Mike North and his team are

493
00:24:48,626 --> 00:24:52,586
Speaker 3: among our closest partners, if not our closest partner. We're

494
00:24:52,706 --> 00:24:55,666
Speaker 3: engaged in kind of a never ending conversation with them

495
00:24:55,746 --> 00:25:00,106
Speaker 3: about what's working, what we could do in future weeks,

496
00:25:00,146 --> 00:25:02,866
Speaker 3: what we want to do next season, like that dialogue

497
00:25:02,946 --> 00:25:05,986
Speaker 3: really never ends. In fact, even earlier this morning, we

498
00:25:05,986 --> 00:25:08,666
Speaker 3: were already texting about things that might be in play

499
00:25:08,706 --> 00:25:11,946
Speaker 3: for a future week this season. So that's a very

500
00:25:12,066 --> 00:25:15,586
Speaker 3: very close relationship. And what we do and what all

501
00:25:15,626 --> 00:25:17,746
Speaker 3: the networks do, is we do submit a list of

502
00:25:17,786 --> 00:25:23,386
Speaker 3: our top fifty games for the upcoming season, usually fifty games,

503
00:25:23,786 --> 00:25:27,986
Speaker 3: and we submitt that usually after the NFC Championship game

504
00:25:28,066 --> 00:25:29,466
Speaker 3: and before the Super Bowl.

505
00:25:29,826 --> 00:25:33,506
Speaker 2: Of the previous year, right before free.

506
00:25:33,306 --> 00:25:36,306
Speaker 1: Agency, before the draft, you're like, we want these two

507
00:25:36,386 --> 00:25:37,106
Speaker 1: teams next.

508
00:25:36,986 --> 00:25:40,506
Speaker 3: Year, we'll submit that list, will have a pretty in

509
00:25:40,546 --> 00:25:43,666
Speaker 3: depth conversation prior to the super Bowl, and then between

510
00:25:43,706 --> 00:25:46,986
Speaker 3: the super Bowl and the release of the schedule, there

511
00:25:47,066 --> 00:25:50,386
Speaker 3: is just an ongoing conversation about what if we got

512
00:25:50,386 --> 00:25:52,546
Speaker 3: this game rather than that game, or what if there

513
00:25:52,586 --> 00:25:55,306
Speaker 3: is a major move in free agency, what might that mean?

514
00:25:56,026 --> 00:25:58,546
Speaker 3: And that's come up a lot in recent seasons, whether

515
00:25:58,586 --> 00:26:03,546
Speaker 3: that's quarterbacks that their retirement is in question or Aaron

516
00:26:03,626 --> 00:26:07,066
Speaker 3: Rodgers coming from Green Bay to New York. There's always

517
00:26:07,186 --> 00:26:11,146
Speaker 3: some pivotal player whose future is still in question post

518
00:26:11,186 --> 00:26:12,946
Speaker 3: Super Bowl, and we have to kind of talk that

519
00:26:13,026 --> 00:26:16,146
Speaker 3: through when we put together our top fifty list. You know,

520
00:26:16,186 --> 00:26:18,626
Speaker 3: something that's very much on our mind is that this

521
00:26:18,706 --> 00:26:22,626
Speaker 3: is still primarily an NFC package, Right So we know

522
00:26:22,706 --> 00:26:25,506
Speaker 3: that we're going to have at least eight Dallas Cowboys

523
00:26:25,546 --> 00:26:28,346
Speaker 3: games every year. We know we're probably only going to

524
00:26:28,386 --> 00:26:31,626
Speaker 3: have one Kansas City Chiefs game, So for us to

525
00:26:31,666 --> 00:26:35,346
Speaker 3: put seven Chiefs games in our top ten doesn't make

526
00:26:35,426 --> 00:26:37,026
Speaker 3: a lot of sense, right, Like, we kind of have

527
00:26:37,106 --> 00:26:40,146
Speaker 3: to take into account that we're mostly going to showcase

528
00:26:40,586 --> 00:26:43,786
Speaker 3: NFC teams, NFC brands. So we'll put a couple of

529
00:26:43,866 --> 00:26:46,306
Speaker 3: Kansas City games in our top ten that we really

530
00:26:46,346 --> 00:26:49,106
Speaker 3: really want, but we'll focus the top end of our

531
00:26:49,146 --> 00:26:52,906
Speaker 3: list more on that collection of eight or nine Dallas

532
00:26:52,906 --> 00:26:55,186
Speaker 3: games this year, it's nine some years, it'll be eight

533
00:26:55,706 --> 00:26:58,306
Speaker 3: that we know we are going to get, just per

534
00:26:58,346 --> 00:27:02,426
Speaker 3: the terms of our contract. So it's not necessarily a

535
00:27:02,546 --> 00:27:06,066
Speaker 3: totally straightforward ranking of these are the top fifty games

536
00:27:06,106 --> 00:27:09,746
Speaker 3: in exactly our order of preference. It's informed a little

537
00:27:09,786 --> 00:27:12,746
Speaker 3: bit by the fact that, you know, we do want

538
00:27:12,786 --> 00:27:15,826
Speaker 3: to acknowledge that we need to fire one really big

539
00:27:15,866 --> 00:27:18,866
Speaker 3: shot with the Chiefs, and we know that we're going

540
00:27:18,906 --> 00:27:21,386
Speaker 3: to have a deeper pool of Dallas, and so we

541
00:27:21,506 --> 00:27:23,546
Speaker 3: tend to have just a little bit more NFC and

542
00:27:23,586 --> 00:27:25,906
Speaker 3: a little bit more Dallas at the top of our ranking.

543
00:27:26,386 --> 00:27:28,186
Speaker 3: And then the league takes our list, and they take

544
00:27:28,226 --> 00:27:31,506
Speaker 3: lists from all the networks, and they have that incredibly

545
00:27:31,626 --> 00:27:34,466
Speaker 3: challenging job of trying to serve the interest of all

546
00:27:34,506 --> 00:27:36,786
Speaker 3: these partners. You know, what Mike's team has to do

547
00:27:36,946 --> 00:27:40,546
Speaker 3: is they have to try to satisfy the biggest media

548
00:27:40,586 --> 00:27:44,506
Speaker 3: companies in the world, who are collectively paying over ten

549
00:27:44,546 --> 00:27:47,786
Speaker 3: billion dollars a year to have access to these games,

550
00:27:48,186 --> 00:27:52,506
Speaker 3: and it's really really challenging to make sure that everybody's happy,

551
00:27:52,666 --> 00:27:55,946
Speaker 3: or at least everybody's equally unhappy, and that's sort of

552
00:27:55,946 --> 00:27:58,906
Speaker 3: what Mike and his team have to do. And as

553
00:27:58,906 --> 00:28:01,266
Speaker 3: we engage in that conversation with them, we're always really

554
00:28:01,306 --> 00:28:03,666
Speaker 3: mindful of the fact that we're not the only partner, right,

555
00:28:03,746 --> 00:28:06,666
Speaker 3: Like they have to balance everybody's needs. We have to

556
00:28:06,666 --> 00:28:09,026
Speaker 3: sort of acknowledge that we're not the only network that

557
00:28:09,106 --> 00:28:11,866
Speaker 3: wants Kansas City San fran We're not the only ones

558
00:28:11,866 --> 00:28:14,226
Speaker 3: that want Dallas Philly. Everybody's looking for those games.

