NFL Television ratings

[May Day 10]

Free agency killed this league (and MLB). It's just been a slow bleed out. Teams can't retain talent for the long haul and build something so it's a lot of flash in the pan and mediocrity.

 

It's boring to watch.

 

 

With Football it is an even more damaging effect. Most smart teams have realized that they can/should allow most talent walk when its time to get paid, while keeping the young players on ELCs or 2nd contracts stocked.

 

Then the career-span for players has gotten much shorter too with how 'violent' the game is (everyone is bigger and faster than ever)... as well as increased awareness about head injuries. Players are figuring out that they can get money, be smart, and retire early. Plus, the previously mentioned "its a young league" factor.

[bbb]

I think they have saturated everything with football. There is so much of it on now, it is like trying to schedule a date on a Thursday, but the Sabres play. I always go on the date because there are a ton of other chances to watch hockey.

 

I would drop the Thursday nights. Part of football's draw was that it only happened on basically 1 day per week, with a special Monday night. Now there are 3 (4 if you add in London) games Sunday, and sometimes 2 on Thursday and Monday. Missing football has now become easy because there is always more on.

 

Add to that, that the game is so stop and start, it makes it easy to leave the game and watch something else. Watching on TV needs to be more fluid, and they need to reduce the amount of days they play per week. Also move Monday's and Thursdays off of ESPN/NFLN. Same thought as above. If I am a chord cutter (which there are a ton now), you miss both of those. It is easy to miss Sunday when you already missed the other two days.

 

Thursday night games is when the NFL jumped the shark.

 

When it's the first half of a 1PM Sunday Bills game, and they talk about what's coming up at halftime - and the main thing seems to be a preview of the upcoming Thursday night game, it makes me nauseous............Yeah, we're in the middle of this game that I care about, but you're going to talk about the Titans and Jags or some other crap teams that I don't care about, you greedy bastards.

[C.Biscuit97]

 

Thursday night games is when the NFL jumped the shark.

 

When it's the first half of a 1PM Sunday Bills game, and they talk about what's coming up at halftime - and the main thing seems to be a preview of the upcoming Thursday night game, it makes me nauseous............Yeah, we're in the middle of this game that I care about, but you're going to talk about the Titans and Jags or some other crap teams that I don't care about, you greedy bastards.

The NFL cares about CTE yet they schedule games 4 days apart!

[zonabb]

The recent pool that puts the anthem protests as the most common reason is bunk, that's people using it as their own platform to complain. If you don't watch football because of something that happens before the TV timeslot even starts, you're a fool. The issue for me, besides being less and less willing to watch players whose actions disgust me more every day, is the 3.5 hour game now. The commericialization of the sport in the never-ending quest for revenue and profit is more than I can deal with. Touchdown, commercial, PAT, commercial, kickoff, commercial is an affront to my sanity. It's greed-based decisions that kill it for me, from the removal of the common fan in most stadiums in favor of PSLs and suites to the moving of teams whose communities won't shell out hundreds of millions to help the machine be more profitable to the garbage with Mara's support of Brown while know what was actually happening... it's disgusting. Cuban was spot on.... hogs get slaughtered.

 

Used to watch the 1, 4, and 8:30 game on Sundays plus MNF. Now I only watch the Bills. The days of being an NFL fan are over, I'm a diehard fan of a team that plays in a league I despise.

[Mr. WEO]

I think they have saturated everything with football. There is so much of it on now, it is like trying to schedule a date on a Thursday, but the Sabres play. I always go on the date because there are a ton of other chances to watch hockey.

 

I would drop the Thursday nights. Part of football's draw was that it only happened on basically 1 day per week, with a special Monday night. Now there are 3 (4 if you add in London) games Sunday, and sometimes 2 on Thursday and Monday. Missing football has now become easy because there is always more on.

 

Add to that, that the game is so stop and start, it makes it easy to leave the game and watch something else. Watching on TV needs to be more fluid, and they need to reduce the amount of days they play per week. Also move Monday's and Thursdays off of ESPN/NFLN. Same thought as above. If I am a chord cutter (which there are a ton now), you miss both of those. It is easy to miss Sunday when you already missed the other two days.

 

Thursday night football was the 2nd highest rated network broadcast the week ending 10/16. So your theory is that the NFL should drop a top ratings show, because that high ratings show is cuasing people to not want to watch football on network TV?

 

Not that's some twisting of logic.

 

Free agency killed this league (and MLB). It's just been a slow bleed out. Teams can't retain talent for the long haul and build something so it's a lot of flash in the pan and mediocrity.

 

It's boring to watch.

 

 

 

 

With Football it is an even more damaging effect. Most smart teams have realized that they can/should allow most talent walk when its time to get paid, while keeping the young players on ELCs or 2nd contracts stocked.

 

Then the career-span for players has gotten much shorter too with how 'violent' the game is (everyone is bigger and faster than ever)... as well as increased awareness about head injuries. Players are figuring out that they can get money, be smart, and retire early. Plus, the previously mentioned "its a young league" factor.

