9781422283080

Network television executives woke up Mon- day morning hungry for more. NFL executives suddenly understood their product as never before. It would prove to be a perfect marriage between sport and media. The game’s three-hour length, its hori-

zontal field (just like a TV set), and its hard-hitting ac- tion (with plenty of time for commercials) all added up to TV gold. Thanks to TV, pro football over the next six decades would dominate the sports media land- scape in the United States. Rights fees would rise from around $20 million to more than $1 billion a year. Another Rival Forces Change Another newcomer to pro football, the eight-team American Football League (AFL), joined the national sporting scene in 1960, threatening the NFL’s grow- ing popularity.

Intense love of the game by guys like these has turned the NFL on TV into a huge revenue source.

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