NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says economic meltdown good for league - NFL News
The United States of America is undergoing the worst recessionary period since the Great Depression of the 1920s but National Football League (NFL) Commissioner, Roger Goodell, believes that the economic meltdown has been great for business.
Speaking on a television show, the NFL Commissioner said that football games this year are receiving record viewership as people want something to distract them from the daily problems of living under such trying economic times.
Talking to his host, Goodell said.
"People want to feel part of a group, feel like they're connected, and right now during these difficult times, they can turn on free television and watch the greatest entertainment that's out there,"
And went on to add that
"They can forget their worries for just a few hours."
The American economy is undergoing its most trying times as the full impact from the 2008 debt crisis continues to be felt globally and with people spending less and less money on non-essentials, the commissioner is worried.
Goodell marked out getting stadiums to full capacity the next big challenge as fans pockets have taken big hits in the current environment.
"Our biggest challenge going forward is how do we get people to come to our stadiums because the experience is so great at home," he says. "When you turn on (a football game), you want to see a full stadium."
Filling stadiums has become a problem for the NFL with regular season games for most of the underperforming teams being subjected to local telecast blackouts.
According to the blackout policy of the NFL, teams’ games will not be televised on local channels if the franchise fails to ensure full capacity stadiums, 72 hours before the start of the match.
However, even with all those problems the NFL is rolling in money. The league just signed a new $ 3.1 billion contract with broadcasters for rights to the game and that money makes sense as well for broadcasters since they are gaining viewers above 60 million
during the current playoffs.
The league made $ 10 billion in profit this year and with good times rolling on for the league Goodell himself has received a five-year extension to his term in office.
The interview will be broadcasted on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 on CBS show “60 minutes”.
You can view live coverage and analysis of the Super Bowl XLVI by http://answers.bettor.com/Users/Robert-California-u3050 on Sunday,
11:00pm, GMT
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