NFL Television ratings

[Captain Hindsight]

You mean like if a bottom three team (Chicago) ceases to be featured in half the SNF games?

That would be a good start

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

A linked article there mentions a possible breakup of mike and mike. Big mistake. No wonder espn is failing.

[BobbyC81]

MNF ratings are down significantly.

I actually liked Mike Tirico as the MNF broadcaster but he joined the mass exodus from ESPN and went to CBS.

 

Sean McDonough is boring to listen to. Also, I used to enjoy John Gruden as the color guy but his Schtick has gotten old.

 

Al Michaels and Collinsworth do a much better job on Sunday night.

 

Then there's the Thursday games. Over the last couple years, probably 9 games out of 10 are routs by the home team. Why doesn't the NFL get it that this was a bad idea? Answer: more TV money.

[Magox]

 

 

No. Total revenues. TV revenues are basically fixed until 2022.

 

Right, but TV revenues are part of total revenues, correct? And I believe it isn't an insignificant figure.

 

However, the second part you mentioned was something that I wasn't aware of.

[GunnerBill]

 

Then there's the Thursday games. Over the last couple years, probably 9 games out of 10 are routs by the home team. Why doesn't the NFL get it that this was a bad idea? Answer: more TV money.

 

The average is about two decent TNF's a season. A lot of times those games are like watching pre-season games in terms of execution levels.

[vorpma]

I think there's something to it…but it has been something developing slowly in the background over a long time….and I think there will be a quickening if they keep things going the way they have

 

FWIW: Here are some things that I feel may have contributed

 

Too many commercials

 

Too much over-production of the telecast…robots, country singers and stupid intro's, extra special reports from female reporters (Fox and ESPN are main culprits). Everything over the top.

 

Too many nationally televised games (MNF used to be a huge format and an event…too hard to get the marquis match ups and many games are blowouts...everything has a watered down feel now yet they still broadcast it like it's a huge event)

 

Too much tinkering with the game for the purists

 

With the CTE backstory, many parents no longer want to glorify this game to their kids

 

Too corporate and too political: this game is part of people's weekends and they don't need to cross the streams

Disney/ABC/ESPN: Dancing with the freaking stars being plugged on the NFL telecast. The pink bow was enough for awareness…now it's a joke.

 

Game is regressing, Talent is watered down…just not enough top quality QB's to go around. We know that too well.

 

FANTASY: those with fantasy teams only want to watch NFL Red Zone…they do not care about engaging a single game - just stats

Great post; I too turn the channel when politics is involved.

I agree with a lot of what is said above. I have been an enormous fan of NFL football for many years, but this season, I see my interest waning a bit. Reasons for me:

 

1. The Bills are a dumpster fire. It's hard to be too interested when my own team is so bad.

 

2. My fantasy team this year is also a dumpster fire.

 

3. Officiating. It seems like every game involves phantom pass interference or personal foul penalties on third and fourth downs that keep drives alive and hand games over to teams that don't deserve it. It is beyond frustrating and takes a lot of the enjoyment and satisfaction out of the game for me. For example, the phantom Pass Interference call against the Bills in London against JAX last year that extended the JAX drive and cost the Bills the game. A post above made me think of this one.

 

4. Concussions and injuries. I used to cheer the big hits, but now I think about the impact it has on these guys brains. Same for knees, ankles, ribs, etc. Guys are too big, strong and fast. I find myself cringing at times watching these guys go down every game or playing with obvious injuries. I want Sammy Watkins on the field, but I cringe when I see him limping around the field. I played football back in the day and loved every minute of it, but would not let my kids play.

 

5. Suspensions and criminal activity. I hate suspensions, because talented players I want to see are not on the field. On the flip side, I find it difficult to watch guys who have committed domestic violence play. How can you cheer for Adrian Peterson, who beat a young child? or Greg Hardy? The drug infractions don't bother me that much, other than the fact that these guys are stupid enough to be repeat offenders when they know they are being tested.