559
00:28:14,306 --> 00:28:18,386
Speaker 1: Yeah, speaking of Kansas City, San Francisco, that one that's obvious,

560
00:28:18,426 --> 00:28:20,306
Speaker 1: that one's going to be Burke, Cart and Brady. But

561
00:28:21,026 --> 00:28:23,546
Speaker 1: you know, as we started this week, it's week three.

562
00:28:23,666 --> 00:28:25,786
Speaker 1: You know, we came after the Sunday games and I'm

563
00:28:25,826 --> 00:28:28,306
Speaker 1: looking at the schedule and I'm like, Wow, Fox has

564
00:28:28,346 --> 00:28:33,306
Speaker 1: Saints Eagles and Ravens Cowboys. Those are both worthy games

565
00:28:33,426 --> 00:28:35,786
Speaker 1: to put on national TV. When do you guys start

566
00:28:35,786 --> 00:28:39,666
Speaker 1: having the conversations in picking which broadcast.

567
00:28:39,146 --> 00:28:41,266
Speaker 2: Crews are going to which game week to week?

568
00:28:42,146 --> 00:28:46,746
Speaker 3: So we will do a preliminary map for the first say,

569
00:28:47,266 --> 00:28:50,266
Speaker 3: third to half first half of the season before any

570
00:28:50,306 --> 00:28:52,986
Speaker 3: games are played, so we've got an early read even

571
00:28:53,026 --> 00:28:56,226
Speaker 3: before any games kickoff. And then as we go through

572
00:28:56,226 --> 00:29:00,226
Speaker 3: the season, we'll do a map two weeks in advance

573
00:29:00,426 --> 00:29:02,906
Speaker 3: of every game, and then we'll do a final map

574
00:29:02,986 --> 00:29:06,106
Speaker 3: one week out. And then even after that final map,

575
00:29:06,506 --> 00:29:09,066
Speaker 3: our affiliates around the country have an opportunity to come

576
00:29:09,106 --> 00:29:13,106
Speaker 3: back to us and say, hey, you assigned us Green Bay, Tennessee,

577
00:29:13,186 --> 00:29:16,666
Speaker 3: and what we actually want is Philly, New Orleans. So

578
00:29:16,826 --> 00:29:19,546
Speaker 3: the stations have a role to play there. The league

579
00:29:19,626 --> 00:29:22,146
Speaker 3: has a lot of input that they give us, and

580
00:29:22,226 --> 00:29:25,026
Speaker 3: we adjust the maps on a rolling basis throughout the year.

581
00:29:25,866 --> 00:29:30,026
Speaker 3: And it's not my job to assign a crew to

582
00:29:30,106 --> 00:29:33,746
Speaker 3: each game. That happens within the production unit, but we

583
00:29:33,786 --> 00:29:36,706
Speaker 3: do start having conversations about that in some cases three

584
00:29:36,826 --> 00:29:39,786
Speaker 3: or four weeks out, and it changes all the time, right,

585
00:29:39,786 --> 00:29:43,746
Speaker 3: It's very fluid. Sometimes we think that the Burkhart Brady

586
00:29:44,146 --> 00:29:47,226
Speaker 3: Aaron Rinaldy crew is going to go to a certain game,

587
00:29:47,786 --> 00:29:50,026
Speaker 3: and then the next two weeks of results are so

588
00:29:50,226 --> 00:29:53,066
Speaker 3: different from what we expected that we have to very

589
00:29:53,106 --> 00:29:56,826
Speaker 3: quickly move them to something else. So that's not uncommon

590
00:29:56,866 --> 00:29:59,986
Speaker 3: at all. And even though that choice doesn't really sit

591
00:30:00,066 --> 00:30:03,386
Speaker 3: with my team, we're talking with production all the time

592
00:30:03,466 --> 00:30:05,866
Speaker 3: about how we think the maps are going to ligh

593
00:30:05,866 --> 00:30:08,026
Speaker 3: out and what right game for a certain crew might be.

594
00:30:08,546 --> 00:30:10,546
Speaker 1: Can I go back and get behind the curtain to

595
00:30:10,866 --> 00:30:14,106
Speaker 1: giving Dallas Cleveland our Week one game for Fox? And

596
00:30:14,186 --> 00:30:17,226
Speaker 1: I say hour as an employee with Fox, I think

597
00:30:17,386 --> 00:30:19,666
Speaker 1: there was a bunch of games on and you guys

598
00:30:19,666 --> 00:30:22,306
Speaker 1: put Brady and Burker. Obviously Dallas is the big draw,

599
00:30:22,346 --> 00:30:24,586
Speaker 1: but Cleveland out of the gates, and of course they

600
00:30:24,586 --> 00:30:28,306
Speaker 1: disappointed us and not putting up a fight. But in hindsight,

601
00:30:28,466 --> 00:30:30,706
Speaker 1: it's like, Okay, there was a lot of science behind

602
00:30:30,706 --> 00:30:33,706
Speaker 1: that decision. Does Cleveland rate well nationally? Is that kind

603
00:30:33,706 --> 00:30:35,386
Speaker 1: of the reason behind that because Brady didn't really have

604
00:30:35,386 --> 00:30:36,786
Speaker 1: any connection to the Browns.

605
00:30:37,266 --> 00:30:39,746
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think there are some teams that are a

606
00:30:39,746 --> 00:30:43,026
Speaker 3: little bit more popular nationally than they're on the field

607
00:30:43,026 --> 00:30:45,946
Speaker 3: performance might suggest, and there are some that are not

608
00:30:46,026 --> 00:30:49,666
Speaker 3: as popular nationally as they're on field performance might lead

609
00:30:49,706 --> 00:30:52,826
Speaker 3: you to believe Cleveland is one of those teams that

610
00:30:54,066 --> 00:30:57,586
Speaker 3: they're coming from a relatively big market. They obviously have

611
00:30:57,666 --> 00:31:00,186
Speaker 3: a lot of history, They have a very passionate fan base,

612
00:31:00,266 --> 00:31:03,306
Speaker 3: Their local ratings are always among the biggest in the country,

613
00:31:04,026 --> 00:31:06,826
Speaker 3: and there's a lot of migration and in a lot

614
00:31:06,826 --> 00:31:10,066
Speaker 3: of migration over the last say fifty years from the

615
00:31:10,146 --> 00:31:13,706
Speaker 3: Rust Belt through to the sun Belt, right interesting. So

616
00:31:13,706 --> 00:31:17,386
Speaker 3: when you're looking at those AFC North and NFC North markets.

617
00:31:17,626 --> 00:31:19,506
Speaker 2: National teams interesting.

618
00:31:19,346 --> 00:31:22,786
Speaker 3: Punch above their weight nationally because not only do they

619
00:31:22,786 --> 00:31:25,826
Speaker 3: do a big number in their local market, but there

620
00:31:25,826 --> 00:31:27,986
Speaker 3: are a lot of former Pittsburghers in the sun Belt.

621
00:31:28,026 --> 00:31:30,066
Speaker 3: There are a lot of former Clevelanders, a lot of

622
00:31:30,066 --> 00:31:32,666
Speaker 3: people from Detroit who have moved elsewhere in the country,

623
00:31:33,066 --> 00:31:35,746
Speaker 3: and so those northern teams they tend to do a

624
00:31:35,786 --> 00:31:38,066
Speaker 3: little better than you might think because a lot of

625
00:31:38,106 --> 00:31:40,346
Speaker 3: their fans have just gone to other parts of the country.

