COLLEGE FOOTBALL TELECASTS: WHERE ARE THEY GOING?

Observed Nielsen ratings for college football games show a decreasing trend in the number of viewers in recent years. As the market for these telecasts becomes more competitive, both buyers and sellers should adjust rights fees for quality differences. A model of full income allocation is proposed to isolate pure quality changes from true changes. Using a sample of weekly national collegiate telecasts the optimum optimorum is determined from the set of generalized Box-Cox forms. Regional data provide an application of the model. Quality and hedonic indexes show not only a deterioration in quality over time but also a downward trend in demand for quality-adjusted units. Implications for alternative television policies are discussed.