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 Post subject: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:40 pm 
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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.

NFL Executives Blame ‘Confluence of Events’ for Ratings Declines

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.

I don't remember watching less NFL through 5 weeks than this year. I just don't care.

It's not a football thing as I've been tuning in so much on Saturday's I fear turning into a SEC hillbilly.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:41 pm 
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Well, we had a good run.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:57 pm 
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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:07 pm 
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The product on the field is shit.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:12 pm 
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The Thursday night games blow.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:14 pm 
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College is the better game on almost every count. NFL playoffs are fun, though.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:16 pm 
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Quick, put some games on Tuesday and Wednesday and have an early game in London every week, can never get enough football!


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:20 pm 
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Everyone knows the Thursday night games blow but the NFL can't back down. Everyone loves Thanksgiving games, and the Thursday games in December were all right because they felt like special occasions on the way to the playoffs, but the perpetually 7-9 Dolphins against the perpetually 0-1-in-the-playoffs Bengals in late September? Who in the world wants or needs that? And who wants or needs to see the Miami Dolphins celebrating the occasion by dressing up as interpretive-dance traffic cones for some reason?

If they could restructure the Thursday night deal to be a bunch of Saturday doubleheaders after college wraps up, they might get some better gameplay and better audiences, but they can't, because the whole purpose of the Thursday night deal is that networks can't come up with non-sports content for prime time -- if you think no one's watching Dolphins-Bengals, double-plus-no-one is watching Detective Crime Man or Fat Husband or whatever else Les Moonves shits out.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:30 pm 
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The product on Sundays has significantly declined too. It's odd that I'm treating Sundays the same I as I would March - August.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:35 pm 
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formerlyknownas wrote:
College is the better game on almost every count. NFL playoffs are fun, though.


I generally watch so much college football on Thurs & Sat. thatI have little interest on Sunday, and even when I do tune in, the product (incl. the broadcasters) don't hold my attention.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:50 pm 
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Kirkwood wrote:
I fear turning into a SEC hillbilly.


Join us in The Grove.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 4:03 pm 
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It's just not that entertaining anymore. I don't know about everybody on this board, but for example I don't think the Chicago Bears have given me much reason to watch any games this season. It's a watered down product especially because there are not enough good quarterbacks to go around and as Hub says the officiating has been subsidizing the point totals with pass interference calls.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 4:09 pm 
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Drake LaRrieta wrote:
It's just not that entertaining anymore. I don't know about everybody on this board, but for example I don't think the Chicago Bears have given me much reason to watch any games this season. It's a watered down product especially because there are not enough good quarterbacks to go around and as Hub says the officiating has been subsidizing the point totals with pass interference calls.

Nothing is worse than an automatic 1st down for defensive holding. A total buzzkill. An awful penalty meant to alleviate offensive incompetence.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:06 pm 
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This was going to be a problem for a while and nothing was done to prevent it....a Global Game :lol: :lol:

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:17 pm 
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Walt Williams Neck wrote:
This was going to be a problem for a while and nothing was done to prevent it....a Global Game :lol: :lol:

Should have never given up on NFL Europe. Seriously. Fans were just beginning to turn in the NFL's favor, and they cut it due to revenue loss.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:23 pm 
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I think the decline is because it looks like Arena Football. TD's are cheap.

Also,the decline can be correlated directly to the fading of the "super running back".
The RB seems to be an interchangeable part on most teams.

I miss the days of Payton,Earl Campbell,Tony Dorsett,etc.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:36 pm 
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All the protests are causing this.

MAKE PEOPLE STAND AND SALUTE THE ANTHEM!

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 5:45 pm 
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SomeGuy wrote:
The product on the field is shit.

This. The lack of practices and hitting in training camp is leading to dozens of injuries, bad tackling, and sloppy play alltogether.

Some of the silly rules (catch no catch, dont touch the QB, celebrations, etc) also adds to the fuckedupedness.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 6:22 pm 
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I think a lot has to do with the election but something has changed. The game isn't as good and there is too much disparity between teams. Bears are, have been, and will continue to be terrible. There is a little oversaturation at work here too.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 6:54 pm 
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Spaulding wrote:
I think a lot has to do with the election but something has changed. The game isn't as good and there is too much disparity between teams. Bears are, have been, and will continue to be terrible. There is a little oversaturation at work here too.


Yep. If your AFC team isn't the Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, Manning Colts, or Manning Broncos, your team doesn't matter. THE RAIDAHS are crawling out of the abyss, fucking finally, but Oakland, Buffalo, Cleveland, Miami, and Kansas City have been useless for the better part of fifteen years. Those were your big cornerstone AFC franchises with big fanbases as the NFL came of age (plus Denver) and passed baseball for good, but now they're non-entities. CBS executives have been on their knees begging for meaningful Dolphins and Raiders games to show.

