Hard Up For Programming

[Lord Jim]

Apparently NBC is so starved for stuff to put on the air, that today they are having all of the stations they own run 10 different games at the same time, (starting in about 20 minutes) for some obscure thing called the "Premier League". Apparently this is a soccer thing...

Here's a link for anyone who is interested (though I can't imagine why) that lists who the games are between, and the channels they're on :

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/theg ... ember.html

(Geez, there's even one on SyFy)

These aren't even playoff games; these are just regular season final games...

I suspect that collectively the ratings for these games will probably be beaten by the Public Access Channel...

If for some weird reason you decided you might actually want to burn two hours of you life watching one of these games, here's a link to the team standings, so you can find out which are the good teams and which are the stink-out-loud types...

http://www.flashscore.com/soccer/englan ... standings/

[MajGenl.Meade]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Tottenham demolish Everton 1-0, finishing 5th in the Premier League and thus securing their place in the Europa Cup competition next season. That was on CNBC

I also switched a few times to the Stoke City squeaker against Liverpool which finished 6-1 as the former Liverpool great player Mark Hughes, now manager of Stoke, beat his old team hollow. Nice to see the former Tottenham player, Peter Crouch, score the 6th goal for the Potters. That was on SyFy - quite appropriately really.

I'm sure all this programming was arranged before the season even began, anticipating that the final day of the season might produce heart-stopping see-saw battles for number 1 and for the bottom 3 dropping out. As it was, with Hull having to play Man Utd their chances of not dropping along with QPR and Burnley were er... not good and Chelsea had wrapped up #1 days and days ago. So not much excitement on that basis.

It's good that their ploy worked - even Lord Jim took notice!

[BoSoxGal]

Soccer is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. every year; it's been on tv here for years as I recall.

[Gob]

We get it on SBS over here: http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/

[oldr_n_wsr]

Soccer is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. every year; it's been on tv here for years as I recall.

I've been hearing that since the 1970's. 40 years and it's still barely a blip on the radar screen.
The kids who grew up with soccer are in their 30's now and very few watch the game.
Not ready for prime time and I am afraid it will never be. Bottom line is there is not enough scoring.

[Big RR]

Bottom line is there is not enough scoring.

IMHO, that is biggest attraction; in the same way that I'd rather watch a well executed pitching duel than a homerun derby; but to each his (or her) own. I would bet many agree with you oldr. Perhaps they could come up with a game that consisted only of shootouts?

I would bet soccer is probably closing in on ice hockey, and has surpassed bowling as a spectator sport, especially as the number of sports networks increases.

[Sue U]

As I recall, a LOT of people here in the US watched the World Cup last year, with some markets hotter than others. I like soccer a lot better than hockey. The lack of scoring doesn't bother me in the least, as the game is fast-paced and is all about skilled control of the ball, which I find far more interesting. (Similarly, in baseball I think well-executed fielding is far more interesting than smashing a ball out of the park; a triple-play is a lot more exciting than watching a slugger lope around the bases.)

[MajGenl.Meade]

True dat. Plus in football and baseball one can actually see the puck.

In ice hockey (hockey uses a ball) that imaginary puck thing is only visible when one of the players pulls it out of a pocket and drops it in the net to make it look like someone scored a goal

[Long Run]

"Regular" soccer is still a blip:



But World Cup viewing is measurable:



And growing:



Sorry can't manage to resize those, but trust me they paint the picture!