Should the NFL All 22 Itself?

Amazon colonization?

Subscriber Daryl writes in:

Ethan,

I just finished your episode with Tyler Dunne and wanted to share some feedback on the part about how much is happening outside of our view on the screen. First, a Steve Jobs quote:

“People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

We know that people are generally averse to change. We also know that people are not good at anticipating what they want. So why are we so sure that the current broadcast decision to focus on the QB and let the receivers run out of view is what people want?

This is a pet peeve of mine because whenever I see a replay from the “sky cam” behind the quarterback, I’m enthralled. I can see what he sees, I can see if the receiver is open, I can see if the receiver is looking at him, I can see if the receiver has his hand up, I can see if the receiver is breaking off his route. I so strongly want this as a broadcast option, and I’m frustrated that the NFL won’t give it to us. Perhaps a “Madden view” would be a better product and viewing experience, and we’ll never know because the NFL is plenty popular enough now. Maybe there is more meat on the bones?

One the one hand, it’s hard to argue with “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” The NFL is the biggest TV show in America, by far, so it would be difficult to improve on “best.” But if you’re more of the Don Draper, “I won’t settle for 50 percent of anything, I want 100 percent,” mentality, there’s perhaps an even higher ceiling to the country’s favorite experience.

Amazon Prime offers a “Prime Vision” All 22 view that I happen to love for the reasons Daryl articulated. It’s not the “Madden View” behind quarterback, but instead a more distant angle, cluttered a bit with Amazon’s tracking bells and whistles on the players. I don’t foresee a near future where America becomes accustomed to voluntarily choosing this angle.

At the same time, it’s, in my estimation, a superior experience (I’ve watched games on replay with it), and quality usually wins out…eventually. I think if this is to be the path, it should perhaps be adopted this way: Amazon tests out one Thursday night game with All 22 view, makes a big promotional deal of it. There’s no alternative traditional broadcast. Millions will simply watch to watch the new version and we see what they think. If people like it well enough, and the ratings are fine, do it again next season, maybe with two games. Eventually the colonization of All 22 gains momentum and becomes inevitable. A decade from now, we wonder how we ever watched half of football when watching football.

It’s hard to foresee Amazon being that ambitious, but their backing is the most direct path to All 22 popularization. I’d welcome it, and hope for it, but like every other NFL sicko in America, will gladly subsist on what little leg the sport shows.