Dave’s Musings
The NFL is experimenting with new ideas to extend their reach, and of course make more money.
They’ve reached critical mass on ticket prices, coming in at an average price per ticket at just under $400, not including parking or concessions (which are also exorbitant).
It can be fun, but it’s out of reach for the average fan. The owners know this and try and make it more experiential, and to make it worthwhile. (Even though on occasion, there is death by a fan at the hands of other fans. Come and enjoy a game; there's a 99% chance you'll make it home!)
International expansion is a real thing, and the league played a fair number of games in England, and Europe. And had a team stay over for a few weeks to see how a "home team" might fare in games against traveling opponents.
The money for broadcasting is through the roof, and the league experimented with putting a playoff game on a paid streaming service (After previously having regular season games be available that way). They announced it as a success, and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of that in the future.
You may also note that officiating was "suspect" throughout the year, which brought more eyeballs and more discussion about what was happening - and though its a fine line, it may have tweaked viewership a bit.
Owners change uniform styles periodically to goose merchandise sales and keep it fresh. And owners also fire coaches fairly regularly, to show that they are trying to be competitive. The average coaching tenure is just over 4 years, and in any given year 25% of the teams are looking for a new head coach. You have to keep your fan base engaged to stay relevant.
| Last week, there was news about the Peregrine moon lander (the first planned moon mission for the US in 50 years) suffering an anomaly with its propulsion system.
Scientists at Astrobotic and NASA conferred and agreed that there was a faulty valve in a hydraulic system that caused a fuel leak. Sadly, they decided they couldn't land on the moon, and instead used the craft's momentum to crash land back on Earth - falling well short of the missions goals. But they did get some amount of data, and as they say "failure is always an option" because it provides opportunities to learn.
While they were unsuccessful, the next day, Japan became the 5th nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon (the US, Russia, China, and India are the others). Even though there were issues with powering up the solar array, this is an exciting development for continued exploration. |
| The anti-science positions that many people take are breathtaking at times. Here's a story about Wisconsin, Texas, and Florida (of course!) banning (or proposing a ban) on studying pathogen origins. They also note that the US Congress also has a bill that would do the same, nationwide (though its less likely it will make it to a law).
At the heart of it is this notion that Cocvid19 was started from a lab leak, where Chinese scientists created the virus. They don't want that to happen here!
But these bans would also halt any studies into other things, like, say, the common cold or the seasonal flu. Oh the "law of unintended consequences!"
https://www.science.org/content/article/wisconsin-bill-restrict-pathogen-studies-worries-scientists |
| Disney's proxy fight is heating up! Nelson Peltz is using his shares, Ike Perlmutter's shares, and his Triad's company shares, to try and force himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo onto the board of directors, by replacing two current members.
As I've noted before, Peltz feels the Disney company is not focused enough on profitability, and has issues with Bob Iger in his second stint as CEO (and naturally is concerned about succession planning).
He wants to see a change in the company's direction, and once again sees an opportunity to take on the challenge.
Disney may have enough shares (ie, votes) to prevent this from happening, but it remains to be seen how this will play out.
Personally, I thought Jay Rasulo leaving the company was a shame - he really did understand how it all worked, and might have been in line to be CEO at some point.
I own a VERY small stake in the company (like 20 shares worth), but when the company asks how I'd like to use my vote, I certainly will consider Peltz's proposal. |
One Little Spark …
| The attached story is about a man who spent 44 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. While the settlement he reached is "nice," it does not make up for what happened to him.
In summary, a "prominent white woman" was raped, and there was an outright effort to convict a black man - any black man - for the crime. The person that was convicted did not match the description the victim provided, the fingerprints didn't match, the outcome of the rape kit was in question. And there were many other issues.
And yet, he spent half of his life in jail for a crime that he had no part in. A crime which in many cases allows a white man to walk free, in spite of overwhelming evidence that does match. (ahem)
Food for thought about society.
USA Today story about wrongful conviction |
Dave’s Musings
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