NFL TV Partners Set To Lose Up To $500 Million On Ratings Decline

[Matt_In_NH]

3 hours ago, MarkyMannn said:

More than anything else it is the player entitlement and disrespect for their country and anthem.  I'd venture that maybe 20% of the casual fans I knew stopped viewing the NFL just because of this.  The NFL downplays it and points to other make-believe issues, because it takes the focus off of it, and they cannot effectively control it.  So their plan is to diminish it.  And live TV not broadcasting the anthem................ beyond lame, trying to hide 

 

I think they took this really serious but it was not made public.  I noticed for a bunch of games toward the end of the year they did not even show the anthem.  I think the networks stopped showing protesters.   Living in NE it was interesting to see a couple casual fans who said they were done watching mention of FB that the championship game was the first game they watched this year and they noted how there were no protests.   They just so happened to give the NFL a shot again when their team had a shot at the super bowl which I kind of find ironic.  They care enough to not watch unless that game really matters then they can forgive the protesters.

[Dan]

2 hours ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:

The KB touchdown overturn irks me to this day, and it is symptomatic of one of the reasons I don't go out of my way to watch more games. The maddening thing about is I rationally would have understood a "no TD" call (upon replay any way) and 'not enough to overturn'.  I don't get it, won't get it and understand that replay doesn't prove it was a catch. Multiply that by the number of times these things happen and it takes away enjoyment of the game. Same with the fumble TD return, exactly the same reasoning and same process. Add to that the abject failure of the NFL to send a meaningful message on the gronk cheap shot...hard to think the scale isn't tilted toward Massachusetts.

 

Personally speaking, the protests are a factor as well.  I don't think protesting at your place of work is wise, I think doing so when people who might give a ----- that you are protesting on their dime is even sillier. Actions have consequences.  How significant the consequences are is of course, debatable.

For me... amd my small circle of die hard NFL friends.  It's a lot of this.   The appearance of rigged games through poor officiating that always seems to favor specific teams (i.e. larger markets) with non calls and bogus calls against the underdog.   Why watch a game when over and over you turn the TV off thinking, so and so team just got robbed?   It used to be every once in a while, now... It feels like every week.   I watch fewer and fewer nonBills games every year because of this.

 

So, yeah, I think a lot of the true NFL fans are tuning out because the league seems to be less about the play on the field and more about who the refs and the league want to favor.  

 

Then you have the newer, casual fans that are being turned off due several factors, likely.  The player protests piss people off not just because people believe the cause or not, but because no one wants to watch football and talk politics, period.  Today you can stream games and watch however you want, not just on Sunday afternoon.  There's definitely an oversaturation effect with games every Thursday, all day sunday (with London games happening at whatever time in the morning), monday night double headers, saturday games.   So individual game ratings mught be down, but overall market coverage might actually be up.   And casual fans are just that... Casual.  They're viewing interests will change depending on who knows what.  The NFL has targetted them in recent years and rode that wave to the top, but its not a sustainable wave.

[Xwnyer]

I think illegal streams and so many people with Kodi installed in impacting viewership NIT bull **** anthem protests reason.  Also maybe the fact that everyone hates Brady and are tired of even watching

[Tcali]

Great posts..have enjoyed reading them.Well thought out.

My 2 cents...I ,like many others are really sick and tired of the lousy Bills organization over the past 25 yrs.

We are always the dumb team.we are the team without a quick thinking QB who is out there leading.

In addition the officiating has become so poor that it is painful to watch. JETS vs PATS was criminal.

The protests..no matter your political views turned off at least 50% of the viewership.Yes many who were pissed off

still watched..But the perception that these players are spoiled little brats is strong among many.The perception that these 'kids'

who are millionaires are gonna force their opinions on adults who work their butts off making 60k so they can support their teams 

and the league by buying tickets and merchandise and create viewership was just not a good look.

..And last but not least...While the players are bigger and stronger and faster than ever..I am not sure that the quality of football is that great.

Are there more than 6 QBs in the league who can throw a proper screen pass? 

And the helmet to helmet crap has to go. Jacksonville is a dirty team and i am glad they choked like they did.

[Jasovon]

The problem is the Patriots*. We all knew they would make the Superbowl and win it before the season even began and it's really boring to watch. One of the selling points of the NFL is parity and thanks to the Patriots* there is no parity anymore. 

[Beast]

Been a 45 year fan of the Bills and the NFL. It has brought my family huge entertainment over those decades.