626
00:31:40,786 --> 00:31:42,986
Speaker 3: I was really happy to have that Dallas Cleveland game

627
00:31:43,026 --> 00:31:46,186
Speaker 3: for Week one. Wish it had been more competitive. I mean,

628
00:31:46,226 --> 00:31:48,466
Speaker 3: that game opened as the betting line on that game

629
00:31:48,546 --> 00:31:51,986
Speaker 3: opened as a pick, and obviously it ended up tilting

630
00:31:52,106 --> 00:31:54,466
Speaker 3: very much in one direction, so it could have been

631
00:31:54,466 --> 00:31:57,666
Speaker 3: a more competitive game. But definitely no complaints about starting

632
00:31:57,666 --> 00:31:59,266
Speaker 3: the year with the Browns fan base.

633
00:31:59,426 --> 00:32:03,666
Speaker 1: And the ratings were incredible, So your science and you're

634
00:32:03,706 --> 00:32:05,066
Speaker 1: backing behind that worked out.

635
00:32:05,106 --> 00:32:06,906
Speaker 2: Look. We had John or Ran on.

636
00:32:06,986 --> 00:32:09,026
Speaker 1: Before the season started just to kind of give a

637
00:32:09,026 --> 00:32:11,706
Speaker 1: big picture thought about the way the broadcast is going.

638
00:32:11,706 --> 00:32:12,946
Speaker 1: You know, he's one of the leaders in the space

639
00:32:12,986 --> 00:32:15,866
Speaker 1: as far as journalism goes with sports media. He had

640
00:32:15,906 --> 00:32:18,426
Speaker 1: a take that he thought ratings might take a real

641
00:32:18,506 --> 00:32:20,706
Speaker 1: dip because there's going to be such a fervor around

642
00:32:20,706 --> 00:32:23,746
Speaker 1: the election. We're two weeks in and that hasn't necessarily

643
00:32:23,746 --> 00:32:26,066
Speaker 1: been the case. What's your read on it as we

644
00:32:26,146 --> 00:32:27,386
Speaker 1: head closer to November.

645
00:32:28,026 --> 00:32:32,506
Speaker 3: Yeah, honestly, my read on it is that former President

646
00:32:32,626 --> 00:32:37,746
Speaker 3: Trump has dominated the news cycle and dominated the headlines

647
00:32:38,266 --> 00:32:42,466
Speaker 3: for nine years like no other person in our lifetime

648
00:32:43,426 --> 00:32:47,506
Speaker 3: ever has. And the result of that is that I

649
00:32:47,546 --> 00:32:50,746
Speaker 3: think everybody in the country pretty much has their mind

650
00:32:50,826 --> 00:32:54,546
Speaker 3: made up about one of the major candidates in this election,

651
00:32:54,906 --> 00:32:58,106
Speaker 3: and there's nothing that's going to happen that is going

652
00:32:58,146 --> 00:33:01,546
Speaker 3: to move his supporters off of him, and there's nothing

653
00:33:01,586 --> 00:33:04,266
Speaker 3: that's going to happen that's going to persuade his detractors

654
00:33:04,266 --> 00:33:07,586
Speaker 3: that they actually like him. So everybody's mind is made

655
00:33:07,666 --> 00:33:10,626
Speaker 3: up about one of the candidates there's just not that

656
00:33:10,706 --> 00:33:14,426
Speaker 3: much persuasion to be done, and the news stories from

657
00:33:14,466 --> 00:33:16,626
Speaker 3: the campaign aren't hitting in the same way. And what

658
00:33:16,666 --> 00:33:19,666
Speaker 3: we're seeing in cable news ratings is that, yeah, they're

659
00:33:19,746 --> 00:33:21,786
Speaker 3: up a little bit over last year, but if we

660
00:33:21,866 --> 00:33:25,826
Speaker 3: compare them to the last two presidential years, Sunday afternoon

661
00:33:26,026 --> 00:33:29,706
Speaker 3: news ratings are down versus twenty twenty. They're down even

662
00:33:29,746 --> 00:33:33,066
Speaker 3: by a little bit more versus twenty sixteen. The campaign

663
00:33:33,186 --> 00:33:36,466
Speaker 3: just isn't having the same impact that it did four

664
00:33:36,626 --> 00:33:39,186
Speaker 3: eight years ago. And I think what we're going to

665
00:33:39,266 --> 00:33:42,586
Speaker 3: see for the next seven weeks, honestly, is that Fox

666
00:33:42,626 --> 00:33:46,626
Speaker 3: and every other network that's heavily invested in football is

667
00:33:46,666 --> 00:33:49,746
Speaker 3: going to make a ton of money selling political advertising

668
00:33:50,506 --> 00:33:53,986
Speaker 3: without the downside of any negative impact to our viewership.

669
00:33:54,066 --> 00:33:55,786
Speaker 3: So I think it's all upside for us on the

670
00:33:55,826 --> 00:33:58,906
Speaker 3: advertising side, and we're not really seeing any negative impact

671
00:33:58,946 --> 00:33:59,666
Speaker 3: to the viewership.

672
00:33:59,986 --> 00:34:00,906
Speaker 2: Dude, fascinating.

673
00:34:00,946 --> 00:34:03,666
Speaker 1: So I have a friend who works in local syndication sales,

674
00:34:03,666 --> 00:34:06,026
Speaker 1: and he said the greatest thing that happened to them

675
00:34:06,066 --> 00:34:09,906
Speaker 1: was buy In dropping out and Kamala entering the fray,

676
00:34:09,946 --> 00:34:12,906
Speaker 1: because suddenly there was a whole new host of ads

677
00:34:12,906 --> 00:34:14,186
Speaker 1: that they can run and they're going to sell all

678
00:34:14,186 --> 00:34:16,426
Speaker 1: these different ads, so you don't think of those things

679
00:34:16,426 --> 00:34:17,986
Speaker 1: that you're just a consumer of television.

680
00:34:19,106 --> 00:34:21,706
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's amazing, you know. On the collegiate side, we

681
00:34:21,786 --> 00:34:26,026
Speaker 3: made a decision this year to draft the number one

682
00:34:26,066 --> 00:34:29,186
Speaker 3: game in the Big Ten on November two, so that's

683
00:34:29,226 --> 00:34:32,106
Speaker 3: three days before the presidential election, and when the time comes,

684
00:34:32,146 --> 00:34:35,346
Speaker 3: we'll be able to choose between Ohio State, Penn State,

685
00:34:35,906 --> 00:34:39,746
Speaker 3: or Oregon Michigan. We used a very high draft pick,

686
00:34:39,786 --> 00:34:42,386
Speaker 3: so the Big Ten games are assigned via a draft

687
00:34:42,506 --> 00:34:43,746
Speaker 3: rather than the conference asign.

688
00:34:43,866 --> 00:34:46,386
Speaker 2: Also very cool to picture. Is that televised? Why is

689
00:34:46,426 --> 00:34:46,666
Speaker 2: it not?

