Posted on 10/24/2016 4:50:37 AM PDT by 11th_VA
At the risk of getting repetitive, fewer viewers tuned into a primetime NFL game.
The Week 7 Bears/Packers Thursday Night Football game earned 14.2 million viewers on CBS and NFL Network Thursday night, down 17% from Seahawks/49ers last year (17.1M) and down 12% from Jets/Patriots in 2014 (16.1M). Ratings were not immediately available.
The Packers’ win earned the fourth-smallest audience for a Thursday Night Football simulcast on CBS (22 telecasts). Three of the five smallest audiences have come in the past three weeks, with 49ers/Cardinals in Week 4 ranking second (12.1M) and Broncos/Chargers in Week 5 fifth (14.5M).
The game was also the fifth of six TNF games this season to decline from last year, with each of those five hitting multi-year lows.
Despite the decline, TNF about doubled competing coverage of the MLB National League Championship Series on Fox Sports 1 (7.2M).
In adults 18-49, Bears/Packers had a 4.5 rating — down 24% from last year (5.9) and down 17% from 2014 (5.4M).
If i could keep boycott like dems vote, multiple times, they would be out of business within a week.
I'd venture to guess that 90% (or more) of the fans who have stopped watching NFL games to protest the whole Kaepernick/national anthem debacle are never coming back. Once they find something else to do with their time on Sunday afternoons and a couple of nights during the week, they realize what an enormous waste of time a televised NFL game is.
Don’t forget the ad men who have saturated the product but insist on jamming more ads in - sponsor mentions, drop-ins, billboards, etc. Signal to noise ratio is poor and getting worse.
Many people have wondered what the value of commissioner might be. Let’s just say Pete Rozelle would have cleared all this up in a fortnight.
But I remain amazed (but not surprised) at the sports talkers - on ESPN and radio shows - who continue to maintain with absolute conviction that player protests and viewer/fan reaction are ABSOLUTELY NOT responsible for the ratings drop. A 5% fluctuation might reasonably be assigned to interest in the election or other competition but 15-20% drops so suddenly and consistently are clearly cause-and-effect.
The viewers have stated their intentions and followed through. I suppose if I had large sums riding on the outcome ie ratings I would be in denial as well but I wouldn’t make a fool of myself doing so publicly.
I have skipped 3 Eagles games already. Enjoying time with the kids! Free Sundays are a beautiful thing
It would be a good time to consider bringing the AFL back! I would love to see tat happen. There are some great players sitting on the sidelines waiting for their chance.
Perhaps my situation should be even more scary to the NFL. Viewers that get angry over a particular issue (eg. not standing for the National Anthem) and boycott can be relatively easily mollified with a policy change or a reprimand to the player(s). Viewers that have just generally lost interest represent a problem with no specific cause and thus no specific or easily identified & implemented cure.
On Saturday morning Fox had two douche bags on that were telling me why I’m not watching football-
1. The election coverage
2. The Cubs in the playoff race
When was the last debate or baseball game at noon on Sundays? Was baseball really so hyper critical in early September when the football season started? These assh@les are delusional. I am not watching for one reason only.
FU Colin Krappernick and the rest of the f@cktards like him.
They could not have picked a worse time to allow these protests to continue.
Yes, pro sports drain time in your life that you could be doing something useful. Congrats! The kids will love the extra attention.
Tom Brady and most of the patriot Patriots would probably cross over! I’d love to see l a break up of the cultural Marxist NFL engine. Long overdue.
Seriously. Now I am sorta enjoying the challenge of keeping the game off. I do like to watch the white boy patriot Patriots beat the crap out of everyone though. They really are patriots.
Its disgusting how the NFL players turned on America.
I`m done with them.
I do miss Benders forecasts tho.
Better watching
Trump insist on National Anthem being played when told it’s to late.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9B8-eAR1gA
Artist Joe Everson “Paints” the National Anthem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5BxC4CoBKU
Fox also regularly declares that ‘people are sick of the election and dismayed by their choice of candidates.’
Well, Fox, they both can’t be true.
I quit watching the NFL and don’t even care about scores... I have been a die hard fan since 1969 and loved the Bengals thru thick n thin. Even my brother was buried with a Bengals cap at his side.... I will probably never get back to watching the games after canceling NFL DirecTV my wife is happier that I gave her my Sunday’s back!
Hubby watch Memphis vs Navy turned it on after the Anthem so he’d not hear me gripe, poor man is confused who he wanted to win. U of M is where he graduated after a 20 yr career in the Navy, Ret. SCPO. LOL I rooted Navy. U of M is PC. NAVY WON!
I’m in twice a weekend since I’m in NYC; so I boycott both teams.
3. The Walking Dead season premier aired last night. I’m late to the show, and I have no desire to watch previous seasons, but there’s no doubt it’s caught on with millions of viewers.
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