Posted on 09/24/2017 9:52:05 AM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
After the first two weeks of the NFL season, there’s a clear storyline that has emerged:
Think pieces about the NFL’s quality of play are en vogue.
From The Ringer’s Kevin Clark to Bill Barnwell of ESPN to that old NFL bible—The Weekly Standard—this week saw a ton of NFL observers examine the league’s quality of play as well as the perception behind that. The headline of Clark’s piece didn’t hold back: How Football Stopped Being Fun.
How does that correlate with NFL ratings, which is more the focus of this column? Well, that depends on how you want to interpret the numbers. The invaluable Sports Media Watch reported that nine of the 13 NFL windows through Week 2 have posted a decrease this season year over year. On a positive note for the league: The Giants-Lions on Monday night game did trend up. It drew 12.3 million viewers, up 1% in viewership from Eagles-Bears last year (12.1 million). But as Sports Media Watch noted, the game was down from the 12.5 million who watched Jets-Colts on MNF in Week Two of the 2015 season.
CBS has suffered early. Per Anthony Crupi of Ad Age, through the first two weeks of the season, CBS's Sunday NFL windows had averaged 13.9 million viewers, down 10% versus 15.2 million last year. Sports Media Watch said CBS’s 8.4 rating for its Week 2 single header lineup was the lowest for a Week 2 single-header since at least 1998.
NBC had a particularly ugly night with the Packers-Falcons. The game drew 20.2 million, well down from last year’s Week 2 game (Packers-Vikings, 22.8 million) and the Seahawks-Packers in 2015 (26.4 million). It was the least-watched Week 2 Sunday Night Football game since 2008. Crupi reported NBC’s three primetime games so far had averaged 22.1 million viewers, down 7% from 2016.
Fox was aided by a massive number for the Cowboys-Broncos game—26 million viewers—thanks to a lightning delay that took the game’s conclusion past 8:00 pm. ET. But that number was down from 2015 when the Cowboys-Eagles in the national window drew much higher. Crupi reported that Fox’s two national windows in 2017 have averaged 24.4 million viewers, down 3% versus 25.1 million for its first two national windows of 2016.
The most positive NFL ratings story so far comes from, of all places, the NFL Network. The network’s opening broadcast (Texans-Bengals) was up 2% in viewership. This vital chart from Sports Media Watch spells it all out.
The league can rightfully point to potential factors for decreases, including Hurricane Irma impacting vital markets. There’s also this stat I saw in Barnwell’s column: Through the first 30 games of the 2017 season, the average contest had been decided by 12.9 points. The quality of games—and quarterback play—has been far higher in previous years.
Is it early too make larger judgments? It is, especially given some of the external factors (e.g. Irma). But the NFL is likely a little concerned. I think you can make some legitimate ratings assessments by Week Four. “It's early yet,” Crupi said. “No need to snort a Xanax.”
NFL and sports TV executives are hoping he’s right.
I wouldn't know, because I haven't watched TV in more than fifteen years.
“Don’t pretend #TakeTheKnee is about freedom of speech. Players are fined for dancing in the end zone. The NFL is choosing to be political.—Liz Wheeler”
It's ... uhhhhh ... later than you think.
I totally disagree with the entitled who view equality as discrimination but I watched anyway because I figured they didn't have wide support - it was just Goodell who nobody likes anyway.
But today I see too many owners siding with the entitled so I'm not watching games, not even the pre game shows. So it is different now - now they're starting to run off people who were still watching them.
My prediction: The NFL will remove the National Anthem from all games within 6 weeks. Punish all patriotic Americans in order to save face with the small minority of haters, just like they’ve done with the queers.
Hopefully the backlash will teach them that unless they start respecting the USA they will be around Not For Long.
How to use Sling TV Blue to slice the $’s from ESPN and Disney.
When anyone cuts their cable, Sling is a reasonable alternative for streaming via the internet.
We had both the Sling Orange and Sling Blue. One of our relatives, who hates ESPN/NFL gave us a great heads up.
Sling Blue doesn't carry any ESPN or Disney channels.
We didn't watch ESPN or Disney, however, they were getting money from us by our subscribing to Sling Orange each month when we paid our Sling bill. The same happens with your standard cable contract. ESPN and Disney get paid each month from your subscription if you watch them or not.
I got that info from my our relative. A few minutes later I had cancelled Sling Orange. So ESPN and Disney get zero money from my Sling Blue monthly subscription payment.
What Is Sling Blue?:(from their site)
Sling Blue costs $25 per month and gives you access to 43 live channels. However,
Blue does not include every Orange channel by default; there’s no Disney and no ESPN, for starters.
Wow. One game was up “2%” from past years! I am stuned!
when hiring quotas based on the US demographics are applied to pro sports, I’ll return to the games. #hellfreezeover
So the protest started way last season.
They’ll protest until what?
Until what happens? Seems they’re
just protesting to protest.
Yes, they are exposing themselves and destroying the sport at the same time
They could have supported free speech for their players without desecrating the flag through the national anthem protests.
They are placing themselves higher than those who died for their free speech rights.
Exactly, the Saints had loyal fans going to games back when they were 0-13 on a season. The Seahawks stayed in Seattle through MANY below-.500 seasons with not even a wildcard playoff appearance. This isn’t the usual ebb and flow. With the economy on the upswing, they should be killing it right now. They’re declining at exactly the wrong time. They’re screw-you to Trump should cost them plenty. And I think it’s a crock that sports stars even get a White House appearance when they win a championship, that all needs to go.
Again, this whole thing is the result of allowing the thug element to take over the game.
Is there a list of NFL advertisers somewhere? I’ll avoid their stuff.
Not a matter of boycotting the advertisers, if nobody is watching. The advertisers are getting VERY poor return on their investment of advertising dollars on the NFL broadcasts. The lucrative venue for the ads dries up, and they are left selling “As Seen on TV” products, call this number in the next five minutes.
If there were a campaign to DESTROY US professional football as entertainment, it could not be more effective than this has been.
Very few of the low life’s will spend money on a ticket,they either get freebies or watch on TV. Goodell was the worst possible creep to head the NFL. Years ago rush Limbaugh warned about NFL demise,and I doubted that idea,he was more right than even he knew. In the last two years,even the pre game shows put me to sleep.
That crap started way back when with “Reach out and touch someone.” That meme has taken over as “getting in contact with” is replaced with “we reached out.” Reach-out was followed in the business world by “share.” “Let’s talk”
wasn’t soft enough when we could “share” concerns with your performance.
Not only have we become a culture that is offended by everything, but we are terrified of plain speaking for fear of offending.
To paraphrase Pogo, “We have met the snowflakes, and they is us.”
Can’t wait to see what Wall Street says on Monday.
There is going to be a lot of blood on the street.
I think there are going to be law suits and demand for anti-trust exemptions to go away.
The NFL has already paid $720 million as a way to “accept responsibility”. Considering their profit margin, paying that amount (essentially 5% of their net income over 5 years) and agreeing to implement any safety measures that the medical profession suggests was smart business and their lawyers can now say, “We already paid up and we’re doing what the medical profession wants, so you got nothing on us.”
Yeah, the NFL has been in decline for a good decade now. 2010 was early to be worried. The downward momentum now should (and probably is) scaring the socks off of them. I’d be selling stock now.
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