 

6. Greed. I am getting sick and tired of the league holding cities hostage for taxpayers to fund new stadiums while revenues soar for the owners. Plus, these new stadiums are over the top with amenities that are totally unnecessary and only increase the cost of the game for the fans.

 

7. Saturation. Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night, etc. It's getting to be too much.

 

8. Statistics. Every year there are new stats tracked for everything. We used to track sacks. Now we track QB hits. Do those include sacks or are those simply hits that did not result in a sack? This is much worse in baseball, but the concept is the same. At some point, I simply want to watch and enjoy the game and not see and hear about every statistic that could possibly be considered.

 

9. Announcers. There are no more than 16 games in a week. You would think that they would be able to find 32 competent individuals to call a game (one announcer and one color guy per game). Beyond the top couple of pairs at each network, these guys are horrible. When I turn on a Bills game and here Spero Dedes' voice, I want to throw up. They overstate the obvious but also make several ridiculous comments every telecast. The miss things that most casual fans catch. Just awful.

 

10. Commercials. There is no continuity to a game with constant commercial breaks. I really hate it when they cut to commercial after a score, then show the kickoff, then take another commercial break immediately after. It is ridiculous.

 

I could go on, but 10 is more than enough to make the point!

Another great post; do not underestimate the impact of the National Anthem fiasco! I too have been a fan since the early 1960's, my viewing time is dropping significantly!

[Dr.Sack]

Ratings are down because of concussions. I blame the movie Concussion for exposing the dark underbelly of the NFL. Also a majority of fans are tired of getting gouged. Couple in we have a weak leader in Goodell who is only good at cashing his $40 million in compensation. Also the scandals-deflate gate, charging national guard for pre game rituals. And yes there are those intolerants on both sides of the kneeling issue.

[26CornerBlitz]

@walterfootball

From yesterday, five reasons why NFL TV ratings are down - http://walterfootball.com/nflnotes2016.php

[Kirby Jackson]

A linked article there mentions a possible breakup of mike and mike. Big mistake. No wonder espn is failing.

Really?!? This would be terrible!! I watch them everyday. In fact, I have been to the show twice. I love those guys!!

[PolishDave]

@walterfootball

From yesterday, five reasons why NFL TV ratings are down - http://walterfootball.com/nflnotes2016.php

 

I bet you the fantasy football reason is a bigger reason than people are giving it credit for.

 

Before Fantasy Football, everyone had their team and they rode the emotional roller-coaster week to week according to how that team performed. Because of this emotional connection, fans formed very strong bonds to the team. And they had to watch them play every week. And they came to love the game stronger than ever because of it.

 

With the invention of Fantasy Football, the emphasis switched from caring 100% about how your team did to caring 75% about how your team did and 25% about how your fantasy players did. It weakened that emotional bond people had with their team and thus - their emotional attachment to the game itself.

 

Think about it. Are you as mad as you used to be when the Bills lose a game or have you learned to get over it more quickly without letting it drag you down all week?

 

I am not a psychologist but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[Dr. Who]

 

I bet you the fantasy football reason is a bigger reason than people are giving it credit for.

 

Before Fantasy Football, everyone had their team and they rode the emotional roller-coaster week to week according to how that team performed. Because of this emotional connection, fans formed very strong bonds to the team. And they had to watch them play every week. And they came to love the game stronger than ever because of it.

 

With the invention of Fantasy Football, the emphasis switched from caring 100% about how your team did to caring 75% about how your team did and 25% about how your fantasy players did. It weakened that emotional bond people had with their team and thus - their emotional attachment to the game itself.

 

Think about it. Are you as mad as you used to be when the Bills lose a game or have you learned to get over it more quickly without letting it drag you down all week?

 

I am not a psychologist but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

I hate fantasy football. I actually won a league years ago and felt compelled to stay another year so the other fellas would have a chance to beat me. Fortunately, I lost in the championship game and retired. It was no fun watching football with an eye on all the other games for individual performances. I just want to root for my team and against the enemy. Simple and much more rewarding. I almost feel there is something vaguely unethical in the way fantasy football destroys rooted loyalties.

