A bad brother act
Lack of consistency could crash Eli and Peyton’s ‘Monday Night Football’ party
On Tuesday, in a display of corporate cockiness, the National Football League tweeted: “Took one week to make Peyton and Eli’s MNF cast appointment viewing.”
Don’t mean to dump on the Manning Brothers ESPN2 house party, but how can the NFL pitch “appointment viewing” when the unwashed masses don’t know when to schedule the appointment?
In their contract with ESPN, Peyton and Eli Manning signed up for
10 of the 17 games on the “Monday Night Football” schedule. They will be doing the ManningCast Monday night (Lions vs. Packers) as well as in Week No. 3 (Dallas vs. Philadelphia). After that game, who knows? Guess the Manning Bros., fall into the TBD category. What we have here is a case of disrupted continuity/consistency.
That’s not a good thing whether you are selling the ManningCast or gourmet popcorn. Disrupting the continuity is not a good thing, especially when you are trying to build familiarity with the product and ultimately make it into a hit show.
When the Manning’s start taking their seven weeks off — no matter how that breaks down on the “MNF” sked — it won’t be appealing for viewers who are getting acclimated to the Peyton/Eli product, especially after their fast start where they raised the expectations bar. Now, the Manning Bros., have something to live up to.
The Manning’s delivered the word. They delivered the eyeballs too.
Their debut came with gaga reviews and, most importantly, 800,000 viewers watching. The ultra-successful beginning, which included a blend of football talk, comedy, and two players, who played it close to the vest with the media, reacting uninhibited and spontaneously for three hours during a wild Ravens-Raiders tilt.
The crazier the game became the more you wanted to hear from what turned into three quarterbacks (Seahawks QB Russell Wilson joined the Mannings late in the game) who actually had experienced wacky versions of crunch time. They also were not weighed down by a traditional play-byplay voice who guides the analysts down the stretch of a close game, sometimes to the detriment of the broadcast.
The success of Week
1’s ManningCast should bring even more eyeballs to the proceedings in Weeks 2 and 3. What happens when the music stops and they take their first break? When they were on a roll as players did they want to take a week off? It’s even more risky on this platform. The ManningCast could lose viewers whenever it returns from hiatus.
Some consumers, who were learning to like an alternative to the regular “MNF” telecast, will tune in looking for the ManningCast and leave disappointed when they don’t find it. Others, knowing the Manning’s are off will return to the traditional “MNF” booth featuring Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick and stick with it.
This would not be a bad thing for ESPN suits. When it comes to Monday Night Football, all eyeballs actually fall under one tent. They are seeing the same advertisements no matter what version they are watching.
Yet when it comes to the “ManningCast,” which has delivered desperately needed buzz to “MNF,” it’s a bad idea, a losing proposition, to hit the pause button and leave viewers wondering when to make that next appointment.