WSJ study finds football games contain 11 minutes of action

[GhostofBTT]

According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.

In other words, if you tally up everything that happens between the time the ball is snapped and the play is whistled dead by the officials, there's barely enough time to prepare a hard-boiled egg. In fact, the average telecast devotes 56% more time to showing replays.

So what do the networks do with the other 174 minutes in a typical broadcast? Not surprisingly, commercials take up about an hour. As many as 75 minutes, or about 60% of the total air time, excluding commercials, is spent on shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps. In the four broadcasts The Journal studied, injured players got six more seconds of camera time than celebrating players. While the network announcers showed up on screen for just 30 seconds, shots of the head coaches and referees took up about 7% of the average show.

Football games have 11 minutes of action - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN

180 minute broadcast

60 minutes- Commericals (33%)
75 minutes- Shots of the players between plays (41%)
4 minutes - Shots of coaches and referees
23 minutes- Replays of action (13%)
11 minutes- Live action (6%)


Wierd right?

 

[iahawk20]

Wow, that is funny to hear. 11 minutes, lol.

 

[MIhawk]

also: for College Football games only

shots of Tim Tebow's eye black (separate from strictly player shots): 4 minutes
shots of Colt McCoy's parents: 3 minutes 45 seconds
shots of harvest scenes in Iowa during fall broadcasts in Iowa City: 2 minutes

seriously-
I wonder how this compares to baseball and basketball.
obviously one area where hockey and (gulp) soccer have an advantage

 

[Jonesy86]

also: for College Football games only

shots of Tim Tebow's eye black (separate from strictly player shots): 4 minutes
shots of Colt McCoy's parents: 3 minutes 45 seconds
shots of harvest scenes in Iowa during fall broadcasts in Iowa City: 2 minutes

seriously-
I wonder how this compares to baseball and basketball.
obviously one area where hockey and (gulp) soccer have an advantage

First thing I thought when reading this was how much action there is in baseball.. it has to be a lot less.

And maybe there's more "action" in soccer, but at least the action in football is more exciting and there's more scoring going on..

 

[Bucketochicken]

Hilarious. No wonder my wife hates it!

 

[glacierhawk]

180 minute broadcast? There hasn't been a sub-3 hour NFL game in years. The tv timeouts make sure of that.

 

[JonDMiller]

The best 11 minutes of every week?

Each play in football is so important...one play can change a game. Every snap in the first quarter is really important...September cant get here soon enough

 

[iahawk20]

The best 11 minutes of every week?

Each play in football is so important...one play can change a game. Every snap in the first quarter is really important...September cant get here soon enough

The good thing about the wait this year is the wonderful season we had. While it makes it that more exciting to get to September, it is a pretty good thought coming off one of the most exciting years in this programs history.

 

[GodGodGodBathia]

Sounds about right, which is why if I'm ever just at home watching a sporting event I'm usually doing something else as well. IE playing Call of Duty during commercials/surfing the internet when there isn't live action

 

[Hawke]

also: for College Football games only

shots of Tim Tebow's eye black (separate from strictly player shots): 4 minutes
shots of Colt McCoy's parents: 3 minutes 45 seconds
shots of harvest scenes in Iowa during fall broadcasts in Iowa City: 2 minutes

seriously-
I wonder how this compares to baseball and basketball.
obviously one area where hockey and (gulp) soccer have an advantage

In hockey and soccer the fans get excited when their teams have the puck/ball in the opponents territory but fail to score 99% of the time. Whoohooo, that's the kind of constant action that can put me right to sleep.