 

 

The NFL has exploded in the era of free agency--it's what has made the league way more popular as it contributes to parity. Almost any team can (if it has anyone with half a brain running it) reshuffle to a large degree every few years and make a playoff run.

 

A very tiny % of players actually "retire early" (getting cut and not picked and then "retiring" doesn't count). Far more would do anything to get into the NFL.

[DCbillsfan]

I'm not sure what happened to me exactly. I used to watch any NFL I could for years. I was an NFL junkie and now I have pretty much gone cold turkey. I follow the Bills from a safe distance. Lol

[H2o]

In my case I find a link to the Bills game online and I watch it that way. No need for Sunday Ticket or any of that BS. The only reason I watch the other games is to keep up to the minute on my FF players, but usually just keep tabs from my phone. I definitely watch less NFL than before and have even found myself watching less college football as well. I have 10(will be 11 in a little over a month) and 9 year old boys who keep me pretty busy so that is probably a contributing factor as well.

[CardinalScotts]

Can only speak for myself...I used to love the NFL have Sunday ticket besides Buffalo from a love of the game perspective I can watch anyone vs anyone, watch the Thursday night games and watch the Monday night games. About the last 3 years the officiating has really brought me to the point where i feel silly thinking there isn't an NFL money money money agenda. Not that it's "fixed" in a book maker type of scenario but the inability for so many crews to call a game so many ways. Certain refs do certain teams against certain opponents. Having the TV people agreeing with what ever the call was flip the channel and it's refereed completely different and that guy broadcasting agrees with that. Or worse ignoring on purpose obvious things in the middle of the screen deciding games. Really has taken the love of the NFL away you start to doubt teams are getting a fair shake. Then the people who write about the league obviously aren't allowed to write about how calls or lack of calls decide the game and it's not the players. I watch probably 25% of what I used to watch now and it's because of how this league is run and ruined along side the officials who shouldn't even be out there.

[H2o]

Can only speak for myself...I used to love the NFL have Sunday ticket besides Buffalo from a love of the game perspective I can watch anyone vs anyone, watch the Thursday night games and watch the Monday night games. About the last 3 years the officiating has really brought me to the point where i feel silly thinking there isn't an NFL money money money agenda. Not that it's "fixed" in a book maker type of scenario but the inability for so many crews to call a game so many ways. Certain refs do certain teams against certain opponents. Having the TV people agreeing with what ever the call was flip the channel and it's refereed completely different and that guy broadcasting agrees with that. Or worse ignoring on purpose obvious things in the middle of the screen deciding games. Really has taken the love of the NFL away you start to doubt teams are getting a fair shake. Then the people who write about the league obviously aren't allowed to write about how calls or lack of calls decide the game and it's not the players. I watch probably 25% of what I used to watch now and it's because of how this league is run and ruined along side the officials who shouldn't even be out there.

Nice breakdown. I too feel the games are almost rigged by officiating crews these days at some points. The first time I really began thinking that was the SB where the Steelers faced the Seahawks. Hasselbeck was intercepted, runs over to throw his body in the way to try to stop the guy with the ball, and they called a chop block penalty. I thought to myself, "WTF?!?!? How are you chop blocking when trying to tackle someone?" The call stood. That just so happened to be Bettis' final game so the wheels started turning at that point.

[boyst]

Maybe we view officiating as worse because the quality of replays, the ability see it and the fact that it's a 24/7/365 nfl culture?

[snafu]

Too much everything but football seems to be the main theory in this thread. That, and a watered down product that has tried to take over too many timeslots.

 

I will add my paranoid theory that the story is being over-reported by the networks that have to shell out billions for the t.v. rights. They're looking to a future where the advertisers threaten to pay less. They won't want to pay so much to the NFL for the next contract if they can prove that this is a consistent problem.

[bbb]

The recent pool that puts the anthem protests as the most common reason is bunk, that's people using it as their own platform to complain. If you don't watch football because of something that happens before the TV timeslot even starts, you're a fool. The issue for me, besides being less and less willing to watch players whose actions disgust me more every day, is the 3.5 hour game now. The commericialization of the sport in the never-ending quest for revenue and profit is more than I can deal with. Touchdown, commercial, PAT, commercial, kickoff, commercial is an affront to my sanity. It's greed-based decisions that kill it for me, from the removal of the common fan in most stadiums in favor of PSLs and suites to the moving of teams whose communities won't shell out hundreds of millions to help the machine be more profitable to the garbage with Mara's support of Brown while know what was actually happening... it's disgusting. Cuban was spot on.... hogs get slaughtered.

 

Used to watch the 1, 4, and 8:30 game on Sundays plus MNF. Now I only watch the Bills. The days of being an NFL fan are over, I'm a diehard fan of a team that plays in a league I despise.

 

All this!

 

[That's No Moon]

Thursday ruined fantasy football for me. It made something that was fun and basically once a week way too much maintenance and work and not fun. That killed my interest in other teams.

 

I'm tired of the team I want to root for sucking constantly and that is what killed the rest. Sunday afternoon is now naptime after I get home from the rink and before I go back to the rink with my kids.

[iinii]

 

 

With Football it is an even more damaging effect. Most smart teams have realized that they can/should allow most talent walk when its time to get paid, while keeping the young players on ELCs or 2nd contracts stocked.

