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.
If you're the nostalgic type or share an interest in recognizing trends in social/commercial influence, couple this with the recent series, "Full Color Football", being shown on Showtime and NFL Network, you can see the impact television has on the game. I would sincerely recommend the book, "America's Game" by Michael MacCambridge . The video series mentioned above fleshes out a few of the stories from this book (and MacCambridge cameos in several interviews).
I really enjoy the snapshots in time that you can identify with on given plays. The clearly visible fingerprints of coaches and players of the past still heavily influence the very thing you're watching 'live'. It is the Paul Browns, Sid Gilmans, Clark Shaughnessys, to the Lawrence Taylors, Sammy Baughs, Marshall Faulks that carry the game onto the next generation for them to add their imprint to it.
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