[TimG]

Do you think more Americans would watch soccer if there was a two minute TV timeout (commercial break) before every corner kick?

Is it just a coincidence that the the three big team sports that have the highest TV ratings (football, baseball, and basketball) have commercial breaks built in while the two big team sports with the lowest TV ratings (hockey and soccer) have no commercial breaks built in?

[G_R__E_G]

I don't think this analogy holds water. Hockey has built in breaks just as much as basketball does (probably more so actually). When a hockey game is televised they will go to commercial generally after goals and icing calls. If there is too long between these events then they'll just stop for a TV timeout after an off-side or a penalty. Then of course there are the two intermissions as well.

Another thing to think about is that Nascar generates huge ratings in the USA and they rarely stop the races for TV breaks.

[TimG]

It's been a while since I watched a hockey game, so perhaps these things have changed and I was unaware. I remember them as generally playing through a 20 minute period without commercial break.

[Aberlour10]

I think soccer will never reach the popularity level of the big 3 in USA, because of the lack of tradition and real professional structures. A several "older stars" from Europe who spend more time for PR actions than in play are by far not enough to change this. For the same reason baseball will probably remain forever only as "the strange freak game" in Europe.

[G_R__E_G]

Well I don't know about the rest of the world but they stop quite regularly here in Canada (and US too, we get their programming as well). It's been that way for at least 40 years.

[andrei]

TimG, on Sep 20 2010, 08:49 AM, said:

Do you think more Americans would watch soccer if there was a two minute TV timeout (commercial break) before every corner kick?

I dont think so.

Quote

Is it just a coincidence that the the three big team sports that have the highest TV ratings (football, baseball, and basketball) have commercial breaks built in while the two big team sports with the lowest TV ratings (hockey and soccer) have no commercial breaks built in?

I think so.


FWIW:
I was watching soccer all my life (which I also play), and football-baseball-basketball only in the last few years. I prefer watching football-baseball-basketball than soccer on TV.

Do I like TV commercials every 2 minutes? No. Do I found those sports more interesting than soccer? Yes.

[neilkaz]

TimG, on Sep 20 2010, 09:53 AM, said:

It's been a while since I watched a hockey game, so perhaps these things have changed and I was unaware. I remember them as generally playing through a 20 minute period without commercial break.

Trust me when I tell you that hockey has TV time out breaks during play. I have season tickets and sit up behind the penalty boxes at the United Center and there's an easily visable red light that goes on for TV timeouts. The ref watches this light and won't drop the puck for the face off (typicallt after about 3 minutes) until the light it out.

.. neilkaz ..

[jdonn]

I think the causation is exactly the opposite of how you interpret it. Is it any wonder that they would want to advertise more during the more frequently viewed sports? In fact, (American) football and basketball have tv timeouts specifically built into the games.

[barmar]

I think sports fandom is similar to patriotism and religion. Most people don't choose the sports they watch, they become fans of the games that they were exposed to as children, and their family and friends enjoyed. And once they're grown, it's really hard to change their attitudes.

I suspect there's also a group cohesion effect. To Americans, soccer is the game that "those other countries" play, and being a soccer fan feels somewhat un-American. And I'll bet there's some vice versa: I'm sure other countries ridicule us for calling the national championship in one of our games the "World Series". It's hard for most of them to appreciate the game when they see this attitude.

[blackshoe]

Baseball has been the sport on the planet Grayson for a thousand years. Asked by his Steadholder why distances on the field were measured in the archaic "feet" and "inches" instead of using the much more sensible metric system, Andrew LaFollet, her Armsman, replied "It's baseball, My Lady!"*

*War of Honor, by David Weber, 2002.

[nigel_k]

barmar, on Sep 21 2010, 09:47 AM, said:

I think sports fandom is similar to patriotism and religion. Most people don't choose the sports they watch, they become fans of the games that they were exposed to as children, and their family and friends enjoyed. And once they're grown, it's really hard to change their attitudes.

