Falcons Biz

Perhaps the best barometer of a sport’s popularity in the U.S. are the ubiquitous television ratings, reported by The Nielsen Company. In an age where entertainment becomes increasingly fragmented across the long-tail and an individual’s time is more precious than gold, aggregate audiences and time-slot dominance have gone the way of stirrup pants and stone-washed jeans.

With a few exceptions.

The National Football League is one of the handful of products that still attracts huge audiences in real-time, a fact that has helped it garner the most expensive television rights deal for not only every American sport, but also every American entertainment property. In a word, the NFL is big business. And at the halfway point of the current season, its proverbial stock is navigating some record territory, along with that of our very own Falcons.

Did you know the second most-watched sporting event since Super Bowl XLIII was the October 25 tilt between the Cowboys and Falcons? Over 28.4 million Fox Television viewers witnessed the Falcons’ first-ever trek to Jerry World. The game was surpassed only by the November 1 Vikings-Packers Lambeau Favre Fest, which drew 29.8 million viewers.

Some more mid-season takeaways:

• An average of more than 17 million viewers watches each NFL game on television – the highest viewership at this point in a season in 20 years.
• Each of the three networks televising NFL games has shown an increase in viewership vs. 2008.
• NFL telecasts are averaging more than double the viewership of the combined average of non-NFL primetime programming on the big four broadcast networks since the beginning of the NFL season (8.3 million viewers on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC).
• The NFL 4:15 PM Sunday national game on CBS and FOX is averaging a combined 23.5 million viewers (up six percent from last year) – making the 4:15 PM window on the two networks the most-watched program on all of television this season.
• NBC Sunday Night Football is the most-watched show in primetime since the NFL season began with an average of 19.5 million viewers (up 22 percent from last year).
• ESPN Monday Night Football is the most-watched show on cable this TV season with an average of 14.6 million viewers (up 18 percent from last year).
• NFL games account for the top six and eight of the 10 most-watched sporting events since Super Bowl XLIII.

Given the country’s current economic climate and scarcity of discretionary entertainment dollars, the participation – both through the broadcast airwaves and game attendance – is surely encouraging. It’s certainly come a long way since the short-lived DuMont Television Network paid the NFL a paltry $75,000 to televise the 1951 NFL Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns – the first coast-to-coast broadcast of an NFL game.

I’ll check back soon with some notable Falcons-related television and radio numbers…turns out the Falcons are ascending to unprecedented heights this year on the airwaves.

Fans, Television

Almost exactly 365 days ago, the home game against Chicago served as a fulcrum on which a magical season hinged. The final 18 seconds of last year’s affair remains the single most indelible memory from the ‘08 campaign.

This year these two teams meet in the same place, but this time under the glare of the national spotlight. It’s Football Night in America, and it represents an enormous responsibility: for Coach Smith’s 3-1 squad, to be sure, but also for Falcons loyalists who will both create and revel in the electric atmosphere throughout Sunday night’s game.

A raucous, deafening Dome and a Falcons victory are more reciprocal than you may think. And John Abraham makes no bones about it: you have work to do.

2009, Defend the Dome, Ford, Georgia Dome, John Abraham

I’ve been involved in some incredibly innovative (and some downright bizarre) sponsorship activations during my decade and a half as a sports marketing professional.

But sometimes the best promotions are elegant in their simplicity. And nothing says elegant on a Monday evening during the football season better than a large pizza with the works.

The Falcons’ partnership with Papa John’s, Touchdowns for Toppings, is pretty straight-forward. When Matt Ryan and Co. score touchdowns each week of the season, Papa John’s Pizza in the Atlanta and Macon markets turn those touchdowns into a great value for the end user – the pizza aficionado. You start with a $9.99 cheese pizza. For every touchdown the Falcons score, you add a topping.

So when the Falcons started collecting touchdowns the way Jessica Simpson collects boyfriends, you know the folks at Atlanta and Macon Papa John’s locations got on the horn with their pepperoni supplier. By halftime, the Falcons had already notched 5 touchdowns, adding a sixth in the second half on Matt Ryan’s nifty naked bootleg to the pylon.

So a good deal just became the best deal thus far this season, and tonight all your rowdy friends can order a large cheese pizza for ten bucks, with six free toppings.

Here’s the who, what, when, where and why: Papa John’s-Falcons Touchdowns for Toppings | Find Atlanta and Macon Store Locations

And by the way, I’ll be checking in frequently to highlight Falcons partnerships, programs and marketing-related events and issues in hopes of providing some unique insight into the dramatically-changing universe of pro sports marketing.

2009, Gameday, Papa John's