NFL viewership is dropping

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  • #54551
    NewMexicoRam
    Participant

    I’ve seen a number of articles on the net trying to analyze why NFL TV ratings are dropping this season. None seem to have a good answer. One article suggested it was because of the kneeling for the anthem–which I don’t buy.
    What does everyone here think?

    #54555
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    One explanation I heard is that there are just too many alternate ways to take in a game. You don’t have to sit down on Sunday and watch the live version with commercials.

    Also…saturation. Sunday games, Sunday night games, Monday night games, Thursday night games.

    “Growing the brand” is of course another stupid “Jerry Jones era NFL” type idea.

    #54556
    Winnbrad
    Participant

    There was a thread on this recently, somewhere around here. Lots of ideas. Let me look around.

    Found it:

    link: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/fewer-people-are-watching-the-nfl-on-tv/

    • This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Winnbrad.
    #54558
    bnw
    Blocked

    I blame fantasy football. People only care about an individual players stats not following a specific team.

    The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.

    Sprinkles are for winners.

    #54559
    bnw
    Blocked

    Well I blame fantasy football. People only care about an individual players stats not following a specific team.

    The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.

    Sprinkles are for winners.

    #54563
    NewMexicoRam
    Participant

    There was a thread on this recently, somewhere around here. Lots of ideas. Let me look around.

    Found it:

    _______________________________________________

    So sorry, zn. I missed that post. Good info there.

    #54566
    Avatar photojoemad
    Participant

    “””””One explanation I heard is that there are just too many alternate ways to take in a game. You don’t have to sit down on Sunday and watch the live version with commercials. “””””

    I suspect the same reason, as this applies to me.

    #54652
    JackPMiller
    Participant

    The league is taking out the fun. Throwing flags on all types endzone celebrations. The so called targeting calls to try and make the game safe. Old school fans miss the hard hits. I can understand the concussion protocol, but it is frustrating when a DB, or LB bends down to hit a WR, RB, or TE, but that player then changes his body, and boom, you get the flag for hitting a defenseless player, then gets fined big money.

    #54735
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    NFL cites multiple reasons for lower TV ratings

    http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/tabid/61/EntryId/59116/NFL-cites-multiple-reasons-for-lower-TV-ratings/Default.aspx

    Speculation about plummeting ratings for NFL games led the league to circulate an internal memo Thursday, saying the decline was a result of a variety of factors, Darren Rovell of ESPN reports. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17738537/nfl-memo-cites-multiple-reasons-tv-ratings-drop-2016

    Through the fourth week of the season, ratings across all networks are down 11 percent.

    “Prime-time windows have clearly been affected the most, while declines during the Sunday afternoon window are more modest,” the NFL’s top media executives, Brian Rolapp and Howard Katz, wrote to the league’s media committee in a memo obtained by ESPN. “While our partners, like us, would have liked to see higher ratings, they remain confident in the NFL and unconcerned about a long-term issue.”

    Over the last 15 years, NFL viewership overall, the memo said, has increased 27 percent amidst a prime-time viewership fall of 36 percent.

    One of the factors, the executives said, was the presidential election, something that they noted was not unprecedented.

    “In 2000, during the campaign between George W. Bush and Al Gore, all four NFL broadcast partners suffered year-over-year declines — Fox was down 4 percent, CBS was down 10 percent, ABC was down 7 percent and ESPN was down 11 percent,” the memo said.

    The executives also said that they saw “no evidence that concern over player protests during the national anthem is having any material impact on our ratings. In fact, our own data shows that perception of the NFL and its players is actually up in 2016.”

    #54820
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    Ratings Fumble for NFL Surprises Networks, Advertisers
    So far this season, viewership on major networks is down about 10% from last season

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/ratings-fumble-for-nfl-surprises-networks-advertisers-1475764108

    The NFL has been sacked for a loss.

    Once considered immune to the audience erosion plaguing the television industry, ratings for the National Football League have slipped through the first four weeks of the season.

    TV networks have spent heavily on sports, and the NFL in particular, because of their must-see nature. While more viewers today watch commercial-free streaming services like Netflix or record shows on DVRs and skip the ads, sports programming primarily is still watched live, making it valuable to advertisers.

    Combined, ESPN, Fox, NBC and CBS are spending an average of $5 billion a year for football rights through 2021. The games not only score big ratings and ad sales, but are crucial platforms to promote other programming.