The NFC isn't as hegemonic as the AFC has been, so the fact that the NFC's fallen heroes like the Redskins, 49ers, and Bears come up for air now and then has kept the full-on Browns/Bills malaise away. Still, it's hard to shake the feeling that the Seahawks and Packers are humming at a level so high above everyone else that there's not much of a point to any of this.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 7:55 pm 
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Kirkwood wrote:
The product on Sundays has significantly declined too. It's odd that I'm treating Sundays the same I as I would March - August.




Something SomeGuy said way earlier than Kirkwood wrote:
The product on the field is shit.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:11 pm 
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Spaulding wrote:
I think a lot has to do with the election but something has changed. The game isn't as good and there is too much disparity between teams. Bears are, have been, and will continue to be terrible. There is a little oversaturation at work here too.


PARODY not the problem!! There was NO parody when the 85 Bears were dominating the league and football was great. The problem is Jay Cutler??


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:04 pm 
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Kirkwood wrote:
The product on Sundays has significantly declined too. It's odd that I'm treating Sundays the same I as I would March - August.


Yes everyone looking forward to that colts/Texans matchup this Sunday. Woof.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:57 pm 
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jimmypasta wrote:
I think the decline is because it looks like Arena Football. TD's are cheap.

Also,the decline can be correlated directly to the fading of the "super running back".
The RB seems to be an interchangeable part on most teams.

I miss the days of Payton,Earl Campbell,Tony Dorsett,etc.


I'm on board with this. I'm sick of seeing teams go 3 and out passing every time and then end up with a QB that is 24-52 for 210 yds. That's not interesting or exciting football. And every incomplete pass makes the clock stop. Guess how many teams have run the ball at least 50% of the time so far this year? I'll give you a couple of seconds to guess. The answer is the 49ers, the Cowboys, and the Patriots. Now I'll grant you the NFL has become less of a running league, so guess how many teams have run the ball at least 40% of the time this year? 17. That means almost half of the league is passing 60%+ - Bears are passing 65% of the time for the record.

There aren't any name brand RBs anymore that can stand the punishment of a 225+ carry season for 5 or more seasons in a row. Maybe it is because they used to play through concussions and other health risks they won't allow anymore. But it is nice to see a guy like Elliott living up to the promise. I guess you can also go the route of Bell and get yourself suspended a quarter of the season so you don't take as much abuse.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 10:40 pm 
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Injuries also seem much more prevelant than I remember even 5 years ago. The teams are never at full strength. Off the top of my head--Newton, AP, Romo, Cutler + 15 other Bears, Garrapolo, Bridgewater, RG3, etc. This further waters down the product and makes the game lower scoring/boring/less watchable.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 11:00 pm 
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jimmypasta wrote:
I think the decline is because it looks like Arena Football. TD's are cheap.

Also,the decline can be correlated directly to the fading of the "super running back".
The RB seems to be an interchangeable part on most teams.

I miss the days of Payton,Earl Campbell,Tony Dorsett,etc.


Sort of true for me. I loved watching great defenses and I think it made great offensive plays more spectacular. There was also something great about running backs. I feel like everything that made it exciting has been taken away in a sense. I hate the coddling qbs seem to get but maybe I'm just old and everything was better when I was young.


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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 11:04 pm 
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Need a fucking 3:00 Raider game to be televised nationally.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 6:13 am 
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Furious Styles wrote:
Need a fucking 3:00 Raider game to be televised nationally.


Not only that but also we need Lester Hayes. Pass interference and all this Nintendo passing killing this game for me. Someone in the no fun league thread mentioned receivers always asking for a flag on every play. Why wouldn't they? It is like a 75% chance they can get it.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 8:36 am 
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I still maintain that at least for Bears fans the issue is Cutler fatigue. Whether you thought he was great or not it is clear that the Bears have done nothing with him and never will and we need a fresh start with new optimism and hopefully it isn't a guy who isn't that good AND is someone you would hate if you knew him personally.

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 Post subject: Re: Tumbling NFL Ratings
PostPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 9:43 am 
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Cutler or not, the Bears are bad and have been for 3 years running. There is not a lot of optimism anywhere on this roster.

Even if it was "Cutler fatigue," that is one market. NFL ratings have been tumbling as a whole. A small part of that is probably the anthem protests. Mostly its the overall poor play on Sundays.

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