Some broadcasting notes from the NFL’s Week 1:
1. So who had Bill Belichick having more broadcasting jobs than Ryan Seacrest? But there was Belichick on ESPN2 Monday night, playing the role of Charles Grodin to Peyton and Eli Manning’s David Letterman. His first-half spot during the New York Jets–San Francisco 49ers game was his debut as a permanent guest on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli” — and it was excellent. The former Patriots head coach also has gigs with ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” the CW’s “Inside the NFL,” a 30-minute show with Peyton Manning on ESPN+, SiriusXM’s “Let’s Go!” show and a lead spot on “Coach with Bill Belichick,” a weekly football analysis show for Underdog Fantasy.
What was evident on Monday and what has been evident since Mr. “We’re On to Cincinnati” moved into the sports media space is that Belichick is very good at this. (That’s no surprise to the readers of this column.) An example: Peyton Manning asked Belichick a question regarding Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, about defending a quarterback who was comfortable and effective using audibles.
“This is very similar to playing you, someone who changed plays at the line of scrimmage a lot,” Belichick said. “Or a coach Joe Gibbs, who was all multiple formations, multiple motions. So the motions, shifting and all that forces the defense to adjust and communicate. I would say the quarterbacks that audible a lot put more of a premium on disguise, so you want to make sure you don’t give the quarterback a clean look at perimeter pressure or man or zone. It’s just a different mentality for the defense. You have to understand who you’re playing together. But those multiple formation teams like (49ers head coach) Kyle Shanahan, it’s a lot of stress on your defensive adjustments.”
Belichick was also ahead of the play in terms of the effectiveness of Jets wideout Garrett Wilson, who had four catches for 46 yards in the first quarter.
“I’d double him,” Belichick said. “In third-down critical situations, I would absolutely double this guy. If he’s singled, Rodgers is absolutely going to him.”
The one downside was the slight delay (at least there was for me watching on a laptop) between the Mannings and Belichick. That’s an issue that hopefully gets fixed next week. (Belichick would say, “Clean that up, guys.”)
I’m told that Belichick does not have a hard out when it comes to his Manningcast segments. You may see him go deep into the second quarter — he left with four seconds left in the first half on Monday — but other times, the schedule may dictate his segment ending earlier. It’s a great addition to the “Manningcast.”
“I am not sure I like this trend right here. Eli and Belichick digging up plays from the late 90s.”
—Peyton Manning 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Tn3sHYfIgC
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 10, 2024
2. ESPN’s Troy Aikman said one of the benefits Tom Brady will have as a rookie broadcaster is working with longtime producer Richie Zyontz, who has produced seven Super Bowls and has been in the business for 40 years. Zyontz was Aikman’s producer when he worked with Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston in 2001, and both moved up to Fox’s No. 1 NFL team, where they spent 20 years together alongside Joe Buck. Zyontz was Greg Olsen’s producer last year and also produced games called by John Madden. He understands how to produce analysts who see the game differently. This will help Brady over the course of the season.
“What they were able to do in the truck is adjust their coverage and adjust what they were doing in order to follow what I wanted to see,” Aikman said. “That was an adjustment for them because most of the analysts at the time I started were really geared for the trenches. Madden always kind of talked about the trenches. Matt Millen did. Then I come in as a quarterback. I see the game much differently. Then think about when I left and (they) had Greg Olsen, so they had to adjust some things for him. I would think that Tom views it more along the lines of the way I do, but they’ll adjust to whatever it is that he sees and how he wants a shot. He’ll be in good hands.”
If you want a long-form listen with Aikman, he is the guest this week on my Sports Media Podcast.
3. Speaking of Brady, here’s my review of his debut broadcast. And here’s a review from Andrew Marchand.
Brady’s opener drew 23.8 million viewers on Fox. The lack of a competitive game in the second half — the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns 33-17 and led by 23 early in the fourth quarter — really took down the viewership number because Fox and the NFL set up very little competition against that late afternoon window.
4. ESPN’s Alex Smith fronted a really inventive and terrific feature for “Sunday NFL Countdown,” produced by associate producer Vincent Coladonato, called “The Quarterback Room.” Smith took the role of both QB1 and QB2 with current players who have experienced both (Justin Fields, Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers), offering thoughts. It also produced a very memorable quote from Drew Bledsoe comparing Tom Brady to Tony Romo upon losing starting jobs with New England and Dallas.
