On Sunday, 10 games will start at 1:00 p.m. ET. One of those 10 games will be the latest installment of the game of the year.
Dolphins-Ravens, which has the top seed in the AFC on the line, wasn’t moved to prime time. It also wasn’t moved to 4:25 p.m. ET, where Bengals-Chiefs is the only option.
Why not put the more meaningful game at 4:25 p.m. ET? Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, citing an unnamed network source, explains that the decision to keep Cincinnati at Kansas City in the late-afternoon window in part because the Chiefs “have become an even more fascinating television draw” this season, due to the fact that they’re vulnerable and struggling.
And so, while 100 percent of the country will get Bengals-Chiefs, only 70 percent will get Dolphins-Ravens. Unless they pick up Sunday Ticket for the final two weeks of the season.
It was already known that Dolphins-Ravens wouldn’t move to prime time. There, the 7-8 Packers will face the 7-8 Vikings. As Jackson explained, flex scheduling isn’t about replacing decent games with great games. It’s about removing bad games from prime time.
This year, only one game has been moved out of prime time (Chiefs-Patriots in Week 15), even though the league has expanded its flexing options from Sunday night to Thursday night and Monday night. The massive ratings support the strategy.
People still watch standalone games by the many millions. Meanwhile, Fox and CBS enjoy massive audiences in the 4:25 p.m. ET window.
Still, the decision to play Dolphins-Ravens when nine other games are being played feels like a missed opportunity to give the game the showcase it deserves.
Source link
credite