Where would Fox had gone w/o the NFL deal in 1994 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 09-15-2014, 03:49 AM

I think that it's pretty safe to say that landing the National Football Conference package from CBS is what really "legitimized" Fox as an equal to ABC, CBS and NBC. So what do you think would've happened had CBS been able to retain the NFL package for at least, the next few years?

Would Fox had ultimately gone the way of UPN and the WB? Or more directly, would just being more edgy and thinking out of the box still have kept them alive (since Fox or the "Big Three" still didn't have to compete w/ a 500 channel universe like today), at least for a while.

Would Fox had inevitably gotten some portion of the overall NFL package? Apparently, Rupert Murdoch (the chairman of Fox's parent company, News Corp.) tried to land an NFL package as far back as 1987, when Fox launched in prime-time. Murdoch from my understanding, tried get Monday Night Football (which was on ABC at the time), but the NFL was worried about the lack of stations.

The obviously immediate answer is that without NFL there would have been fewer Fox affiliates, at least in prime locations in major markets, which would have kept their numbers low. At the time, Fox affiliates were often found on either UHF stations or low-powered stations.

irehtman · 09-15-2014, 02:31 PM

Fox is becoming a semi-global network right now.

TMC · 09-15-2014, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irehtman

Fox is becoming a semi-global network right now.

You didn't exactly answer my question regarding where would Fox had gone as a network had it not been for the 1994 NFL TV deal.

Frenky · 09-15-2014, 05:23 PM

FOX was already catching up with ABC, CBS and NBC at least in demo, also they were losing audience for quite some time, sooner or later Big 3 ratings would match those on FOX.

09-15-2014, 03:49 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,136	Where would Fox had gone w/o the NFL deal in 1994 I think that it's pretty safe to say that landing the National Football Conference package from CBS is what really "legitimized" Fox as an equal to ABC, CBS and NBC. So what do you think would've happened had CBS been able to retain the NFL package for at least, the next few years? Would Fox had ultimately gone the way of UPN and the WB? Or more directly, would just being more edgy and thinking out of the box still have kept them alive (since Fox or the "Big Three" still didn't have to compete w/ a 500 channel universe like today), at least for a while. Would Fox had inevitably gotten some portion of the overall NFL package? Apparently, Rupert Murdoch (the chairman of Fox's parent company, News Corp.) tried to land an NFL package as far back as 1987, when Fox launched in prime-time. Murdoch from my understanding, tried get Monday Night Football (which was on ABC at the time), but the NFL was worried about the lack of stations. The obviously immediate answer is that without NFL there would have been fewer Fox affiliates, at least in prime locations in major markets, which would have kept their numbers low. At the time, Fox affiliates were often found on either UHF stations or low-powered stations.

09-15-2014, 02:31 PM	#2
irehtman Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 15, 2013 Location: Montgomery County, Maryland Posts: 4,824	Fox is becoming a semi-global network right now.

09-15-2014, 05:23 PM	#4
Frenky Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 28, 2013 Posts: 146	FOX was already catching up with ABC, CBS and NBC at least in demo, also they were losing audience for quite some time, sooner or later Big 3 ratings would match those on FOX.