 

With saying that, with my moral fabric I just want to walk away from the NFL for good with all the hub bub between the anthem and criminal activity.....but I just can’t because I love the game so much.

 

I imagine others have walked away and will stay away. The NFL has themselves to blame for that.

[Saxum]

1 hour ago, Xwnyer said:

I think illegal streams and so many people with Kodi installed in impacting viewership NIT bull **** anthem protests reason.  Also maybe the fact that everyone hates Brady and are tired of even watching

 

Everyone is an exaggeration,  there are some Bills fans with heads so buried in a hole they like him and do not see the cheating.

[H2o]

Anthem protests and players peddling their personal agendas have hurt them more than some want to believe. I know numerous people, life long fans, who haven't turned on a single game this year. If you want to make a difference then go out and do it. I hope you make an impact. The political bs is also why I stopped watching ESPN outside of live sporting events and College Game Day.  They better wise up quickly or the money effect will begin to trickle down to their pockets. 

 

As far as the officiating goes? You KNOW it's bad when you have broadcasters and analysts making remarks about the calls the Pats get. It is an absolute joke and a complete disservice to the game. People are sick of it. Except for Pats fans of course, who claim foul if they don't get their quota of bs calls per game. 

[Watkins90]

$500 million in lost revenue, but that doesn’t mean there still not profiting off of it.

[boyst]

58 minutes ago, H2o said:

Anthem protests and players peddling their personal agendas have hurt them more than some want to believe. I know numerous people, life long fans, who haven't turned on a single game this year. If you want to make a difference then go out and do it. I hope you make an impact. The political bs is also why I stopped watching ESPN outside of live sporting events and College Game Day.  They better wise up quickly or the money effect will begin to trickle down to their pockets. 

 

As far as the officiating goes? You KNOW it's bad when you have broadcasters and analysts making remarks about the calls the Pats get. It is an absolute joke and a complete disservice to the game. People are sick of it. Except for Pats fans of course, who claim foul if they don't get their quota of bs calls per game. 

That's why I'm thinking during the Superbowl the officials may be over the top and going after the Patriots.  If this was a schtick like WWE , the NFL would have a good opportunity to show they really are not bias and get back at the Patriots and show the fans and the world they don't suck the Patriots ding dong

[keepthefaith]

8 minutes ago, Watkins90 said:

$500 million in lost revenue, but that doesn’t mean there still not profiting off of it.

Maybe so but the salary cap is driven somewhat by TV contract revenue.  If the ratings/revenue decline continues, the networks will be offering less money next time around and players salaries will suffer along with owner revenue.  Goodell, who was just re-upped by the owners has his hands full fixing this and the player's union will not be happy either. 

[y2zipper]

Less people in general watch t.v. and the NFL is the number one show on every network so I I think the desmise is greatly exaggerated. This was also an election year, and NFL ratings always decline there.

 

I think the bigger cause is that Networks overpay for the rights and have advertisers walking away. It's been a big issue at ESPN and has led to their cost-cutting.

[TigerJ]

5 hours ago, Jasovon said:

The problem is the Patriots*. We all knew they would make the Superbowl and win it before the season even began and it's really boring to watch. One of the selling points of the NFL is parity and thanks to the Patriots* there is no parity anymore. 

I do think there is at least something to this.  Outside of New England I don't think fans are especially enamored with curmudgeon Bill Belichick, and a number of things have chipped away at Brady's image over the last few years.  He kind of comes across as elitist in a lot of ways with his trophy wife and unorthodox training philosophy, and I think a lot of fans would just like to see him disappear.  But then, maybe that's just me as a Bills fan thinking that.

[Ol Dirty B]

On 11/28/2017 at 10:15 AM, NewDayBills said:

And Roger Goodell wants 50 million a year and a private jet? Owners want to re-sign a guy to a lucrative contract when ratings are in the tanks? The NFL has become too successful for it's own good, they turned into a greedy cash money machine. I can't even click on a link on NFL.com without being misdirected to something I didn't click on, dishonest bastards. Not to mention the good teams in the NFL are always good, the bad teams are generally always bad, there's no real competition, it's the same teams dominating year in, year out. Why should I pay an extra $50/month to watch my team get smoked 16 games a year? Not even just that but Roger Goodell will suspend a player for 6 games for PEDs when EVERY PLAYER IS USING THEM!! How about instead of suspending players for stupid **** you make the players stand for the national anthem?