690
00:34:47,866 --> 00:34:51,066
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a fun process. Probably not as good of

691
00:34:51,066 --> 00:34:54,146
Speaker 3: a TV product because you might think, but it is

692
00:34:54,186 --> 00:34:57,426
Speaker 3: a fun thing to participate in. A big reason that

693
00:34:57,466 --> 00:35:00,226
Speaker 3: we took that date as high as we did was

694
00:35:00,306 --> 00:35:02,826
Speaker 3: because of the election and because of the campaign money

695
00:35:02,826 --> 00:35:04,866
Speaker 3: that's going to be flowing into our business in the

696
00:35:04,946 --> 00:35:07,906
Speaker 3: days leading up to election day. You know, we wanted

697
00:35:07,946 --> 00:35:10,666
Speaker 3: to make sure that we had an opportunity to not

698
00:35:10,826 --> 00:35:14,306
Speaker 3: just have a great game, but have Penn State coming

699
00:35:14,346 --> 00:35:17,826
Speaker 3: from probably the decisive state in this election, just a

700
00:35:17,866 --> 00:35:20,866
Speaker 3: couple of days before everybody goes to the polls, so

701
00:35:21,106 --> 00:35:25,746
Speaker 3: those campaign considerations do play a part in us deciding

702
00:35:25,786 --> 00:35:27,146
Speaker 3: what games we really want to have.

703
00:35:27,946 --> 00:35:30,826
Speaker 1: So interesting, So a couple of years ago we had

704
00:35:31,706 --> 00:35:35,386
Speaker 1: the Arrabias. Last year we had the craziest Thanksgiving slate

705
00:35:35,466 --> 00:35:38,626
Speaker 1: you could imagine. We had a great game on Thursday,

706
00:35:38,706 --> 00:35:40,866
Speaker 1: we had Ohio State Michigan. On Saturday, we had an

707
00:35:40,866 --> 00:35:44,226
Speaker 1: incredible game on Sunday. What's this year's Thanksgiving weekend looking like?

708
00:35:44,306 --> 00:35:44,786
Speaker 2: On Fox?

709
00:35:45,466 --> 00:35:48,226
Speaker 3: So the Thanksgiving game is Giants Dallas, which we had

710
00:35:48,266 --> 00:35:51,026
Speaker 3: that game two years ago and it did forty two

711
00:35:51,026 --> 00:35:53,866
Speaker 3: million viewers to the most watched NFL regular season game

712
00:35:54,026 --> 00:35:56,346
Speaker 3: in history. Not sure the Giants are going to be

713
00:35:56,346 --> 00:35:58,826
Speaker 3: as strong by Thanksgiving this year as they were two

714
00:35:58,906 --> 00:36:02,186
Speaker 3: years ago, but that's kind of a bulletproof window, right,

715
00:36:02,226 --> 00:36:06,706
Speaker 3: no matter what the matchup is. The Thanksgiving game Troit

716
00:36:06,786 --> 00:36:09,706
Speaker 3: game more now than ever, and the Dallas game has

717
00:36:09,746 --> 00:36:13,666
Speaker 3: always been part of everybody's Thanksgiving celebration, but it's just

718
00:36:13,706 --> 00:36:16,226
Speaker 3: a part of the holiday. So you know you're going

719
00:36:16,266 --> 00:36:18,266
Speaker 3: to do a gigantic number. You're going to draw in

720
00:36:18,306 --> 00:36:22,026
Speaker 3: people who don't necessarily watch the NFL every week, and

721
00:36:22,066 --> 00:36:24,506
Speaker 3: you have a high level of confidence that having that

722
00:36:24,626 --> 00:36:27,546
Speaker 3: late afternoon game on Thanksgiving is going to be the

723
00:36:27,546 --> 00:36:30,746
Speaker 3: most watched game of the entire season. Saturday, we have

724
00:36:30,786 --> 00:36:34,866
Speaker 3: Ohio State Michigan. Michigan obviously already has one in the

725
00:36:34,906 --> 00:36:37,786
Speaker 3: lost column, but because we've now gone to a twelve

726
00:36:37,786 --> 00:36:40,546
Speaker 3: team playoff on the collegiate side, I think that Ohio

727
00:36:40,586 --> 00:36:43,706
Speaker 3: State Michigan game is still absolutely very meaningful when we

728
00:36:43,706 --> 00:36:46,146
Speaker 3: get to the last weekend of the year. We just

729
00:36:46,226 --> 00:36:49,346
Speaker 3: now have opened up Friday nights for college football on Fox.

730
00:36:49,386 --> 00:36:51,386
Speaker 3: We had a good premiere last week. I think we're

731
00:36:51,386 --> 00:36:53,946
Speaker 3: going to be even a little bit better this coming Friday.

732
00:36:54,306 --> 00:36:57,226
Speaker 3: And when we get to Thanksgiving weekend, we're going to

733
00:36:57,266 --> 00:37:01,026
Speaker 3: have Utah in the Friday night window. That's a game

734
00:37:01,066 --> 00:37:03,586
Speaker 3: that I think will either be to lock up a

735
00:37:03,626 --> 00:37:08,106
Speaker 3: playoff spot or potentially Utah look to put themselves in

736
00:37:08,146 --> 00:37:11,026
Speaker 3: position for a buy in the playoffs. So we like

737
00:37:11,066 --> 00:37:13,666
Speaker 3: what we have for Friday. And then the doubleheader that

738
00:37:13,786 --> 00:37:17,506
Speaker 3: Sunday sits with CBS, so they'll probably have there's no

739
00:37:17,586 --> 00:37:19,906
Speaker 3: probably about it. They certainly will have a bigger audience

740
00:37:19,946 --> 00:37:23,506
Speaker 3: on Thanksgiving Sunday than we will. But we have Seattle

741
00:37:23,586 --> 00:37:26,826
Speaker 3: Jets as probably our League game for the single header,

742
00:37:27,266 --> 00:37:30,106
Speaker 3: so it's a great four days of football. And I

743
00:37:30,146 --> 00:37:33,106
Speaker 3: think what we like is that in opening up that

744
00:37:33,186 --> 00:37:35,746
Speaker 3: Friday night and using it now as a college football

745
00:37:36,146 --> 00:37:40,626
Speaker 3: showcase window, we want to try to create circumstances where

746
00:37:41,026 --> 00:37:44,066
Speaker 3: football just takes over television five nights a week. Right,

747
00:37:44,466 --> 00:37:46,466
Speaker 3: the Amazon game is always going to be the most

748
00:37:46,506 --> 00:37:49,826
Speaker 3: watch show on Thursdays. We want our Friday night college

749
00:37:49,866 --> 00:37:54,146
Speaker 3: game to regularly win Friday nights, Saturday and Sunday are

750
00:37:54,146 --> 00:37:56,746
Speaker 3: taken over by football as they always have been, and

751
00:37:56,786 --> 00:37:59,386
Speaker 3: then Disney's going to control Monday Night. And we want

752
00:37:59,386 --> 00:38:02,266
Speaker 3: to give fans an opportunity to just be completely immersed

753
00:38:02,266 --> 00:38:05,026
Speaker 3: in football five days a week, all through the fall.

754
00:38:05,386 --> 00:38:05,986
Speaker 2: And we are.

