The Chicago Bears play the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, but if you’re one of the estimated 14 people trying to find the game on TV, you’ll need to check your local listings.
According to officials at FOX Sports, the league and network were forced to succumb to pressure from advertisers, who threatened to pull out if the Bears-Giants game were broadcast in the Chicagoland area. It will still be shown on FOX in New York.
“This has the possibility of being the first TV event with negative ratings, meaning more players at the game will be watching fans than fans at home watching the game,” said a Nielsen spokesperson.
For those very few die-hard Bears fans who plan to tune in, the game should be broadcast on one of those channels you kind of just come across accidentally, and think, who could be watching this? It’s either 18 or 27. Maybe 14-1.
“Chicago fans will be able to catch their beloved Bears, just not on the usual channel. Unless there’s a school board meeting or that guy who recites poetry behind a pulpit, but it’s not really a sermon, you know? It’s more like weird performance art,” said Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We’ll have to make a game-time decision, as his poetry can get pretty intense, unlike the Bears, obviously.”
