You can run, but you can’t hide, college football fans.
ESPN will kick off an effort to allow more political ads on college and NFL football programs in October and November, according to a report…
… Thus, in the crucial two months before the November election, viewers can expect their shotgun formations and weak-side blitzes to be occasionally peppered with pitches for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, among other candidates.
Be still, my heart. Stay close, my clicker mute button.
Hey, you think anybody will use Craig James as a spokesman?
(h/t Awful Announcing)
Get The Picture 
Eeewwww! Gag me with a SPOON!
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I lean very heavily to one side politically but I can’t stomach even my guy’s ads during football. This is the worst news since Munson died and Weiss left UF.
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Well my college football is mainly watched from a bleacher, so i think I will be safe for now.
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Agreed!
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Show off
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Just give Mike Adams a chance to figure out he’s missing out on a revenue stream by not having political ads on the Jumbotron, or the seizure inducing ribbon boards, or barked over the PA system in the same frezied tone as car ads. You’re a captive audience for Mike’s advertising whims, and as long as he ends up 2 cents ahead by pimping your ears to any and all political ads, you’re going to have to endure it. It’s just a matter of time.
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11 months and he is gone. Not that I am counting…
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There is always the jumbo-tron. The most obnoxious and ever present ads I have ever been subjected to were in the Superdome 1-1–08.
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Unless I’m badly missing something, most SEC audiences lie distinctly outside the proverbial “battleground states”. For that reason, I’m reeeeeaallly hoping those political ads don’t intrude on my viewing as much as they might in other parts of the country.
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But even heavily-leaning states like GA , SC and AL will have statewide and local congressional elections.
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You are correct, of course, but I thought these ads would be sold and aired nationally – which would keep state and local elections ads away. Does ESPN get involved in selling ads on the local level?
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even the super bowl has local ads in the second half.
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I stand corrected. Looks like it is only national buys. But while ESPN doesn’t sell the ads at the local level, each cable carrier gets a certain amount of ad inventory to sell locally. But if ESPN gives it the green light nationally, that should open it up to local cable carriers if they want to do it locally, too.
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No. States like GA, AL, and SC are so firmly red that local and Congressional races are mostly decided on primary day. Of 14 Congressional races in Georgia, 1 south GA race could go R or D. Same goes for local races throughout SEC country, which means very little political advertising.
UF games will probably be the most likely to feature a lot of political ads.
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This is why the good Lord saw fit to give man a brain. In order to invent DVRs. One can start watching a game 30 minutes late and never have to see a commercial
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+1 My favorite thing about DVR’s.
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Yes. This. I typically fire up the grill right around kickoff. By the time I cook and eat, I can start watching the game and catch up to it right near the end.
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but one can’t overdub homer radio broadcast over disney dumnuts that way.
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Until I accidentally hit the “Live TV” button on my DVR, and fast forward to the end of the game by mistake.
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This also presumes you’re alone or strictly with people who are on board with the plan. Too many people with smart phones who like to ruin endings.
“Don’t tell me what happens.”
“Ok I won’t…………………. I’ll just say you’re going to be pissed tonight. What I didn’t tell you what happened, I’m just saying.”
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go 45 minutes late and you can even skip those three morons at halftime
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Sounds like another reason to watch games in the bleachers. I will mute the away games. I like football for a respite for all the political ads.
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McGarity must be behind this as a means to get more UGA fans to the stadium, even with a cupcake schedule!
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Need any more proof that it’s all about the $$$$.
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Political ads aren’t always worth as much money as non-political. In some cases, stations dread political ads. You can’t turn them down and they don’t pay full rate. The PACs will pay good rates, but the actual campaigns themselves price off the average of what the ad unit is selling for. But I work in broadcast, so I imagine cable might have different rules since they’re not quite as regulated.
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Thank heaven I attend most Georgia games. This will only really ruin my Thursday night. And Tuesday night MACtion.
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Although, if they’re going to do this, they might as well go all out.
“This injury timeout is brought to you by Obamacare! Next time you’re laid out on the football field or just the field of life, won’t you feel better knowing that you’re covered?”
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This ad paid for by everybody else.
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Zing!
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As two dork chickhawks staged in front of a flag promise to eradicate Obamacare and impeach John Roberts
during ESPN football with Swiftboat ads funded by
great hilarity ensues
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Easy D in F…you and Nancy got your wish!
“We have to pass the (health care) bill so you can find out what is in it”.
😉
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Love the Balloon-Juice jpg. One of the commenters over there captioned it, “hey, let’s show everybody our Slingblade face!”
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OMG. I eat, drink, and write about politics every weekday. Saturdays, especially in the fall, are my refuge. Deliver us from the evil, O Lord, of more political ads on game days. I’m still recovering from the ’08 experience of sitting behind a couple at Sanford Stadium who were heavily festooned w/ the wrong (from my POV) political insignia, and talked about it throughout the game (I refrain as a matter of principle from any political identifiers or talk at Georgia games; Georgia Football is my main way of achieving peace–including many family members–w/ My People on The Other Side, and I treasure that).
Worse yet, the Florida game will coincide with the climax of the electoral season. When you and I are all lathered up in the 4th Quarter with the game tied, I DO NOT want to see a political ad, even if I agree with its content 100%.
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I suppose Espn is in cahoots with our AD to help ticket sales.
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