“The minute (Romo) became the starter, he became pretty big in his own mind, and he was no longer the curious, inquisitive guy,” Bledsoe said. “That was the difference between him and Tommy. (When) Tommy became the starter, he still was asking all the questions, where all of a sudden Romo was the guy that had all the answers.”
5. Peacock’s presentation of the Philadelphia Eagles’ 34-29 victory over the Packers on Friday night — the NFL’s first-ever game in Brazil — averaged a total audience delivery of 14.2 million viewers between Peacock and NBC affiliates in Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Green Bay. That’s a win for the streaming service (and of course the NFL) given previous Peacock numbers. Last December’s Buffalo Bills–Los Angeles Chargers game on Peacock averaged 7.3 million viewers.
This was the second most-watched live event on Peacock behind last year’s AFC wild-card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins in January (23 million). Sports Media Watch said that among streaming-exclusive NFL games, it ranked fourth all-time behind two of last season’s “Thursday Night Football” games on Amazon Prime (Cowboys-Seattle Seahawks: 15.26 million; Vikings–Philadelphia Eagles: 15.05 million) and that Dolphins–Chiefs game.
The Packers and Eagles have always been solid national draws, and that clearly was a factor in the number. But the viewership will certainly be part of the sell for the NFL to networks on what will undoubtedly be a future rights package for international games.
6. Mike Greenberg made his hosting debut on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” and did what Mike Greenberg does: He provided competent hosting. Most importantly, he involved his analysts more than he involved himself, especially as a national news story broke involving Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill, who was cited for a driving violation prior to the game and was seen on video being placed in handcuffs face down on the ground.
I’ll keep contending Laura Rutledge should have gotten the host role, given she works in the sport on a daily basis, but Greenberg was solid on Sunday. The big credit goes to reporter Jeff Darlington, who reported from Miami and had a noteworthy interview with Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Darlington, as you might remember, played a major role in ESPN’s reporting of Scottie Scheffler being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship. Those charges were later dropped.
“I was less interested in Drew’s opinion of what happened and more interested in what Tyreek Hill told him happened,” Darlington said, in an email. “The two questions that were most important to the interview were, ‘What did Tyreek Hill tell you happened?’ and ‘What did police tell you and/or Tyreek happened?’ In the immediate aftermath of the situation, I personally believe every question should be a fact-finding effort, even with somebody as charismatic or opinionated as Drew.”
Unsurprisingly, Darlington was thinking about his coverage of the Scheffler story as he reported on Hill.
“I learned in the wake of the Scheffler situation that in moments of chaos, viewers are still appreciative in 2024 of down-the-middle news reporting,” Darlington said. “I know that might seem obvious, but narratives can be shaped so fast if we aren’t careful with the way we present the news, especially when it involves police treatment. In Louisville, I witnessed Scheffler’s arrest. In Miami, I did not witness Hill’s detention. But what I witnessed with Scheffler served as a constant reminder on Sunday that nothing should be assumed, not even when it involves the most surreal of situations.”
7. The NFL has always been a momentum play when it comes to viewership, and the league got off to a very good opening two days including the Chiefs-Baltimore Ravens game averaging 28.9 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. The game topped viewership for last year’s season opener (27.5 million for Chiefs-Detroit Lions) by five percent and was the most-watched NFL Kickoff Game of all time.
NFL regular-season games averaged 17.9 million viewers in 2023, up seven percent over 2022. They were aided by 113 games decided by six or fewer points, the second-most in league history. This year, the things to watch are how the U.S. Presidential election impacts the numbers over the first two months and ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” not being simulcast on ABC nearly as much as last year.
8. Good work by CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore to be honest with viewers when an official misses a call. Here’s an example:
Player-safety rules can put defenders in a difficult position where they have to adjust in nanoseconds. This play in #ARIvsBUF is a good example of a defender adjusting to not hit a defenseless player and should not have been flagged. pic.twitter.com/GJGesLANT3
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) September 8, 2024
It was also nice to see Mike Pereira back in the Fox booth with Brady and Kevin Burkhardt in Cleveland after missing last season with a severe back injury.
(Photo of Bill Belichick at his retirement press conference in January: Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images)
