Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com touched off the latest discussion Friday on Twitter when he shared an apparently dated thought from Ohio State director of athletics Gene Smith.
After ElevenWarriors.com turned Dodd’s tweet into a column, Smith clarified he has changed his opinion and is open to exploring options for decreasing the length of games.
Who — beyond media — cares about game length? Gene Smith once told me, OSU fans show up at 5am for 3:30 games, “and they don’t leave early."
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) January 13, 2017
.@11W @dennisdoddcbs Based upon recent information, my opinion has changed. I'm open to exploring options to decrease game length.
— gene smith (@OSU_AD) January 13, 2017
So, what might those options be?
Altering the clock rules could help. So could shortening halftime. What about doing something to reduce the number or at least shorten the length of the booth reviews?
Beyond the game itself, here’s a crazy idea: Reserve less time commercials.
When you get done laughing, remember that’s the easiest thing to do and expect immediate results.
If they removed some media timeouts or shortened them, games would not take as long to complete. And there would be no downside such as less actual football, as we got in 2006 when clock rules were messed with.
Of course, you’re probably thinking that will never happen, but don’t be so sure.
I was never a marketing major, but I do understand the general principle of supply and demand.
What if reducing the amount of ad time for sale allowed for selling that time for a higher price? If networks didn’t have to face a net loss in ad dollars, it seems like a safe bet they would be open to making such a change.
Maybe that’s not how it would work out in the long run, but it’s worth considering – especially if there is a real threat of losing a generation of fans if nothing is done.
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