bluedog
December 26th, 2014, 10:37 AM
Bowl game attendance on decline but TV interest grows (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/12/25/college-football-bowl-games-attendance-bahamas-camellia-espn/20896969/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-QYzIfTOZ0k6e2godPa_Bpw)
Sometime in the next several years, the powerful overlords of college football finally might decide they've seen enough.
To heck with ticket sales, they might say. Instead of struggling to draw crowds to stadiums, why not just stage some of their postseason bowl games in mammoth television studios?
Even a live studio audience would be optional. All they'd really need is a network to televise the games and sponsors to buy in.
"I don't think it's totally crazy," said AJ Maestas, president of Navigate Research, a marketing research firm that works with several television networks.
It's not totally crazy because college football continues to creep in that direction, with small crowds showing up to watch more lower-tier games, all driven by television viewership.
In 1995-96, there were 18 bowl games. Now there are 38, plus a national championship game — four more bowls than last season, including two at stadiums that seat just 25,000 and 15,000. Next year, bowl organizers are set to add another new lower-tier game that might be fortunate to draw more than 25,000 fans.
Sometime in the next several years, the powerful overlords of college football finally might decide they've seen enough.
To heck with ticket sales, they might say. Instead of struggling to draw crowds to stadiums, why not just stage some of their postseason bowl games in mammoth television studios?
Even a live studio audience would be optional. All they'd really need is a network to televise the games and sponsors to buy in.
"I don't think it's totally crazy," said AJ Maestas, president of Navigate Research, a marketing research firm that works with several television networks.
It's not totally crazy because college football continues to creep in that direction, with small crowds showing up to watch more lower-tier games, all driven by television viewership.
In 1995-96, there were 18 bowl games. Now there are 38, plus a national championship game — four more bowls than last season, including two at stadiums that seat just 25,000 and 15,000. Next year, bowl organizers are set to add another new lower-tier game that might be fortunate to draw more than 25,000 fans.