[bobobonators]

I haven't read all of the responses, but maybe it's a combination of factors that all come together at once.

 

1. Peyton Manning retired and many average fans may have tuned in just to watch his games.

2. Brady has been suspended so same as #1.

3. The story lines this year appear to be lacking for whatever reason.

4. It is an election year, and arguably one of the weirdest elections to date with Trump and Clinton both arguing nonsense.

 

Who knows. I still personally think the NFL is the best product in all of sports.

[Mr. WEO]

 

@walterfootball

From yesterday, five reasons why NFL TV ratings are down - http://walterfootball.com/nflnotes2016.php

 

 

Five (same) reasons that everyone else has already guessed at.

 

It's hard to take anyone seriously who blames "Goodell" for suspending players per the CBA agreed upon suspendable offenses, for "talking about an 18 schedule" or putting games on Thursday nights--as if Goodell made any of these decisions.

[May Day 10]

I can only speak for myself but I like the NFL a little less every year (and its not just from the Bills). I despise the way that the league is run. Every decision is reactionary, the officiating is terrible and the quality of person playing the game is at an all-time low IMO. It is like the early 2000's NBA. I find myself watching less and less NFL games that don't involve the Bills. I'm just worn out with the league. College football on the other hand I can watch all day and night. I much prefer the college game to the NFL at the moment and that hasn't been the case until the last 4 or 5 years. The NBA has grown on me as well. I am as likely to watch 2 NBA teams that I don't care about (especially if they are good) as I am 2 NFL teams that I am indifferent about.

 

 

I agree with your attraction to NCAA Football. I really got into it about 10 years ago and it is a much better entertainment product. Im not bound to a team which is nice. Its also great that all hours of Saturday you have many games on... if a game stinks, you can find good ones.

 

I also think that (like the NHL), the NFL players have become so efficient and built and conditioned like thoroughbreds. Players are so good and cancel each other out for the most part. All the teams are very similar. In college, you have a lot of players who can be exposed more, and it provides a much better, wide open game where anything can happen at any time. Teams can also be very different.

 

 

A large part of boredom with the NFL for me is how the Bills have had the same vanilla season every year for almost 20 years. Really have had maybe 1 important late-season game where they held the hammer swinging playoff % in their favor. That sucks. Also being stuck in a Division with New England makes it worse because the bar is always so high. I find that my interest in the NFL increases quite a bit when the Bills had their 2 early-season runs. I tend to take a lot more interest in other teams' performance, not just due to fantasy/gambling reasons.

[Ned Flanders]

I think there's something to it…but it has been something developing slowly in the background over a long time….and I think there will be a quickening if they keep things going the way they have

 

FWIW: Here are some things that I feel may have contributed

 

Too many commercials

 

Too much over-production of the telecast…robots, country singers and stupid intro's, extra special reports from female reporters (Fox and ESPN are main culprits). Everything over the top.

 

Too many nationally televised games (MNF used to be a huge format and an event…too hard to get the marquis match ups and many games are blowouts...everything has a watered down feel now yet they still broadcast it like it's a huge event)

 

Too much tinkering with the game for the purists

 

With the CTE backstory, many parents no longer want to glorify this game to their kids

 

Too corporate and too political: this game is part of people's weekends and they don't need to cross the streams

Disney/ABC/ESPN: Dancing with the freaking stars being plugged on the NFL telecast. The pink bow was enough for awareness…now it's a joke.

 

Game is regressing, Talent is watered down…just not enough top quality QB's to go around. We know that too well.