 

So much of this post is stupid. Just go watch the XFL in 2020. The same teams are not always good, the last 4 were the Jags, Vikings, Eagles, and the Pats. 3 out of 4 are losing franchises. Do I need to go on more?

 

Why should they suspend guys for kneeling, quit being so sensitive.

16 hours ago, MarkyMannn said:

More than anything else it is the player entitlement and disrespect for their country and anthem.  I'd venture that maybe 20% of the casual fans I knew stopped viewing the NFL just because of this.  The NFL downplays it and points to other make-believe issues, because it takes the focus off of it, and they cannot effectively control it.  So their plan is to diminish it.  And live TV not broadcasting the anthem................ beyond lame, trying to hide 

 

This is just wrong. How much of it are you willing to admit you made up?

 

Unless you know 5 people and 1 quit watching due to anthem protests, I don't care, I'll just tell you that 20% figure is wrong. 1 in 5 people didn't quit watching football because of anthem protests.

 

Secondly, TV broadcasts have never regularly aired the national anthem. That was never a thing for regular season games on tv every week. So again, you're just wrong. I'm not even sure why you'd want to make this stuff up but you did.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Ol Dirty B

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

5 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

So much of this post is stupid. Just go watch the XFL in 2020. The same teams are not always good, the last 4 were the Jags, Vikings, Eagles, and the Pats. 3 out of 4 are losing franchises. Do I need to go on more?

 

Why should they suspend guys for kneeling, quit being so sensitive.

 

This is just wrong. How much of it are you willing to admit you made up?

 

Unless you know 5 people and 1 quit watching due to anthem protests, I don't care, I'll just tell you that 20% figure is wrong. 1 in 5 people didn't quit watching football because of anthem protests.

 

Secondly, TV broadcasts have never regularly aired the national anthem. That was never a thing for regular season games on tv every week. So again, you're just wrong. I'm not even sure why you'd want to make this stuff up but you did.

i have no idea what percentage of casual fans stopped watching due to anthem protests, but I do think when someone says they "venture maybe 20%", it's typically  opinion-based. I'll leave the defense of the comments to the original poster, but why are you so hostile on this issue?  it's pretty well documented that viewership is down, and it was reported fairly often that attendance was down (i won't cite because i really don't care to look), but let's say the number is 10%, 8% or14% loss if casual fans who dropped out because they don't support the protests. Is that a positive thing for the NFL? Or, is the actual percentage 0? 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by leh-nerd skin-erd

[dorquemada]

12 hours ago, keepthefaith said:

Maybe so but the salary cap is driven somewhat by TV contract revenue.  If the ratings/revenue decline continues, the networks will be offering less money next time around and players salaries will suffer along with owner revenue.  Goodell, who was just re-upped by the owners has his hands full fixing this and the player's union will not be happy either. 

 

Im definitely looking forward to when the TV contract goes down, and the salary cap along with it, so the same cast of characters that kneels for the anthem will start crying racism that their paycheck is less than it used to be.  It's a shame that the knuckleheads who started this wont be around to see their works come to fruition

[boyst]

All this hate in goodell means he's doing his job. We know him and not Paul Allen or the Hunt family

 

Goodell is the lightning rod he is hired to be. The face of the billionaire boys club of NFL owners. He gets slapped in the face so the owners don't have to.

 

Anyone who thinks the owners don't like goodell are naive. 

[dorquemada]

6 minutes ago, Boyst62 said:

All this hate in goodell means he's doing his job. We know him and not Paul Allen or the Hunt family

 

Goodell is the lightning rod he is hired to be. The face of the billionaire boys club of NFL owners. He gets slapped in the face so the owners don't have to.

 

Anyone who thinks the owners don't like goodell are naive. 

 

They apparently never heard the economist's phrase "Get Woke, Go Broke"

[KingRex]

This thread is based on an incorrect comparison as to what motivates buying decisions for commercial buyers.  The decision driver is NOT simply how do NFL TV ratings compare to last year's TV ratings.  What is most relevant is how do TV ratings compare to what's #2 in TV ratings and how much is the cost for showing nmy commercial to eyeballs I want to reach.

 

I do not care if the Oscar's are more highly rated than a particular NFL game.  ff the NFL game remains a greater assemblage of folks who buy beer I'm buying NFL commercials rather than Oscar commercials.

 

I want to pay less for reaching fewer eyeballs, but I still pay.

[Marv's Neighbor]

Give Roger another big raise!  He's doing such a GREAT job.