Posted in: HBO, Max, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: Bill Maher, opinion, real time with bill maher

Bill Maher Has Brand New Cloud to Yell At: NFL Streaming Games

During the latest edition of HBO's Real Time, Bill Maher yelled at the latest "cloud in the sky" that's annoying him - NFL games on streaming.

There are moments during HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher when Bill Maher sounds like the proverbial "old man on his front porch yelling at clouds." And then there are moments like this past Friday night – when Maher really sounded like the proverbial "old man on his front porch yelling at clouds." The "cloud" in question? The NFL and how "streaming is ruining football." Since it was so important to merit its own "New Rule" segment, we thought we would take a look at what Maher had to offer – with a little commentary (we're going to look past those hackey jokes that were desperately seeking a rimshot).

Maher: "Enjoy the Super Bowl this weekend while you can because it's probably one of the last ones to be shown on broadcast TV, which is a shame because streaming is ruining football, and that's Taylor Swift's job."

COMMENT: Back in December 2024, Variety released its Nielsen-backed "The 100 Most-Watched Telecasts of 2024," which found the NFL holding 45 of those top 100 spots – and we're talking out of all telecasts between January 1, 2024, and December 1, 2024. With those kinds of numbers, NFL will be sticking with broadcast networks as long as there are broadcast networks.

Maher: "What's so bad about streaming football, you ask? Well, for one, I used to be able to switch between two games in just a second, just one second, by hitting previous on the remote. But on YouTube TV, I have to go back to the home page, go to sports, go to NFL, then scroll across to find the second game you want to check on, [and] wait for the circling thing to calm down. I'll tell you, it's easier to switch sexes in America than it is to switch between football."

COMMENT: With all due respect, this comes down to what your set-up is. Personally, we're only a couple of button clicks away from switching between Netflix, Prime Video, NFL RedZone, and the broadcast networks – and let's be real. If you're biggest complaint is you have to push a few extras buttons while you keep your ass parked on your catch – get some perspective.

Maher: "No! Plenty of commercials, except, unlike old TV where I may have DVR'd the game to watch later after it's over and I could zip through the commercials, streaming purposely makes it so you can't do that. They don't let you see what you're fast-forwarding through, so there's no way to tell where the commercials end and the action resumes. The start of the third quarter, it's harder to find than the G-spot."

COMMENT: While I can respect that perspective, it's hard to take the complaint seriously from someone who doesn't seem to complain when the same company that signs his checks ends up raising Max rates. I don't like seeing pop-up ads in the corner of an episode of American Dad on TBS for Maher's show, but that's just how it goes. In the end, it's all about making money.

Maher: "Well, isn't it great that things are better than the old days when we had to sit through commercials and watch shows right when they aired? Yeah, so much better.And unless you think this is only a boomer bitching? No, I checked Reddit. Kids of all ages hate this shit."

COMMENT: We're about the same age as Bill, so we can safely say that pretty much everything about Television – including streaming – is better now than when we were younger. Sorry. Consider this an intervention. But we do agree with you that you're a "boomer bitching" – especially when you have to resort to using social media as your "proof" that folks don't like something. IT'S SOCIAL MEDIA, BILL! No one likes anything on social media – not even themselves.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!