Late Monday afternoon Channel Seven announced that they would be showing 14 of the San Francisco 49ers’ 16 NFL games on 7Mate this season.
Exclusive rights to the other two matches are already held by ESPN. This means that 2015 will well and truly be the year of Jarryd Hayne.
Personally, I hate this. Nothing against Hayne but as a long-time NFL fan and someone who doesn’t like the 49ers, never have and never will, I don’t want to watch them play every week.
Yes, I want to watch my team but I also want to watch a wide variety of teams playing each week. This is the attitude of the thousands of long-time NFL fans who for the past five, six, seven, fifteen, thirty years have woken up at 3am or 5am on a Monday morning and watched a sport they love.
These guys all have their own team and even many of those who are existing fans of the 49ers think it’s a bad move.
Even the NFL thinks it’s a bad move. Just hours before the announcement was made, NFL executive vice-president of international Mark Waller said:
“Part of our charter as NFL international is to represent all 32 teams equally. So the idea of having a specific broadcaster show all of one team’s games might not sit well with the other 31.”
It is not fair on the other 31 teams if one team is being shown every week and it’s not fair on their fans.
While I’m not happy with the decision I can see why Channel Seven has made this move. The hype surrounding Jarryd Hayne has been unlike anything I can remember in recent years.
Fox Sports has provided us with almost an hourly update every single day of his journey. Fairfax Media has published endless amounts of Hayne-related articles. Rugby league talk shows on both Channel Nine and Fox Sports have devoted significant amounts of time talking about Hayne and his NFL adventure.
The reason for this is clear; fans can’t get enough of the Hayne Plane.
It’s an incredible story, the battler from Western Sydney who threw away millions in order to chase a dream playing a foreign sport in a foreign country. The hardships he’s endured along the way, the doubters, the backlash.
And then there are the highlight reels of pre-season plays. The Sportscenter Top Ten appearances, the incredible jersey sales, the punt returns and the footwork. It’s been a perfect storm not only for Hayne but also for the media. Everything about this story has been portrayed in a compelling manner.
And while Hayne fatigue may be starting the set in, the proof is in the numbers. The Sydney Morning Herald refused to reveal exact readership numbers to me but they did state that some of Hayne’s articles have been among their most read stories over the past month. Not most read sports stories, but on the entire website.
Clearly people are interested in the Hayne story and Channel Seven is attempting to tap into the market that is evidently there. But the network must temper their ratings expectations. I believe that the first few games will rate highly, although it’s hard to see many getting out of bed at 3am to watch the 49ers’ week two game against the Steelers.
The games will rate highly because people will be interested in watching Hayne play in a live NFL game. But I’m very concerned that these high ratings will not last.
The fact is, Hayne will get very few, if any, snaps as a running back. We don’t know for sure but it looks as though he will be the starting punt returner for the 49ers, that’s around five snaps a game returning punts. He will probably get a few plays in the 49ers’ punt and kick coverage units, making tackles after his team kicks off or punts the ball away, give or take around 10 plays there.
I can’t see hundreds of thousands of people being willing to sit through three hours of ads and Colin Kaepernick getting sacked just to watch 30 seconds of Hayne. Even if Hayne is returning punts for touchdowns on a regular basis I feel most casual fans, the newbies to the sport, will be willing to just wait for Fox Sports to post the two-minute highlights video once the game is complete after the first few weeks.
Let’s face it, the 49ers are not expected to be very good this year. NFL expert Bill Barnwell at Grantland predicts the 49ers to be among the eight worse teams in the league. Barnwell doesn’t make such a statement without the numbers backing it up and he rarely gets it wrong. If the 49ers are losing there will be even less desire for casual fans to tune in and watch Hayne lose.
The long-time fans definitely won’t be watching because unless their team is playing San Francisco they will be either watching their team on NFL Gamepass or NFL Redzone on ESPN, which shows every Sunday afternoon game and every touchdown in those games, with no ads.
That’s right, no ads. NFL Redzone is six and a half hours of ad-free NFL action and is actually the perfect introduction to the sport for the fan that isn’t willing to sit through five commercial breaks a quarter, plus breaks between quarters.
But who knows, San Francisco might turn out to be unexpectedly good. Barnwell may be wrong. NaVorro Bowman’s return may inspire the defence to return to their previously great levels. The offensive line may keep Kaepernick on his feet long enough to allow him to tear apart opposition defences with both his arm and his feet.
And Hayne may get a number of snaps as a running back. Channel Seven‘s gamble will have paid off and thousands of Australians will now be genuine fans of the 49ers. I’ve been wrong before, who’s to say I won’t be wrong again?
Pauli maul
Guest
This journalist and I use that term loosely just answered his own question. On one hand, he says it's not fair to show games featuring the team jarryd Hayne plays for, then he says interest in jarryd Hayne is unprecedented. Hey Einstein, channel 7 is only catering to demand, it's economics. I don't think Australia wants to watch Andrew luck or jameis Winston run around every week. Get espn and stop crying
144
Roar Guru
which is good, as long as you are interested in getting into the game. Sure it would be easier to grab foxtel but free-to-air television needs to improve in sporting coverage across the networks. I know Channel 7 is predominantly AFL based and i am actually very surprised that they have decided to televise american sports.