755
00:38:06,426 --> 00:38:09,346
Speaker 1: And I've got a couple last question. This is actually

756
00:38:09,386 --> 00:38:11,986
Speaker 1: an incredible interview, and I think it's just like behind

757
00:38:12,026 --> 00:38:15,106
Speaker 1: the curtain for so many diehard NFL fans who obsess

758
00:38:15,186 --> 00:38:18,666
Speaker 1: over which broadcasters are calling their games, what channel is

759
00:38:18,666 --> 00:38:20,746
Speaker 1: it going to be on, and when is the game

760
00:38:20,786 --> 00:38:22,386
Speaker 1: and it's like, oh, there's there's a math and a

761
00:38:22,466 --> 00:38:26,026
Speaker 1: science behind all this. Last week it was the only

762
00:38:26,066 --> 00:38:28,186
Speaker 1: time this week. We're gonna this season, We're gonna get

763
00:38:28,186 --> 00:38:30,786
Speaker 1: this and Scott Hansen at Red Zone was having a

764
00:38:30,786 --> 00:38:33,466
Speaker 1: field day with the Decca Box. But there was ten

765
00:38:33,546 --> 00:38:36,106
Speaker 1: different games in that early window, and there were fans

766
00:38:36,146 --> 00:38:37,386
Speaker 1: of it who loved it.

767
00:38:37,426 --> 00:38:38,746
Speaker 2: To me, as a.

768
00:38:38,706 --> 00:38:41,066
Speaker 1: Consumer, it was too much like I like to spread

769
00:38:41,106 --> 00:38:42,866
Speaker 1: them out a little bit as a network.

770
00:38:43,346 --> 00:38:45,506
Speaker 2: Is there an advantage to that a disadvantage of that?

771
00:38:45,586 --> 00:38:48,866
Speaker 1: And I know CBS had that four o'clock window, really

772
00:38:49,266 --> 00:38:51,786
Speaker 1: and we had a couple of games on Fox unfortunately

773
00:38:51,786 --> 00:38:53,266
Speaker 1: the Rams and Cardinals was a blowout.

774
00:38:53,306 --> 00:38:55,106
Speaker 2: But like, what do you view it as.

775
00:38:55,026 --> 00:38:57,186
Speaker 1: As as someone who's an executive who looks at this

776
00:38:57,226 --> 00:38:58,186
Speaker 1: stuff for a living.

777
00:38:58,706 --> 00:39:01,066
Speaker 3: We love it. I wish it was like that every week?

778
00:39:01,146 --> 00:39:01,746
Speaker 2: Talk about it?

779
00:39:01,786 --> 00:39:02,026
Speaker 3: Why?

780
00:39:02,226 --> 00:39:02,466
Speaker 2: Why?

781
00:39:02,666 --> 00:39:06,346
Speaker 3: Okay? So the reason we love it is that the

782
00:39:06,626 --> 00:39:10,066
Speaker 3: number of fans that are watching via Sunday Ticket or

783
00:39:10,266 --> 00:39:13,546
Speaker 3: via red Zone or Game Day on NFL network, that's

784
00:39:13,586 --> 00:39:17,626
Speaker 3: a relatively small number of people right probably fewer than

785
00:39:17,706 --> 00:39:20,146
Speaker 3: ten percent of all viewers are watching in one of

786
00:39:20,186 --> 00:39:23,506
Speaker 3: those ways. For the most part, people are just turning

787
00:39:23,546 --> 00:39:27,346
Speaker 3: on their local Fox affiliate, their local CBS affiliate. They're

788
00:39:27,386 --> 00:39:29,746
Speaker 3: watching the NFL in the same way that they did

789
00:39:29,826 --> 00:39:32,746
Speaker 3: thirty or forty years ago. That's the majority of our audience.

790
00:39:33,306 --> 00:39:36,066
Speaker 3: So if mostly they're going to be watching on their

791
00:39:36,146 --> 00:39:39,506
Speaker 3: local TV stations, we kind of want to set up

792
00:39:39,906 --> 00:39:43,666
Speaker 3: a model where, for the most part, people are going

793
00:39:43,706 --> 00:39:46,666
Speaker 3: to get their local team at one o'clock, and then

794
00:39:46,666 --> 00:39:49,106
Speaker 3: they're going to get a big game at four twenty

795
00:39:49,106 --> 00:39:52,266
Speaker 3: five on either Fox or CBS. This week it was

796
00:39:52,266 --> 00:39:55,306
Speaker 3: Cincinnati Kansas City, and then the whole country gets a

797
00:39:55,346 --> 00:39:58,506
Speaker 3: special game in primetime on NBC. If you can have

798
00:39:58,626 --> 00:40:01,266
Speaker 3: that progression of local game it's a big four to

799
00:40:01,306 --> 00:40:04,706
Speaker 3: twenty five game to big primetime game, that's probably the

800
00:40:04,746 --> 00:40:08,306
Speaker 3: best model for the average viewer that's watching on a

801
00:40:08,306 --> 00:40:11,586
Speaker 3: traditional TV station. If you take some of those ten

802
00:40:11,786 --> 00:40:15,186
Speaker 3: one pm games and push them into the late window,

803
00:40:15,866 --> 00:40:18,746
Speaker 3: all that means is that you've got fewer markets that

804
00:40:18,786 --> 00:40:22,426
Speaker 3: are able to see Joe Burrow against Patrick Mahomes at

805
00:40:22,426 --> 00:40:25,746
Speaker 3: four twenty five, right, So we don't want to minimize

806
00:40:25,746 --> 00:40:27,466
Speaker 3: the number of people that can see the big four

807
00:40:27,466 --> 00:40:30,386
Speaker 3: to twenty five game. If my favorite team is playing

808
00:40:30,426 --> 00:40:32,746
Speaker 3: in the league window and I don't get to see Mahomes,

809
00:40:33,066 --> 00:40:35,386
Speaker 3: that means I'm probably getting a game at one o'clock

810
00:40:35,426 --> 00:40:38,386
Speaker 3: that I don't care as much about as I care

811
00:40:38,426 --> 00:40:42,186
Speaker 3: about Burrow versus mahomes, So you're just trying to maximize

812
00:40:42,186 --> 00:40:45,346
Speaker 3: the number of markets where you can go. Twenty local

813
00:40:45,386 --> 00:40:47,746
Speaker 3: teams are playing at one, We're going to get a

814
00:40:47,786 --> 00:40:52,066
Speaker 3: matchup of premium brands and marquee quarterbacks at four twenty five,

815
00:40:52,426 --> 00:40:54,146
Speaker 3: and then you're going to have the whole country focused

816
00:40:54,186 --> 00:40:56,266
Speaker 3: on the NBC game in primetime. That's kind of the

817
00:40:56,266 --> 00:40:58,306
Speaker 3: way that we like to see a play out.

818
00:40:58,786 --> 00:41:00,786
Speaker 1: And it's only one time though this whole season. Now

819
00:41:00,826 --> 00:41:02,386
Speaker 1: there's gonna be bie weeks and all this stuff. Is

820
00:41:02,386 --> 00:41:05,666
Speaker 1: that something where the networks go to the league office

821
00:41:05,666 --> 00:41:07,346
Speaker 1: and say, hey, more of than or is that something

822
00:41:07,386 --> 00:41:09,146
Speaker 1: you guys just sit on your hands and you're just

823
00:41:09,506 --> 00:41:10,386
Speaker 1: you take what you're giving.

