Television fuels NFL’s popularity

Jan. 31--The pro football season reaches a crescendo when the Seahawks and Broncos duke it out in the Super Bowl on Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J.

While close to 80,000 fans will be crammed into MetLife Stadium for an up-close view of the NFL title game, in excess of 100 million more figure to be watching on TV.

And that's to be expected, since the three most-watched televised programs in history are the past three Super Bowls, with last year's game pitting Baltimore vs. San Francisco attracting an estimated 108.4 millions viewers, according to Nielsen Co.

Considering a recent Associated Press-GfK poll revealed that 49 percent of those surveyed said they were NFL fans, it's no surprise the game is so popular.

And that's just the tip of the viewing iceberg for sports fans, who these days have access to a large assortment of sport-specific TV channels, including the widely popular NFL Network, which is in 72 million homes and had 3,000 hours of live programming in 2013. Back when the network debuted, in November 2003, the NFLN was in only 11.5 million homes.

One person who includes him- self in that 49 percent of NFL fans is Albuquerque's Dustin Lucy, a 27-yearold Farmers Insurance agent. And when it came to watching his favorite sport, his starter cable package didn't satisfy his cravings. So he acquired the "NFL Sunday Ticket" from DirecTV, which makes available every regionally broadcast Sunday game.

DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said the package cost $224 in 2013, with the tab going up to $299 for the "Max package" that included mobile and other features.

"The NFL (Sunday Ticket) is by far our most popular sports subscription package and it continues to grow every year," Mercer wrote in an email, confirming that there are 2 million subscribers. "And (it's) especially growing in popularity among Fantasy (football) fans who love the NFLST app that is integrated with the NFL. com fantasy league."

Count Lucy among those pseudo-football GMs in front of his TV on Sundays.

"It's nice to not have to miss any games," said Lucy, who was a three-year baseball letterman for the University of New Mexico from 2006-08. "I play a lot of fantasy football, so it's extremely important to have it."

And he surely won't want to miss Sunday's action, even though it won't have any direct fantasy implications.

"I'm also a big Denver Broncos fan, and I see the Super Bowl as an American holiday," Lucy said. "It should be. I know I celebrate it like it is."

Jake Dopson, a 33-year-old Albuquerque certified public accountant, is a Comcast customer. Although that "NFL Sunday Ticket" package isn't available to him, the NFL Network's "Red Zone" site is.

"It's the best football channel ever invented," said Dopson, who coaches his daughter's U-12 AYSO soccer team and loves watching football. "If you don't have a special team, it's the best way to go."

The "Red Zone," which comes in a package that costs an extra $9.99 per month on Comcast, is a popular option in which fans can soak in key moments from all games without hitting the remote.

Dopson doesn't have football tunnel vision, though. He said he also enjoys straying over to watch English soccer leagues in addition to ones in the U.S.

"Because I coach, sometimes I'll even watch Big Ten women's games between Purdue and Indiana, something crazy like that," he said.

All these options are a dream come true, considering that 40 to 50 years ago, maybe one or two NFL games were piped into homes each week, and there certainly weren't any soccer channels. Or those strictly for golf, baseball, hockey, basketball, etc.

But to what extent will viewers feed their TV habits?

For instance, Comcast's "NBA League Pass" costs $199 for the season, in which all games are aired, and the "NHL Center Ice Pass" is $167.96, according to a Comcast spokeswoman.

Dopson said he's paying roughly $30 over basic cable for bells and whistles but that his ceiling is about $50.

But he didn't sound too convincing.

When asked what two things he would eliminate between his sports package, his gym membership and drinking coffee, the gym membership was gone in a flash. Then came a pause.

"I like coffee a lot, but oooh ..." he said. "Yeah, I'd have to give up coffee. Competition is a part of my life, so I can't give that up. I'd just have to go find another fix for coffee."

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