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Comment by XaspR8d | Hacker News Reader

Anecdotally, I feel football is gradually losing ground among younger generations. My sports-watching-est friends seem to be less and less devoted to football in particular and more interested in other, more niche sports. Even those strongly allegiant to football are less insistent on catching many individual games real-time as they are staying informed about the league overall and watching highlights or stream or DVR when they can.

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I used to love watching football but I have grown to hate TV ads with a passion. I had to quit watching after draftkings was everywhere.

Aren't the ads the appeal to many to watch the Super Bowl in the first place?

Nowadays, if the ads are your draw, just watching them on YouTube is a lot easier.

Right. You used to have to see the ads during the actual game, but now they show the ads that will be shown during the game during the "news" in a "you have to watch these ads" segment.

or even before the super bowl.

I bet some significant portion of the Super Bowl audience is not watching alone... I partially rationalize going to a super bowl party _because_ at least I get to watch the ads. On my own I'm watching neither.

Plus kids are being discouraged from play. My guess that beyond the South, football programs will start shutting down in the next decade due to liability.

The NFL nailed it with Sunday games (although more and more are added to the schedule). It allowed you to to follow the sport closely without memorizing a team schedule, and every fan had the day off from work to watch. I wish more sports followed that system. It was easy to get into.

I still enjoy watching the game, but sadly it's become a sport I watch but won't play (or have my kids play).

The younger generations don't purchase cable television. It's netflix and youtube for almost all video.

The NFL comes with a heavy price that most consumers won't pay unless it comes in a standard package.

NFL needs to end their exclusive deals with satellite providers and find a mainstream platform to stream on if they're going to be relevant in the future.

The NFL is the only reason I still have cable tv. If I could get any kind of reception for over-the-air TV, I'd dump the basic package I still have, but I'm just far enough away from where Fox, CBS and NBC locals broadcast from to make that practical.

The amount of money you have to pay to watch any game you want is unreasonable. $360 for Sunday games, 40-70? for cable if you don't have reception for prime time games. 150-200 for the NFL network for Thursday night games.

Luckily nfl2go exists.

If you're worried that route you can just proxy out of the US and buy NFL gamepass, they're still getting their money. Although not as much as their rip off exclusive satellite deals.

Interested to know the niche sports you're finding people showing interest in.

NBC Sports's Super Bowl counter-programming was curling

was it seriously? I guess the people who weren't watching the super bowl (the Canadians) would enjoy it...

I like my action sports, but I do find curling really compelling to watch, it's extremely tactical. Curling is the only sport I care about in the winter olympics.

Australian Rules Football is fantastic to watch, IMO.

soccer. no ads except for half time

...I wouldn't call (arguably) the most popular sport in the world niche.

It is (also arguably) a niche in the US. My totally subjective perception is that it's been on an upswing here for many years, and in a few more years will be up to the popularity level of basketball and hockey at least.

I guess you consider it niche in the USA but soccer is the most popular game world wide[1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football

It's definitely niche in the US.

As long as you define "US" as "white, male, >25".

It's popular with women. It's popular with kids (age 12-17, more popular than MLB). It's popular with the latino population.

Not really. They can't get people to watch it on TV, which is why it doesn't make any money.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/sports/soccer/nbc-retains...

Two years of success broadcasting England’s Premier League proved a basic truth to NBC Sports: It would have to pay a lot more to keep carrying the league’s games.

Now it will. Under a six-year agreement announced Monday that starts next season and is worth about $1 billion, NBC retained the rights to the Premier League through the 2021-22 season.

Soccer broadcasts usually have overlay ads, rather than advertising breaks, because therevaren't breaks in gameplay to stuff ads into. But they definitely are not ad-free outside of halftime.

I watched the Superbowl last night for the first time, and I can assure you that even the worst football (yes, football) matches have nowhere near as many ads.

I can't tell which of the sports you're referring to.

Haha, and how did I not notice?! Thanks for pointing that out.

Since I can't edit my comment: Even an ad-heavy football game (aka soccer in the US) has way fewer ads than the what I saw during the Superbowl.

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