 

FANTASY: those with fantasy teams only want to watch NFL Red Zone…they do not care about engaging a single game - just stats

 

 

I want to join the chorus and thank you for putting together a very comprehensive list. Some of my rants on today's game, shared previously by others:

• Bad quarterback play: NFL caliber quarterbacks playing today you can count on one hand. Heck, when I was a kid, even the woeful Eagles had Norm Snead.
• Injuries: Look at the Bills situation and every NFL team has its own version of a MASH unit. I get that injuries are part of the game, but it just seems so rampant these days.
• Sunday Ticket is a god-send, but why a list price of $360???? I've haggled every August with DTV and gotten the price down, but sheesh, make it more affordable and accessible.
• Concussions. Use to be somebody just "got his bell rung." Well, we've lived and learned...almost. Is there a way to make the game safer? I doubt it. But for every retirement, there's 50 guys waiting in the wings. Wait until Troy Aikman starts show signs of head trauma...on the air. It's coming.
• The "criminal element" isn't getting better. Who was caught with a gun/bag of drugs/getting a DUI today? I know the NFL is made up of about 3000 individuals and you can count on that behavior within any 3000 person demographic, but with the money today's players are making, at such a young age, their posses/groupies/hangers-on are steering the athlete in every direction and it's actually surprising there isn't more bad behavior. I think the five percent are ruining it for the 95 percent who are genuinely good guys.
• Back to TV: it's over-saturated to the point that often times the late afternoon game between Tennessee and Jacksonville can't draw flys. Why is the NFL in Tennessee and Jacksonville in the first place?
• Stadium experience: Look what happened in Baltimore last weekend. I enjoy a few cold ones at the stadium and always stay within good behavior when wearing Bills colors on the road, but it's scary out there. Jeeziz, after a Bills-Browns game in Cleveland several years ago, a game Cleveland won, getting out of the stadium was like running a gauntlet.

Sorry to carry on...end of rant.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Ned Flanders

[major]

Coincidentally, when I walked onto the platform at 4th Ave and 9th St in Brooklyn this a.m., I decided to take a look around. Of the first 19 people I passed, 17 were reading on their phones and 2 were reading books. All network programming is cratering, not just the NFL, and I think we've finally reached a major inflection point in how the masses consume information and entertainment.

This is the most logical response yet as to why ratings are down

[purple haze]

I'm not surprised ratings aren't as strong.

 

Bad officiating. Calls are inconsistent or nonsensical in too many games week after week.

 

Too much production. Games aren't as special as they used to be. Football is on all week

between college and pro and there are a million pre and post-game shows.

 

Too many commercials for many people.

 

Too many obvious money grabs turn off people who simply like the game and the traditions.

Color rush uniforms. Breast cancer awareness pink this, that and the other.

 

A lot of patriotic jingoism tied into the game when before one turned on a game and that's all they got.

And then it's discovered that the military is paying for the presence at the game. Nothing is organic.

 

Some folks may be turned off by the Concussion issues.

 

Some other folks may be turned off to players expressing themselves politically.

 

All that said, the NFL is still making hand over fist.

[26CornerBlitz]

10-6: RICHARD DEITSCH FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED TALKS NFL TV RATINGS ON WGR (11:59)

[26CornerBlitz]

@AndrewBrandt

Trump-infused NFL ratings decline; JJ Watt's unfortunate persuasiveness; lessons from now-ended Deflategate: http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/10/06/nfl-tv-rating-business-football-tom-brady-jj-watt-colin-kaepernick

Yes, TV numbers are down early in the 2016 season. But let’s channel Aaron Rodgers and R-E-L-A-X. Marquee players might be missing and the presidential race might be stealing eyeballs, but the league’s cash flow won’t be drying up anytime soon

The ratings dip early in the 2016 season allows for trendy takes on knocking the Goliath of American sports off its haughty perch, but we should hold the phone on that. Not only are we are a long way from having sufficient data to support such a claim, but other sports leagues (and entertainment programming) can only wish they had such ratings “problems.”

 

[26CornerBlitz]

@SeifertESPN

#NFL circulated internal memo addressing decline of TV ratings. Election a factor. “No evidence” of anthem protest

https://t.co/EEKBMuAX3h