NFL's Pace-Of-Broadcast Efforts Could Cut Five Minutes From Games

The NFL’s effort to improve the pace of its broadcasts could reduce game length by an average of five minutes, NFL Exec VP/Communications Joe Lockhart said, echoing what NFL Senior VP/Officiating Dean Blandino told owners last night to kick off their annual meeting. Last week, NFL COO Tod Leiweke at the Leaders Sports Business Summit said the average game takes three hours and eight minutes, so a five-minute reduction is a less-than-3% drop. Lockhart: “There is an average of 156 plays in a game, but our goal is to keep that but to take five minutes out of the dead time.”

During yesterday evening's one-hour session, owners also heard videotaped presentations from Apple CEO Tim Cook and GE Chair & CEO Jeff Immelt. Their comments were interspersed with presentations from league execs, Lockhart said. Asked about potential business ties with Apple, Lockhart said that is not why Cook spoke, but he did not specify what Cook spoke about.