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NFL linear television viewership, office occupancy rates and college football national title contenders

In today’s newsletter, I discuss NFL linear television viewership, office occupancy rates and college football national title contenders.

MEDIA: NFL Linear Television Viewership

There’s more evidence this week that the NFL still remains a linear television ratings juggernaut.

Thursday’s NFL kickoff game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys registered the biggest tv viewing audience for an opening season NFL game since 2015, according to a press release from NBC, where the game aired.

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Additionally, including digital platforms — Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital — that game also reached its biggest total audience in six years.

Look for big linear television viewership numbers for the NFL for the rest of the year for featured games, particularly those on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights.

Importantly, because the NFL still attracts huge audiences on traditional linear television, that makes the NFL the most important property for linear tv for years to come.

MONEY: Office Occupancy Rates

Office occupancy rates in ten major US cities fell in the latest week of data measured, according to data from Kastle Systems, an office security company.

The average office occupancy rate across those ten cities fell to 31.6% in the latest week of data measured, according to the Kastle Back to Work Barometer.

The average office occupancy rate had reached a level of 33.1% in the prior week of data, according to Kastle.

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Notably, in the latest week of data measured, the average office occupancy rate fell in each of the ten cities measured by Kastle — in San Francisco, for example, the rate fell to 18.9% from 19.7% and in New York, the rate declined to 20.9% from 22.3%.

As such, it appears that the spread of the Delta variant has scuttled some back to office plans for some companies in major cities in the country.

If, however, the spread of the variant is contained and coronavirus cases begin to decline sharply, look for those office occupancy rates to improve.

SPORTS: College Football Title Contenders

Sine the beginning of the College Football Playoff era that began in 2014, four teams have been perennial contenders for the national title — Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

However, already this season, two of of those four teams — Clemson and Ohio State — have suffered losses, which could usher in a new wave of national title contenders this year.

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Specifically, Oregon, which upset Ohio State Saturday, looks like it is now could reach the College Football Playoff — especially if it wins the Pac 12 conference title this season. (Yes, I did have a rough Saturday watching the Buckeyes fall to Oregon.)

Also, Cincinnati, which plays in the smaller American Athletic Conference, looks like it has a chance to make some noise in the national title chase, particularly if the team beats Notre Dame in early October.

Still, Alabama remains the the team to beat for the national title this season — and the other three College Football Playoff teams this year just might be playing for second place.

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Jeremy Pink is currently COO of Geniecast, a leading virtual content and experience company. He is the former CEO of private-equity backed Broadcast Sports International where he helped lead the company to a successful sale and exit during his tenure there. He is also a former CNBC television executive in New York, London and Singapore.

The information contained in this communication is strictly for general informational and entertainment purposes and is not meant to be construed as financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. This communication is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. I am not a financial advisor or offering professional advice of any kind. Users should not act upon the content or information found within this communication without first seeking professional advice appropriate for their individual situation. Decisions based on information contained in this communication are the sole responsibility of the user, and use of this communication and its contents constitutes an explicit understanding and acceptance of the foregoing disclaimers.

(Newsletter Editor: Karina Pink)