The pregame playing of the national anthem will be "included in CBS's and NFL Network's simulcast coverage" of tonight's Bears-Packers "TNF" matchup, according to Phil Rosenthal of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Whether the decision by Packers management to "urge those attending the nationally televised game at Lambeau Field to lock arms during the anthem in a show of unity played a role in that decision or was a response to it was not clear." Last week's "TNF" game was played the night before President Trump "laid into" NFL protests at an event in Alabama. The game was "carried on NFL Network but not on national broadcast television, and coverage included reporting on the protests but not the playing of the song itself." Trump's "continuing invective against the protests has made them difficult to ignore even if the NFL and its TV partners would prefer to squeeze in more talk about the game ahead or another commercial" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/28). On Long Island, Neil Best reports Fox Sports currently "does not plan to show national anthems live at its games on Sunday, the way it did last weekend." Fox Sports President & COO Eric Shanks said, "The standard procedure is not to show them because of the way the commercial format works and the timing of the anthem to get to the kickoff. So I think we're going to pay attention to events. Who knows what's going to happen? A lot of time is happening between now and then. But I think the plan would be to get back to a normal schedule" (NEWSDAY, 9/28).
TAKING A SIDE? USA TODAY's Perez & Snider report DirecTV's practice of giving refunds to some NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers "puts the company at risk of looking as if it's taking" Trump's side in the controversy. Keeping long-term customers happy is "important because subscribers to Sunday Ticket and premium sports programming are highly valued." DirecTV is "caught between two groups of football fans -- those who support" Colin Kaepernick and the "reasons for his protest and those who don't." DirecTV has "historically shunned refunds for NFL Sunday Ticket once the season gets underway." If the anti-NFL movement "gains momentum, other pay-TV subscribers could ask their provider for refunds to downgrade their programming packages to punt premium channels" such as NFL RedZone and NFL Network (USA TODAY, 9/28).
KEEPING AN EYE ON RATINGS: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Paul Bond reported a Wall Street analyst is "advising his clients to bet against CBS in the short term, predicting that NFL ratings will fall this weekend due to the controversy ... and the stock will fall." JPMorgan analyst Shawn Quigg is "recommending the purchase of CBS 'puts' at $57.50, meaning he believes the stock will fall to less than that," while it closed yesterday at $58.21. Quigg said, "NFL-related revenue is not trivial to CBS, and any decline in NFL viewership related to the National Anthem debate may negatively affect future results. We view this weekend's viewership results as a ... proxy in determining whether the anthem debate may be a larger issue for the NFL, and CBS, or not" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/27).
