TV has simply become the delivery channel for live Sport only.

Adage, that bastion of all things Ad Agency, has a story showing that traditional TV in the USA has really just become the "delivery system" for the NFL.

Based on ratings, using Nielsen data, it shows that top rated programmes are all about Football live. The only other content that makes it, albeit in a relatively small way, is Season premieres or Republican debates.

So general entertainment per se, doesn't get a look in.

Pretty shocking if you're a TV broadcaster to see that all that supposed "rich" content you've developed, gets beaten by Football. 

For example, 'Supergirl' the newly well flagged show, ended up 71st on the list....'Empire' season premiere was 37th...'Walking Dead' a lowly 50.

Because entertainment is being watched online through video.
TV really is only about live broadcasts that you can't get online. Yet.

THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN

TV Show	Date	Viewers (in millions)
Fox National Game (Seahawks-Cowboys)	Nov. 1	29.4
NBC SNF Kickoff Game (Steelers-Patriots)	Sept. 10	27.4
Fox National Game (Cowboys-Eagles)	Sept. 20	27.2
NBC Sunday Night Football (Giants-Cowboys)	Sept. 13	26.8
NBC Sunday Night Football (Seahawks-Packer)	Sept 20	26.4
CBS National Game (Patriots-Cowboys)	Oct. 11	26.1
Fox National Game (Packers-49ers)	Oct. 4	25.9
CBS National Game (Chargers-Packers)	Oct. 18	25.0
Fox National Game (Cowboys-Giants)	Oct. 25	24.5
NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Saints)	Oct. 4	24.2
CBS National Game (Broncos-Colts)	Nov. 8	24.0
Fox News Channel GOP Primary Debate	August 6	24.0
CBS National Game (Ravens-Broncos)	Sept. 13	23.3
CNN GOP Primary Debate	Sept. 16	23.1
NBC Sunday Night Football (Eagles-Cowboys)	Nov. 8	23.0
NBC Sunday Night Football (Packers-Broncos)	Nov. 1	23.0
NBC Sunday Night Football (Patriots-Colts)	Oct. 18	22.8
NBC Sunday Night Football (Broncos-Lions)	Sept. 27	22.1
CBS National Game (Bears-Seahawks)	Sept. 27	22.1
Thursday Night Football (Broncos-Chiefs)	Sept. 17	21.1
NBC Sunday Night Football (Eagles-Panthers)	Oct. 25	20.6
NBC Sunday Night Football (49ers-Giants)	Oct. 11	19.6
Thursday Night Football (Ravens-Steelers)	Oct. 1	19.4
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)	Sept. 21	18.2
NCIS	Sept. 22	18.2

Source: Nielsen
Chart by Chen Wu

US Supreme Court will decide the future of Television. Today.

The US Supreme Court might decide the future of Television, today.

Aereo, a start-up, rebroadcasts TV content like Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS on the basis that those signals are free and in turn it charges customers to watch them (about 8 usd a month).

Subscribers can watch, record and see a lot of content on their various devices.

But cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast, pay those broadcasters billions, to be allowed re-broadcast their content. They in turn sell it on to consumers as part of a cable subscription (like Sky).

Broadcasters have sued Aereo on the basis of copyright infringement. However, if Aereo's model is found to be legal, this will be a dramatic day for cable companies and for traditional TV broadcasters.

If Aereo loses, it might have to shut down. If it wins....re-broadcasting free signals is now going to expand and perhaps broadcasters will be forced to do it themselves and by-pass cable.

For example, NFL (America Football) would overnight be "free to air" through re-broadcasters online. 

But of course, the bigger picture is copyright and as to who owns it and what rights the copyright holder has. 

However, the even hugely bigger picture is that TV Broadcasters have now to resort to legal actions to defend their business. Always the sure sign that technology has overtaken them. And it has.

Superbowl Ads. Expensive airtime, super Ads and probably the most watched TV programme ever in The USA.

Tonight is Superbowl Sunday - just in case you've been in a cave (!) and haven't heard. What makes it exciting is ad watching. A lot of brands are now launching "teasers" in advance of the game to get you "teased" to look out for the final version. This one for Samsung (in two parts) looks terrific and titled "the next big thing". At 2 minutes, I'm guessing they'll spend about 12 million just on the one Superbowl broadcast alone. Is it worth it? Have a look but I think it's a great spot (Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd are very well known stateside). The second part is great and below.

Possibly the most expensive airtime on the planet in terms of overall cost per commercial (3.7 million usd a piece) but not per capita. Interesting for example, that Ireland's own Late Late Show is more expensive per viewer than The Superbowl. Because even though you pay 3.7 million for a Superbowl spot, you reach about 200 million people who will watch at least part of the game (mainly the 3rd and 4th quarters so end spots can be more valuable). The final Samsung commercial is going out, for example, in the 4th quarter.

Consequently based on a standard trade measure of cost-per-thousand CPT (the cost of reaching one thousand viewers) Superbowl does very well in value terms because the audience is so huge. Therefore, all spots are well sold out.

About 130 million will watch the game end-to-end and that will make it the most watched US TV programme ever. Because the content (American Football) limits it to US viewer appeal, it doesn't reach the viewing heights of sports with global appeal like Soccer. About half the planet for example, watch The World Cup Final, putting the viewer numbers in billions.

So a lot of us will watch the Ads and, as I've blogged over the last couple of days, the Ads can really make a difference as the "Dart Vader/Star Wars" spot did for VW last year. Already over 200 million viral views. 'Doritos' and recently 'Go Daddy' largely built brand recognition with their Superbowl spots as indeed did Steve Jobs choose it to launch his new Apple Mac in the 1984 Superbowl.

It's a huge night for advertising and social media nevermind, for football.