[CBFF] The Bears are in danger of getting "flexed."

[Jerry Madsen]

Like Bears, TV interest falters
Sagging team risks being dropped as Sunday night game
Ed Sherman
On Sports Media and Golf

November 2, 2007

The Bears are in danger of getting "flexed."

Their 3-5 record may not be worthy of a third prime-time Sunday game.
The Bears are scheduled for an evening appearance Nov. 18 at Seattle,
but under NBC's flexible-scheduling agreement with the NFL, the
network could request and receive a different game that night.

A decision from the league, which has the final say, is expected no
later than Tuesday.

Officials from the NFL and NBC wouldn't speculate on the possibility
Thursday, but according to sources, the idea of flexing off that game
is very much in play.

The NFL not only wants to keep NBC happy, it also wants to air a
marquee game to a national audience. And the Bears have fallen off the
marquee.

In making the decision, executives have to keep in mind that the Bears
could fall to 3-6 at Oakland after their week off. The Raiders are
only 2-5, but there are no gimmes where the Bears are concerned this
year. The last thing NBC wants is to showcase a team with a 3-6 record
in mid-November.

Seattle also is no prize. The 4-3 Seahawks play at suddenly tough
Cleveland this week. If they lose and drop to .500, that also will be
a factor. Seattle isn't exactly a ratings powerhouse. Its 28-17 loss
Oct. 14 to New Orleans, a terrible game, delivered NBC's lowest
ratings of the season.

The Bears are a different story: They always deliver in the ratings.
The Bears-Dallas game Sept. 23 was NBC's highest-rated game of the
year at 11.8, and the Bears-Green Bay game Oct. 7 was the fourth best
at 11.2 (one national ratings point is worth more than 1 million
households).

When he was at ABC, current NBC play-by-play man Al Michaels always
lobbied the network for Bears and Dallas games because he said viewers
would watch regardless of their record.

But not even Michaels would want to be stuck with a dead-in-the-water
team like the Bears so late in the season. There are several
alternatives on that Sunday, including Kansas City-Indianapolis,
Detroit-New York Giants, San Diego-Jacksonville and New
England-Buffalo.

Other factors come into play in this equation, such as teams maxing
out on their national television appearances, and Fox and CBS being
able to protect certain games.

So it's hardly a done deal that the Bears-Seattle will be "flexed."

Fox Sports already pulled an audible with the Bears. The Oct. 21 game
at Philadelphia was supposed to be part of the national doubleheader
telecast. But with the Bears sitting at 2-4 at the time, the network
opted to showcase the Dallas-Minnesota game.

The same situation might occur Dec. 2 for the Bears' game against the
New York Giants. That's currently set for a 3:15 p.m. start in Fox's
highly coveted doubleheader slot. But Fox's No. 1 broadcast team of
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman could be elsewhere if the Bears continue to
flounder.

ESPN and the NFL Network don't have flex-scheduling alternatives. The
NFL Network is locked into a Bears game at Washington on Thursday
night, Dec. 6. ESPN could be looking at a true Monday night clunker
with the Bears traveling to Minnesota Dec. 17. Can't wait to see the
network try to hype that one.

So it's not just Bears fans who have suffered through the Bears' poor
start. The television networks are feeling the pain too.


This just in
CBS is obviously thrilled to have the New England-Indianapolis game
Sunday. It has the potential to be the most-watched regular-season
game in years. "I can't remember anyone at CBS Sports more pumped up
for a regular-season game," CBS Sports President Sean McManus said.
"If the football gods are willing and we get a good game, we're set
for a pretty good Sunday afternoon." … WMVP-AM 1000 will have the
radio broadcast of the game, with Bill Rosinski and Dan Reeves on the
call. … If you're a Comcast subscriber and you're upset about not
being able to see the Ohio State-Wisconsin game Saturday on BTN,
consider the outrage in Ohio. The game will be unavailable to about
two-thirds of the homes in that state. Time Warner Cable, the largest
cable carrier in Ohio, also doesn't have a deal with the BTN. Saturday
could be an ugly day for Time Warner Cable and BTN operators.

esherman at tribune.com
Copyright (c) 2007, The Chicago Tribune