NFL will not allow ESPN, NFL Network to make early draft reports
The NFL has mandated that the media maintain the suspense for the NFL Draft by not tweeting out picks before they happen on live television.
The chummy, father-son relationship between the NFL and the media that covers it continues when the NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday.
In the past, the NFL enjoyed the benefit of live television to maintain suspense for the draft. Picks would be announced slowly with ambiguous inflections in order to increase the heart rates of fans and viewers everywhere. Now, with social media insiders getting the scoop before it appears on television, all of the fun and excitement gets thrown out.
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Recently, the NFL decided that this was no good, and for the draft neither ESPN nor NFL Network will be tweeting out picks before they happen.
From Sports Illustrated:
"“We want to keep the suspense of the draft,” said ESPN senior coordinating producer Seth Markman, ESPN’s lead executive for the event. “This is purely listening to the viewers and what they want. It was overwhelming that our consumers, our viewers, our fans do not want us to spoil the draft experience. I know some of our competitors will tweet picks, but they are not telecasting the draft. I am sure there is a segment of the population that wants it as soon as possible, but our responsibility is to our viewers. It’s not some big journalism discussion in my mind. It’s ‘I don’t like angering our viewers’.”"
This is an understandable position for the NFL to be in; they want to maximize the appeal of their product. With the draft expanding in influence, the product here isn’t the resulting games but the television broadcast of the draft itself.
With that being said, it is a bit disconcerting that both ESPN and NFL Network are eager to go along with this without any questions. It makes one wonder how much influence the NFL has over the media that covers it. Certainly, ESPN isn’t covering Watergate, but a bit of separation between our overlords and the Fourth Estate should be standard.
Regardless, this news will be good for those who go ballistic that their perfect draft experience is ruined and will open up room for their cold-cut spread to be the culprit instead. Conversely, this will actually ruin the draft for the information junkies who rely on sports news like a crutch.
For the rest of fans, this will change nothing and they will still be able to yell at Roger Goodell from their television sets.
[H/T: Sports Illustrated]
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