MJ
Guest
On another site I've made some predictions on what games will be shown (won't be set in stone, especially if NBC invokes flex scheduling for Sunday Night later in the season). Usual suspect teams I think will get most of the slots (Broncos, Cowboys, Giants, Packers, Eagles, Seahawks) with a fleeting appearance from others (Chiefs @ Chargers is a Sunday Night game for example, we may get one of the London games which for my sake hopefully is Jets @ Dolphins being a Fish Fan, Browns even get a look once given they play the niners in Wk 14).
Worlds Biggest
Guest
I used to love Don Lane doing the weekly wrap up on ABC I think it was, loved his energy. He also did the Super Bowl party. For those 49er haters out there, Foxtel are still doing good deals. $50 per month no contract.
Nate
Guest
I can't understand all those commenters across various articles who seem to think NFL is new to Australian TV screens. Don Lane would be rolling over in his grave!
13th Man
Guest
Tbh as an Australian that doesn't really watch much NFL I am only really interested in how Jarryd Hayne plays but I feel for others that are actual NFL fans. I imagine most will be live streaming I guess.
Simoc
Guest
You seem to be way out of touch with main stream viewers. The thing is many will take up viewing the game, grid iron as we know it and it will be far better known in Australia than League will ever be anywhere outside NSW and Queensland. I doubt most people know many teams in the NFL but that will change gradually. This is a first for free to air and fta sports days are numbered with the advent of netflix and others with in about five years.
josh
Roar Rookie
So about the other 2 games 7mate will show?
Christian D'Aloia
Roar Guru
I follow the Giants too and I'm trying to get into the sport more this year, but because I don't have NFL gamepass or Foxtel, I'm probably going to end up knowing more about the 49ers.
Stevo
Guest
A battler from western Sydney throwing away millions you say? I think it would be fairly easy to argue that Jarryd Hayne is hardly a battler, its very easy to make the argument he is already a millionaire footballer long before he ventured to the NFL. Anyhow I wont be watching the 49ers, they aren't the team I follow. I will watch any Hayne highlights at any time of my choosing after they are uploaded on the net on any of hundreds of sites. Certainly wont be dragging my butt out of bed at 3 am just in case he gets on the field for a few seconds.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
yep, one eye on gamepass, one on red zone
Super-Human
Guest
The only good way to watch NFL is with gamepass - though it is a complete ripoff (damn the day they took away free access in NZ). TV is a total chore. The second best way is to pirate replays. I don't know what the coverage is like in Aus, but in NZ it's terrible. League fans watch a game that requires little patience. NFL requires a lot when watching it live. They would be better off with cut replays or just showing redzone. The game plays for about half an hour, the coverage last about three plus hours. The best cuts are 2 hour cuts, pretty much the game with commentary and no adverts in between. I can't see this working live. Go Hawks! (You chose the wrong team Hayne lol)
glen
Guest
Most Ametican Football fans will have Foxtel anyway so what Ch 7 plays doesn't really matter. It's good for those jumpung on tbe bandwagon. Everyone else should get foxtel or the Apple app.
144
Roar Guru
i said i wanted to get into NFL more this year, after reently deciding to follow the New York Giants, i think showing NFL matches and even if it's just Jarrad Hayne is a great opportunity for those people with free-to-air TV.
Happy Feet
Guest
But the people who have no real interest in the NFL and have just hopped on the Jarryd Hayne bandwagon do want to see him and the 49's And without a doubt those people would outnumber the rusted on NFL fans in Australia by quite a considerable margin. Its just a case of simple economics and the whingeing of the diehards won't change that. And saying he won't get much field match time doesn't make it so. After all your probably one of the people who said he wouldn't make it in the first place And if you're that big of a fan of the NFL, wouldn't you pay to be streaming it?
Worlds Biggest
Guest
As a Niners fan I think it's great, more new fans getting on board the better ! Of course this year is going to be challenging to say the least, when you lose your Head Coach and a dozen quality players, that would decimate most teams. Not expecting any more than 6 or 7 wins this season at best.
SM
Guest
This is just a continuation of Channel 7's long held policy of burying any code that isn't AFL. All the better with Hayne being former League bloke. Fortunately, in these modern times, there are other avenues to get access to top quality sport, so rusted-on NFL fans won't be affected.
Simmo
Guest
Amazing how the HYPE feeds the desperate. Nothing against Hayne, good luck to him. I wish Ch 7 had shown the same dedication when they had the rugby rights.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
They have 5 early matches
GD66
Guest
As soon as 7 figure out their appalling ratings grab is a dud they will delay or reschedule the games, then drop them entirely long before the season is over. They have shown no previous inclination to cover NRL, NFL, Jarryd Hayne or anything other than AFL, and they will come unstuck because habitual 7 watchers have no interest in the sport, let alone the unsuitable timeslot. Again, my pick is they won't complete the season. Glad to see Hayne having a crack at it though, good on him.