I suspect there's also a group cohesion effect. To Americans, soccer is the game that "those other countries" play, and being a soccer fan feels somewhat un-American. And I'll bet there's some vice versa: I'm sure other countries ridicule us for calling the national championship in one of our games the "World Series". It's hard for most of them to appreciate the game when they see this attitude.

Americans don't watch soccer because they have better choices. Other countries don't have interesting sports to watch (except basketball) so they are more inclined to watch soccer. Occam's razor etc. Though this doesn't explain Americans watching golf or car racing.

[cherdanno]

American's don't watch soccer because the MLS sucks. The MLS sucks because Americans watch don't watch soccer.

[jdonn]

cherdanno, on Sep 20 2010, 07:24 PM, said:

American's don't watch soccer because the MLS sucks. The MLS sucks because Americans watch don't watch soccer.

Agree with the second part, disagree with the first. Americans didn't watch soccer long before the MLS even existed.

[Phil]

Soccer will slowly increase in popularity in the US. Its too bad the World Cup is only once every four years.

Professional football and basketball will (are?) slowly decrease(ing), much like NASCAR has fallen off its peak.

F1 will increase in popularity in the US as well, and ALMS will follow.

Baseball will stay the same.

Tiger Woods has relegated golf to a second tier sport again with hockey and tennis.

None of this has anything to do with the length of commercial breaks, although there is a point where professional sports becomes unwatchable due to the length of the timeouts.

But I also believe there is a certain culture to the ads to professional football games, which might be an unstated claim of the OP.

[cherdanno]

Btw, just curious: are concussions and brain trauma stopping anyone from watching football?
I mean, NFL is a bit like gladiator fights in ancient Rome, except these days it takes a little longer until the athletes die from their injuries.

[luke warm]

cherdanno, on Sep 21 2010, 05:26 PM, said:

Btw, just curious: are concussions and brain trauma stopping anyone from watching football?

no, although i was totally bummed when reggie broke his leg

[kenberg]

cherdanno, on Sep 21 2010, 05:26 PM, said:

Btw, just curious: are concussions and brain trauma stopping anyone from watching football?
I mean, NFL is a bit like gladiator fights in ancient Rome, except these days it takes a little longer until the athletes die from their injuries.

I can't claim this to be the reason since I just sort of drifted away from lack of interest. But at an earlier time, yes, such things mattered. In the fifties, the Gillette Friday night fights were a big item in my house. Before TV, I listened to fights on the radio. My father took me to boxing matches. I received a set of gloves for, I think, my twelfth birthday and they got a lot of usage. Sometime in my early twenties I chose to stop watching pretty much on the grounds you suggest. I still enjoyed it, but I thought it not right to pay people to beat the crap out of each other.

Perhaps I would have come to this with football also, but really I just lost interest.

[mike777]

TimG, on Sep 20 2010, 08:49 AM, said:

Do you think more Americans would watch soccer if there was a two minute TV timeout (commercial break) before every corner kick?

Is it just a coincidence that the the three big team sports that have the highest TV ratings (football, baseball, and basketball) have commercial breaks built in while the two big team sports with the lowest TV ratings (hockey and soccer) have no commercial breaks built in?

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until there is much more gambling and much more violence in the sport.

Note Hockey has the violence levels but not the big gambling following that say Football does. Even baseball has a gambling aspect through rotissere baseball and no one talks about stopping pitchers from throwing beanballs, or bench clearing brawls.

Whatever interest there is in boxing comes from betting and the violence and with- out gambling there would be even less horse racing.

[Winstonm]

Put a Zamboni in soccer and you got me.

[NickRW]

barmar, on Sep 20 2010, 08:47 PM, said:

I suspect there's also a group cohesion effect.  To Americans, soccer is the game that "those other countries" play, and being a soccer fan feels somewhat un-American.  And I'll bet there's some vice versa: I'm sure other countries ridicule us for calling the national championship in one of our games the "World Series".

How did you know we do that!?

I like rugby - and american football is clearly a game of the same general type - and we do get a little of it here on the goggle box - I have tried to understand the rules - really I have - but it just seems random. I guess rugby seems the same way to most of you guys.

Nick