824
00:41:11,386 --> 00:41:13,186
Speaker 3: There's not that much we can do about it, right Like,

825
00:41:13,306 --> 00:41:15,346
Speaker 3: everybody's got to have a bye week. I mean, there's

826
00:41:15,386 --> 00:41:18,666
Speaker 3: obviously a player safety consideration in that. So there's nothing

827
00:41:18,746 --> 00:41:21,986
Speaker 3: we can do about the bye weeks. And the league

828
00:41:21,986 --> 00:41:24,026
Speaker 3: has just evolved in such a way that a game

829
00:41:24,106 --> 00:41:27,106
Speaker 3: is now going to Thursday night every week. Sometimes two

830
00:41:27,106 --> 00:41:30,146
Speaker 3: games are going to Monday night. The inventory that's available

831
00:41:30,146 --> 00:41:32,386
Speaker 3: to Sunday afternoon just isn't as much as it used

832
00:41:32,386 --> 00:41:35,426
Speaker 3: to be, so it's pretty rare. As you just said it,

833
00:41:35,426 --> 00:41:37,506
Speaker 3: there's only one time this season that we have this

834
00:41:37,626 --> 00:41:39,866
Speaker 3: many games at one o'clock. And it's just kind of

835
00:41:39,906 --> 00:41:43,186
Speaker 3: a byproduct of the league taking more games from Sunday

836
00:41:43,226 --> 00:41:45,306
Speaker 3: and putting them on Thursday, putting them on Monday, putting

837
00:41:45,306 --> 00:41:48,146
Speaker 3: them in Europe, putting them in Brazil. Right Like, there

838
00:41:48,146 --> 00:41:52,146
Speaker 3: are just more mouths to feed, and it lessens our

839
00:41:52,146 --> 00:41:54,946
Speaker 3: ability to have that many games at one o'clock on

840
00:41:54,986 --> 00:41:55,506
Speaker 3: a Sunday.

841
00:41:56,106 --> 00:41:58,426
Speaker 1: My last question, there's always is like things that pop

842
00:41:58,466 --> 00:42:00,866
Speaker 1: up on Instagram and it's like the Cowboys are Forbes is,

843
00:42:01,346 --> 00:42:04,746
Speaker 1: you know, wealthiest franchise And there was one that came

844
00:42:04,826 --> 00:42:06,026
Speaker 1: up and I don't know this source. I wish I

845
00:42:06,066 --> 00:42:12,066
Speaker 1: had it, but it was like mahomes Kelsey read Swift,

846
00:42:12,586 --> 00:42:15,786
Speaker 1: the Chiefs have overtaken the Cowboys as like the most

847
00:42:15,786 --> 00:42:18,186
Speaker 1: desired or most watched team or the most hated teams

848
00:42:18,186 --> 00:42:18,626
Speaker 1: something like that.

849
00:42:18,866 --> 00:42:21,506
Speaker 2: Let's put Cowboys in Chiefs in one tier.

850
00:42:21,626 --> 00:42:24,466
Speaker 1: As a network executive and as a network one of

851
00:42:24,466 --> 00:42:28,626
Speaker 1: those next tier franchises that garner the biggest audience or

852
00:42:28,706 --> 00:42:31,746
Speaker 1: Google search trends that you've been analyzing, and it doesn't

853
00:42:31,746 --> 00:42:33,106
Speaker 1: have to be one team that's saying, hey, there's a

854
00:42:33,186 --> 00:42:36,746
Speaker 1: number three. What's that next tier of just big brand

855
00:42:37,026 --> 00:42:39,306
Speaker 1: franchises that really touch the entire country.

856
00:42:40,706 --> 00:42:44,066
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say right now, the second tier is

857
00:42:44,546 --> 00:42:50,946
Speaker 3: San Francisco, Okay, Green Bay and Pittsburgh, right intro teams

858
00:42:50,986 --> 00:42:55,946
Speaker 3: with long histories, with very very well established brands, Teams

859
00:42:55,986 --> 00:42:58,986
Speaker 3: that win more than they lose. You know, Pittsburgh, it's

860
00:42:58,986 --> 00:43:01,106
Speaker 3: been a while since they made a deep playoff run,

861
00:43:01,146 --> 00:43:03,306
Speaker 3: but they still win more games than they lose basically

862
00:43:03,346 --> 00:43:05,746
Speaker 3: every season. San Francisco has been knocking on the door

863
00:43:05,746 --> 00:43:08,986
Speaker 3: of a championship for a while. Green Bays had success

864
00:43:09,146 --> 00:43:11,266
Speaker 3: basically for as long as I've been in this job.

865
00:43:11,826 --> 00:43:17,186
Speaker 3: So it's you know, passionate fan base, long history of success,

866
00:43:17,826 --> 00:43:21,706
Speaker 3: and current success, even if that current success isn't necessarily

867
00:43:21,746 --> 00:43:23,986
Speaker 3: at the super Bowl level, but at least at a

868
00:43:24,066 --> 00:43:26,786
Speaker 3: level of being competitive every week and then on that

869
00:43:26,826 --> 00:43:29,106
Speaker 3: top level, as you say, it's Dallas and Kansas City

870
00:43:29,146 --> 00:43:32,266
Speaker 3: have really separated themselves from everybody else thinking about this

871
00:43:32,306 --> 00:43:34,346
Speaker 3: on the way in today. Actually, I don't think there's

872
00:43:34,426 --> 00:43:38,986
Speaker 3: been a team that has as much charisma and personality

873
00:43:39,066 --> 00:43:42,586
Speaker 3: and appeal to casual fans as the Chiefs, probably since

874
00:43:42,626 --> 00:43:44,706
Speaker 3: the eighty five Bears. I don't know if you think

875
00:43:44,706 --> 00:43:47,466
Speaker 3: of one that's had more cultural impacts since then. But

876
00:43:47,506 --> 00:43:50,026
Speaker 3: the difference between the eighty five Bears and the Chiefs

877
00:43:50,426 --> 00:43:52,586
Speaker 3: is that the eighty five Bears blue teams out every

878
00:43:52,586 --> 00:43:55,866
Speaker 3: week and the Chiefs don't do anything but play one possession.

879
00:43:55,386 --> 00:43:56,226
Speaker 2: Games, no doubt.

880
00:43:56,306 --> 00:43:58,266
Speaker 3: And so the difference between the Cowboys and the Chiefs

881
00:43:58,346 --> 00:44:00,706
Speaker 3: right now is that Cowboys have been playing a lot

882
00:44:00,746 --> 00:44:03,186
Speaker 3: of lopsided games both last season in the first two

883
00:44:03,226 --> 00:44:05,226
Speaker 3: weeks of this year, and the Chiefs it seems like

884
00:44:05,266 --> 00:44:06,986
Speaker 3: every time they play it came back, it comes down

885
00:44:07,026 --> 00:44:07,906
Speaker 3: to a last possession.

886
00:44:08,506 --> 00:44:10,666
Speaker 1: I think the term i'd use for the Chiefs is

887
00:44:10,706 --> 00:44:12,066
Speaker 1: cultural zeitgeist.

888
00:44:12,506 --> 00:44:14,026
Speaker 2: There's like four quadrants.

889
00:44:14,106 --> 00:44:17,506
Speaker 1: There's man, there's woman, there's old, there's young, and then

890
00:44:17,746 --> 00:44:20,666
Speaker 1: there's everything you could even talk you know, the Taylor

891
00:44:20,706 --> 00:44:24,146
Speaker 1: Swift element, yes, but there's also like the hardcore football them.

892
00:44:24,026 --> 00:44:25,546
Speaker 2: Chasing history with this three peet.

