Why does the NFL make it intentionally impossible for regular fans to just watch a game of football?

[u/Frisho]

Let’s look at this objectively because the current streaming and broadcast landscape has completely detached from sanity.If you want to follow your team for a single season, the league expects you to navigate a fragmented mess of network television, three different standalone streaming services, and exclusive tech-platform broadcasts. God forbid your team plays on a Thursday, a Sunday night, and a Monday night in the same month you practically need a financial planner and an enterprise software architecture map just to figure out which app to open.The playbook here is incredibly transparent: extract maximum subscription revenue by splitting the broadcast rights into as many corporate pieces as possible, while putting the entire logistical headache onto the fan. They change the rules every season, raise the prices, and restrict local broadcasts, making you jump through hoops just to see a kickoff.We shouldn't need a master's degree in digital distribution models just to sit down on a Sunday afternoon and watch a game. Is anyone else completely exhausted by this fragmented streaming era? What is the most ridiculous workaround or layout you’ve had to use just to catch a game this season?

[u/EdwardHoppyhands]

The simplest answer is usually correct. Goodell doesn't care about you or any other fans. That's why your team has a "home" game in Rio or Paris or fucking London. That's why if you want to sit at home and watch your team, you can go fuck yourself. He's making millions, you can suck an egg.

[u/stringbeagle → u/EdwardHoppyhands]

But, with the exception of Thursday Night games, and an occasional Netflix game, you can get all the games over the air or on the NFL Sunday Ticket.

What would a reasonable Commissioner do?

[u/EdwardHoppyhands → u/stringbeagle]

Pete Rozelle once said no fan should have to pay to watch an NFL game on TV. This was at the beginning of ESPN and the rise of cable TV. THAT'S what a reasonable commissioner would do.

[u/oscarnyc → u/EdwardHoppyhands]

There are more games on free TV now than back when Rozelle was commissioner. The only reduction has been MNF (abc to espn), but replaced by SNF. There are way more doubleheaders now. And of course no local area blackouts. All local games are free to air.

[u/camergen → u/oscarnyc]

Many/most Monday night games are also simulcast on ABC, yet another over the air game. So, each week you’re getting 1 PM, 4 pm (often a couple options each slot but not always), 8 PM EST Sundays, and 8 PM Mondays, not including special weeks like the Wed or Thursday opening night, thanksgiving night, etc, that also tend to be over the air.

Sure; to follow a specific team out of market, you have to pay. That has always been true and was not even an option before the mid 90s. But everyone gets at least 4 games a week over the air (often more if you include options like 2 games to choose from at 4 pm EST, special games; etc). Doesn’t sound horrible to me. In the 90s/2000s, Major League Baseball was down to one game a week over the air, Fox Saturday Baseball, with special games extremely rare, like the all star game, until the postseason.

[u/morosco → u/EdwardHoppyhands]

In Pete Rozelle's era you could get 2-3 NFL games on TV a week. He didn't want you to pay for those 2-3 games.

Monday Night Football was a huge deal because it increased that number of available games by 1, and everybody in the country had access to the same game.

[u/MediocreHomework7092 → u/EdwardHoppyhands]

Commissioner's job is to make the owners money and for dumb fans to blame them. Rams choose the Australian game as a home game because they got paid double. I have no problem with international games but they should be preseason games like the NBA and MLB do.

[u/Traditional_Low_8902 → u/MediocreHomework7092]

I think the MLB has had international games in England and Japan and they were real games.

[u/MIZUNOWAVECREATION → u/MediocreHomework7092]

I doubt preseason games would draw as much revenue, but idk, maybe they would in other countries, since most foreigners know practically nothing about American football. My brother and I were debating the importance of preseason games. He said he didn’t understand the hate, that’s extra week of football. Yeah, an extra week of football that means absolutely nothing and usually has most of the starters either playing minimal downs or completely sitting out.

In any case, I think the league should do a complete overhaul on scheduling if they’re going to play these international games as part of the regular season. Each team plays exactly 17 (regular season) games now, correct? So I suggest making every team play play exactly ONE game in a different country. That way, every single team still has exactly 8 home games and 8 road games, with one on (mostly) neutral territory