    This season, network viewership is down about 10% from last season, according to Nielsen data, with steeper declines for prime-time games on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. The drop has caught advertisers and rights holders off guard and left them scrambling to find a cause.

    “We’re scratching our heads,” said Andy Donchin, a media buyer at Amplifi US, an ad-buying unit of Dentsu Aegis Network, whose clients include General Motors Co. “We cannot pinpoint any specific reason why the numbers are down. It is probably being caused by a confluence of events.”

    One reason often cited is the election. The Sept. 26 debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump drew 84 million viewers, cutting into ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.” While this Sunday’s New York Giants versus Green Bay Packers matchup on NBC will probably fare better, its ratings likely will be impacted by the head-to-head competition with the second presidential debate.

    Rating declines for Sunday afternoon aren’t nearly as steep as the prime-time telecasts, but Fox and CBS are down, while cable news ratings are up.

    “The election is probably the biggest factor that you could point to,” said Fox Sports President Eric Shanks.

    CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves also cited the presidential election, but added, “I don’t think the sky is falling at all.”

    Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton can’t take all the blame. Some star players have been missing this season, including the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady, who returns this Sunday after a four-game suspension. Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Romo and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson are sidelined with injuries, and Peyton Manning retired.

    “We’re missing some stars out there,” said Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s head of media, who noted the NFL has gotten off to slow starts before “and [has] done just fine.”

    The issue is whether this slide is a short-term blip or start of a long-term decline that would raise questions about the big bets networks have placed on football.

    “If the trend continues, it is a concern,” said Jefferies & Co. analyst John Janedis. To be sure, the NFL is still consistently delivering the biggest audience in television and is coming off one of its best seasons.

    Still, more people are cutting cable, and NFL games are available on more venues—like Verizon mobile phones and Twitter—that could be taking some viewers away from traditional networks. With the NFL expanding its content to such outlets, consumers can access games on their tablets, computers or phones. Nielsen doesn’t yet track all of these new platforms. By next season, Nielsen’s highly-anticipated Total Audience Measurement service is expected to be in place and better track changing viewer habits.

    Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN has experienced the biggest drop, down 17% to an average 11.3 million viewers. Excluding the game up against the debate, ESPN is off 11%. Comcast Corp.’s NBC Sunday night franchise is averaging 22 million viewers, down 13% from last season. CBS is off 15% on Thursdays. On Sunday afternoons, CBS and 21st Century Fox’s Fox Broadcasting are both down 3% in viewers.

    The prime time franchises also have been stung by lackluster matchups, leading viewers to tune out early.

    How the NFL handles injuries, the off-field antics of some players, constant delays of games due to replays and officiating challenges are sometimes cited as reasons for the lower numbers. Some fans also are angry at players for refusing to stand during the national anthem to protest police brutality and at the league for not banning such on-field protests. Mr. Janedis said all these may be contributing to a “more negative view of the NFL in general.”

    “In all honesty, we don’t see any evidence of that,” the NFL’s Mr. Rolapp said. “We’ve been in the news in other ways before and haven’t seen a material impact on ratings.”

    Of particular concern is the decline among younger male viewers. ESPN, for instance, is down 24% among men aged 18 to 34 years old.

    “If kids don’t start coming back in, you’re going to have an issue,” said Lee Berke, a sports media consultant. The rise in popularity of videogames and so-called e-sports is seen as a factor in young men watching less professional football.

    With no shortage of sports on television, some experts think over-saturation also could be an issue. NFL games are now on TV three days a week with “Thursday Night Football” expanding to more games and an additional network this year.

    The NFL decline isn’t unique. NBC’s Summer Olympics coverage fell 15% from the 2012 London games and national ratings for baseball playoffs and World Series have been declining for many years.

    Not all sports broadcasts are on a downward trend. NBA ratings were up for the regular season and the finals, as was the NHL. While the NFL is enduring a tough fall, college football ratings have remained strong thanks to several nail-biter finishes and a format that makes every game life or death.

    Like a quarterback used to making dramatic fourth-quarter comebacks, the NFL isn’t panicking. “There are bumps along the road, but it’s not like we haven’t been here before,” Mr. Rolapp said.

    #54822
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    Since this topic is drawing interest see this thread too:

    link: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/fewer-people-are-watching-the-nfl-on-tv/

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