893
00:44:26,186 --> 00:44:29,306
Speaker 1: I think they hit every piece of the grid, and

894
00:44:29,346 --> 00:44:31,386
Speaker 1: then to your point, they play in these.

895
00:44:31,226 --> 00:44:33,346
Speaker 2: Incredibly dramatic, nail bier games.

896
00:44:33,946 --> 00:44:36,986
Speaker 1: They hit everything, and they're also darn fun to watch

897
00:44:36,986 --> 00:44:38,706
Speaker 1: because they seem like they love playing the sport and

898
00:44:38,706 --> 00:44:39,426
Speaker 1: they love each other.

899
00:44:39,466 --> 00:44:41,346
Speaker 2: I don't know if there's a team that's had.

900
00:44:41,186 --> 00:44:42,946
Speaker 1: So much fun playing football and been so much fun

901
00:44:42,986 --> 00:44:45,626
Speaker 1: to watch over the last three four decades. And the

902
00:44:45,706 --> 00:44:49,546
Speaker 1: sixties Packers predate me, and the seventies Steelers predate me.

903
00:44:49,666 --> 00:44:52,186
Speaker 1: But you're right, I think eighty five Bears with the

904
00:44:52,226 --> 00:44:55,066
Speaker 1: Fridge and McMahon like, I don't know the early nineties Cowboys,

905
00:44:55,106 --> 00:44:57,226
Speaker 1: but that was even just a little window of a

906
00:44:57,266 --> 00:44:58,066
Speaker 1: couple of years, you know.

907
00:44:59,106 --> 00:45:01,586
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just wish that when they played those games

908
00:45:01,626 --> 00:45:04,346
Speaker 3: on CBS at four twenty five, that they blast teams out.

909
00:45:04,386 --> 00:45:06,346
Speaker 3: I'd like to see them win some games by thirty

910
00:45:06,426 --> 00:45:07,346
Speaker 3: on the other network.

911
00:45:07,506 --> 00:45:10,026
Speaker 2: Let's go, dude. I appreciate you coming on.

912
00:45:10,306 --> 00:45:13,866
Speaker 1: If there's any other comments you'd like to make, now

913
00:45:13,946 --> 00:45:15,306
Speaker 1: is your time, because I feel like we have a

914
00:45:15,346 --> 00:45:19,146
Speaker 1: different audience than are usual in the ratings bubble audience

915
00:45:19,186 --> 00:45:21,066
Speaker 1: that we might have anything else you'd want to share

916
00:45:21,106 --> 00:45:24,586
Speaker 1: as far as insights, key learnings, takeaways, or things you

917
00:45:24,586 --> 00:45:26,226
Speaker 1: would watch if you're a fan of the game and

918
00:45:26,266 --> 00:45:28,706
Speaker 1: you haven't looked at it from that analytical vantage point yet.

919
00:45:29,306 --> 00:45:31,226
Speaker 3: No, not really I mean, I think we covered a

920
00:45:31,226 --> 00:45:34,586
Speaker 3: lot of ground. I don't expect the average football fan

921
00:45:34,666 --> 00:45:38,186
Speaker 3: to care about ratings or TV viewership, right. It's only

922
00:45:38,186 --> 00:45:40,706
Speaker 3: interesting to a small percentage of football fans, right, And

923
00:45:40,746 --> 00:45:44,066
Speaker 3: I get that. I think what we want people to

924
00:45:44,186 --> 00:45:47,466
Speaker 3: understand is that the reason the numbers are as powerful

925
00:45:47,506 --> 00:45:50,226
Speaker 3: as they are is because of what we talked about earlier,

926
00:45:50,266 --> 00:45:53,706
Speaker 3: that the NFL really does bring people together. It offers

927
00:45:53,746 --> 00:45:58,106
Speaker 3: a kind of social cohesion and connectivity that nothing else does,

928
00:45:58,346 --> 00:46:01,826
Speaker 3: and that's incredibly valuable. And as a company that tries

929
00:46:01,866 --> 00:46:04,026
Speaker 3: to be a steward of the product, I think all

930
00:46:04,066 --> 00:46:06,666
Speaker 3: of us that try to be stewards of not just

931
00:46:06,706 --> 00:46:08,986
Speaker 3: the NFL but all the sports that we do, we

932
00:46:09,066 --> 00:46:11,786
Speaker 3: really have to be mindful of the idea that what

933
00:46:11,946 --> 00:46:15,626
Speaker 3: makes this whole business work is that we're providing something

934
00:46:15,666 --> 00:46:19,906
Speaker 3: that brings people together and helps people have meaningful connections

935
00:46:19,906 --> 00:46:22,626
Speaker 3: and experiences at a time when those connections are harder

936
00:46:22,626 --> 00:46:24,826
Speaker 3: and harder to come by. So I think, you know,

937
00:46:24,866 --> 00:46:27,746
Speaker 3: we have to think about the game on the field,

938
00:46:27,906 --> 00:46:30,186
Speaker 3: we have to think about player safety. There are so

939
00:46:30,226 --> 00:46:32,266
Speaker 3: many things that we have to have top of mind.

940
00:46:32,786 --> 00:46:34,786
Speaker 3: But I think at the very top of our mind

941
00:46:34,826 --> 00:46:38,186
Speaker 3: has to be the fact that what underlies this whole

942
00:46:38,226 --> 00:46:42,346
Speaker 3: business is the ability of sports to bring people together

943
00:46:42,746 --> 00:46:46,866
Speaker 3: and provide connections that matter and give us shared experiences

944
00:46:46,906 --> 00:46:48,786
Speaker 3: when there are fewer and fewer of them to be had.

945
00:46:48,826 --> 00:46:51,026
Speaker 3: And as long as we sort of have that at

946
00:46:51,026 --> 00:46:53,066
Speaker 3: the forefront of our thinking, I think we're just going

947
00:46:53,146 --> 00:46:54,386
Speaker 3: to continue to be successful.

948
00:46:54,866 --> 00:46:56,666
Speaker 1: Dude, Can I tell you something like just hearing you

949
00:46:56,746 --> 00:47:00,986
Speaker 1: talk that way and what sports brings and this communal feel. Now,

950
00:47:00,986 --> 00:47:03,666
Speaker 1: I go on NFL Network every morning, but those Sundays

951
00:47:04,786 --> 00:47:07,026
Speaker 1: on Fox at eleven a m. And I step on

952
00:47:07,106 --> 00:47:09,546
Speaker 1: there Eastern and I'm with Edelman, and I'm with Vic

953
00:47:09,626 --> 00:47:12,506
Speaker 1: and Carissa and I'm with Woodson, and it's like we

954
00:47:12,546 --> 00:47:14,906
Speaker 1: feel like we're doing TV for each other and we're

955
00:47:14,946 --> 00:47:17,106
Speaker 1: having fun. And Fox lets us do that, which is great.

956
00:47:17,586 --> 00:47:19,666
Speaker 1: But the amount of feedback you get from people who

957
00:47:19,706 --> 00:47:24,426
Speaker 1: aren't necessarily tweeting or live reporting on every word that said,

958
00:47:24,506 --> 00:47:26,986
Speaker 1: like that just watch it because it's comforting. Like I

959
00:47:27,026 --> 00:47:29,266
Speaker 1: think there's something really to that, and I love the

960
00:47:29,266 --> 00:47:31,746
Speaker 1: fact that you embrace that, and I think you're right

961
00:47:31,786 --> 00:47:35,106
Speaker 1: on Sundays, not that this is replacing any you know,

962
00:47:35,666 --> 00:47:38,866
Speaker 1: spiritual or faith based thing, but there is a communal

963
00:47:38,906 --> 00:47:41,306
Speaker 1: feeling that we get on Sundays watching the NFL that

964
00:47:41,386 --> 00:47:43,866
Speaker 1: I don't think we get many other places in society today.