 

Then the career-span for players has gotten much shorter too with how 'violent' the game is (everyone is bigger and faster than ever)... as well as increased awareness about head injuries. Players are figuring out that they can get money, be smart, and retire early. Plus, the previously mentioned "its a young league" factor.

combined with the "young new client" factor the shelf life becomes small. add in the commercials, lack of flow and you have nice highlight reel for the short attention span generation. The NFL will see a market reduction and devaluation in 2022, adjusted for inflation, when the "New Deal" goes into effect. Kids I work with don't have near the same connection to the game we did. The competition is just too great. In our day the options for us were a little more limited and the bond with the team a little stronger thanks to minimal free agency. Aforementioned shortened careers only lead to less identity at all. IMO the NFL should focus on China. They love to gamble and what is Fantasy Football?

Edited October 28, 2016 by iinii

[Mr. WEO]

The recent pool that puts the anthem protests as the most common reason is bunk, that's people using it as their own platform to complain. If you don't watch football because of something that happens before the TV timeslot even starts, you're a fool. The issue for me, besides being less and less willing to watch players whose actions disgust me more every day, is the 3.5 hour game now. The commericialization of the sport in the never-ending quest for revenue and profit is more than I can deal with. Touchdown, commercial, PAT, commercial, kickoff, commercial is an affront to my sanity. It's greed-based decisions that kill it for me, from the removal of the common fan in most stadiums in favor of PSLs and suites to the moving of teams whose communities won't shell out hundreds of millions to help the machine be more profitable to the garbage with Mara's support of Brown while know what was actually happening... it's disgusting. Cuban was spot on.... hogs get slaughtered.

 

Used to watch the 1, 4, and 8:30 game on Sundays plus MNF. Now I only watch the Bills. The days of being an NFL fan are over, I'm a diehard fan of a team that plays in a league I despise.

 

 

This is how the networks (not the NFL) pay for the huge TV contracts that: A) bring us free football all season, B) cover the entire cost of roster salaries for every owner in the league. The networks make NFL football free for everyone--from fan to owner.

 

None of this is new, or news. None of this explains the current drop-off in ratings. TD/commercial/PAT/commercial/kickoff/commercial has been the routine for years. The broadcast has to get 10 commercial breaks per half. That's the deal the networks paid for years ago.

 

People are losing their minds over this, yet the don't understand that this is how it works and has been this way for years. The disdain for the NFL gets increasingly more misplaced and bizarre.

Edited October 28, 2016 by Mr. WEO

[That's No Moon]

 

 

This is how the networks (not the NFL) pay for the huge TV contracts that: A) bring us free football all season, B) cover the entire cost of roster salaries for every owner in the league. The networks make NFL football free for everyone--from fan to owner.

 

None of this is new, or news. None of this explains the current drop-off in ratings. TD/commercial/PAT/commercial/kickoff/commercial has been the routine for years. The broadcast has to get 10 commercial breaks per half. That's the deal the networks paid for years ago.

 

People are losing their minds over this, yet the don't understand that this is how it works and has been this way for years. The disdain for the NFL gets increasingly more misplaced and bizarre.

They over-saturated the marketplace at the same time that they were messing with the essence of the core product with rule changes. People are bored with it.

 

Another thought is that they alienated a big chunk of middle America when they left St. Louis for LA. If LA didn't net any NEW viewers and only cannibalized their existing audience while people who actually liked St. Louis turned off the game that would get you your sudden lost viewer base. I haven't seen anyone reporting what ratings are in St. Louis and LA are compared to previous years.

[iinii]

No one is losing their minds. The NFL is losing eyeballs. There is an article in MMQB now that points to everything the posters in this thread are saying, but mainly it is the over commercialized product people are bored with. Malcolm Gladwell calls it a tipping point.

[dave mcbride]

Interesting. The NFL had a really good matchup and game last night, yet it was destroyed by MLB. Speaking for myself, I was far more interested in the baseball game (although I rotated between games). I personally think it's a good thing that MLB is doing well. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/10/31/world-series-wins-big-over-nfl-game/

[CommonCents]

Interesting. The NFL had a really good matchup and game last night, yet it was destroyed by MLB. Speaking for myself, I was far more interested in the baseball game (although I rotated between games). I personally think it's a good thing that MLB is doing well. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/10/31/world-series-wins-big-over-nfl-game/

The flags are killing the games. I watched baseball last night, I always favor football but not last night. Must have been 25 flags in the Bills/Pats game.

[jaybee]

Interesting. The NFL had a really good matchup and game last night, yet it was destroyed by MLB. Speaking for myself, I was far more interested in the baseball game (although I rotated between games). I personally think it's a good thing that MLB is doing well. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/10/31/world-series-wins-big-over-nfl-game/

 

 

Good find. Just heard this on the radio. They claimed its the 1st time in 30 years ? Football is broken. Prime time games......I tried to watch last night but the commercials did it in for me and I bailed. At least you can go back and forth if there is more than one game but not so in Prime time. I find the series more dramatic than (NFL)football. Not many beer commercials any more either it seems?