Everyone who's been to a ND game knows how much those constant interruptions suck the wind out of games. Sure, late game heroics can restoke the magic fires, but if we didn't let the flames die to begin with, we wouldn't have to restoke them.
If the experience is less exciting due to the constant interruptions and the team suffers because of it, ratings go down. It's worse in a down year, but true in an up year as well.
So if ratings decrease, what does NBC do?
Right.
There's less money per minute for everyone, which keeps the pressure on to create more inventory. It's this kind of "down the toilet" thinking that has permeated ND negotiations at all levels. What Notre Dame needs to do is keep the product strong and interesting; the money will be there.
NBC, for its own good, should cut down on TV timeouts and lessen inventory for the overall health of its product and to maximize ultimate revenues.
As Ted Mandell wrote in the Indy Star years ago, "Frankly, they're bored. The result of too much momentum interruptus. With the ebb and flow of the game destroyed by crass commercialism, the coaches, players, and fans are now glassy-eyed slaves to the predictable onslaught of TV timeouts, the curse of college football. A pseudo-ref steps onto the field and sticks up his foamy orange right arm like a runway cop at the airport. The game stops."
NBC needs to recognize that the game experience is everything. You can make money by building up the experience, not parceling it out until the magic is gone.
Ultimately, it's the magic that will bring in viewers, fans, and eventually money.
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