965
00:47:44,786 --> 00:47:46,666
Speaker 3: We don't get it in any other places, and so

966
00:47:46,666 --> 00:47:48,346
Speaker 3: that's what we have to preserve. And you guys get

967
00:47:48,346 --> 00:47:50,386
Speaker 3: to tee it up every Sunday. You're the first voices

968
00:47:50,426 --> 00:47:51,866
Speaker 3: that a lot of people hear when they come to

969
00:47:51,906 --> 00:47:54,386
Speaker 3: the NFL on Sunday, so it's an important way to

970
00:47:54,426 --> 00:47:55,106
Speaker 3: kick off the day.

971
00:47:55,946 --> 00:47:58,666
Speaker 2: Mike. I appreciate you taking the time. You're a busy man.

972
00:47:58,706 --> 00:48:00,666
Speaker 2: This was awesome. We're gonna have you on again.

973
00:48:01,346 --> 00:48:04,346
Speaker 1: I so appreciate it and enjoy that beautiful Los Angeles weather,

974
00:48:04,426 --> 00:48:04,786
Speaker 1: my man.

975
00:48:05,746 --> 00:48:09,306
Speaker 3: Thanks enjoy Brooklyn. We miss it there and happy to

976
00:48:09,306 --> 00:48:11,066
Speaker 3: come back anytime. Love to do it again. Thanks for

977
00:48:11,066 --> 00:48:11,586
Speaker 3: having me on.

978
00:48:12,226 --> 00:48:12,826
Speaker 2: You're the best.

979
00:48:12,986 --> 00:48:18,346
Speaker 1: Mike mulva Hill a purely brilliant, beautiful mind when it

980
00:48:18,386 --> 00:48:20,666
Speaker 1: comes to this stuff. He's the president of Insights and

981
00:48:20,666 --> 00:48:22,066
Speaker 1: Analytics at Fox Sports.

982
00:48:22,386 --> 00:48:38,986
Speaker 4: Guys, more to come on the season After this, I

983
00:48:39,026 --> 00:48:40,386
Speaker 4: thought that was really interesting.

984
00:48:40,426 --> 00:48:43,826
Speaker 1: Mike moulva Hill a great guest, a great colleague at Fox.

985
00:48:45,106 --> 00:48:45,386
Speaker 2: Gosh.

986
00:48:45,426 --> 00:48:47,466
Speaker 1: I got emotional at the end. I got like goosebumps

987
00:48:47,546 --> 00:48:52,066
Speaker 1: him talking about like the congregation of football and we all,

988
00:48:52,506 --> 00:48:55,426
Speaker 1: we all have this one central piece to our weekends,

989
00:48:55,466 --> 00:48:57,026
Speaker 1: and it is watching the NFL.

990
00:48:57,106 --> 00:48:58,946
Speaker 2: And right on, dude, right.

991
00:48:58,786 --> 00:49:02,826
Speaker 1: On, it's time for delivering results. Presented by Uber Eats.

992
00:49:02,946 --> 00:49:06,666
Speaker 1: Each week, I present a team or a player I

993
00:49:06,866 --> 00:49:10,666
Speaker 1: believe deserved the award for delivering results.

994
00:49:10,706 --> 00:49:13,506
Speaker 2: And the player that I would like to shout out

995
00:49:13,506 --> 00:49:19,746
Speaker 2: this week is Raiders rookie brock Bowers. Yeah, brock Bowers talk.

996
00:49:19,986 --> 00:49:23,626
Speaker 1: Brock Bowers leads all tight ends in the NFL through

997
00:49:23,666 --> 00:49:27,466
Speaker 1: two weeks in targets, catches, and and yards.

998
00:49:27,626 --> 00:49:29,986
Speaker 2: And he is a rookie. He's right out of the gates.

999
00:49:30,186 --> 00:49:33,026
Speaker 1: Is it presumptive or too soon for me to say

1000
00:49:33,426 --> 00:49:35,426
Speaker 1: he's already one of the best tight ends in football.

1001
00:49:35,466 --> 00:49:37,746
Speaker 1: Probably there's a good group there and that tight end

1002
00:49:37,826 --> 00:49:41,746
Speaker 1: university every year. But gosh, was brock Bauer's dominant in

1003
00:49:41,786 --> 00:49:45,226
Speaker 1: that game against the Ravens. Nine catches, ninety eight yards

1004
00:49:45,226 --> 00:49:48,186
Speaker 1: on nine targets. Every time Minshoot throw them the ball,

1005
00:49:48,586 --> 00:49:51,266
Speaker 1: he caught the ball and the Raiders came way back

1006
00:49:51,666 --> 00:49:53,946
Speaker 1: from ten points in the fourth quarter to beat a

1007
00:49:54,146 --> 00:49:56,586
Speaker 1: team that was playing in the AFC Championship Game a

1008
00:49:56,666 --> 00:50:00,186
Speaker 1: year ago in their building. Brock Bowers delivered, and he's

1009
00:50:00,226 --> 00:50:03,746
Speaker 1: delivered through two weeks, and that was delivering results presented

1010
00:50:03,746 --> 00:50:06,786
Speaker 1: by Uber Eats, where you can get almost almost anything

1011
00:50:06,826 --> 00:50:10,186
Speaker 1: for game day. It's the official on demand delivery partner

1012
00:50:10,226 --> 00:50:13,746
Speaker 1: of the NFL. Order now presented by uberrets get almost

1013
00:50:13,946 --> 00:50:17,106
Speaker 1: almost anything for a game day. A lot of giorate

1014
00:50:17,346 --> 00:50:20,706
Speaker 1: games up ahead in week three. We've got Saints versus Eagles.

1015
00:50:20,746 --> 00:50:21,386
Speaker 2: I love that one.

1016
00:50:21,426 --> 00:50:25,306
Speaker 1: We've got Cowboys versus Ravens. I love that one. And

1017
00:50:25,346 --> 00:50:28,266
Speaker 1: you got a sneaky Sunday night interesting one with now

1018
00:50:28,266 --> 00:50:33,946
Speaker 1: the suddenly resurgent Falcons playing the Chiefs in Atlanta. Bunch

1019
00:50:33,986 --> 00:50:36,506
Speaker 1: of good games, bunch of good action, and we'll have

1020
00:50:36,986 --> 00:50:40,266
Speaker 1: a bunch of good conversations about it next week. Let's

1021
00:50:40,306 --> 00:50:42,586
Speaker 1: get after it, guys. Thanks for listening to this week's

1022
00:50:42,586 --> 00:50:44,346
Speaker 1: episode of the Season.

1023
00:50:44,146 --> 00:50:44,866
Speaker 2: With Peter Shrake.

1024
00:51:03,226 --> 00:51:05,906
Speaker 1: The Season with Peter Schrager is a production of the

1025
00:51:06,026 --> 00:51:10,066
Speaker 1: NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

1026
00:51:10,106 --> 00:51:14,986
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.