News: Sunday Night Football takes big hit in ratings

[Hawkeye0202]

Here's an idea......just schedule ALL Cowboys games primetime LOL

http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/14/media/nfl-ratings-sunday-night-football/index.html

The NFL's premier game of the week took a big hit in TV ratings on Sunday night, despite it being a close game.
NBC's "Sunday Night Football" matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers brought in 17.2 million viewers on Sunday night. That number was down 35% from last year's Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants game, which was the most-watched prime time regular season since Thanksgiving 2015.


The drop for the NBC broadcast is troubling for a league that has been plagued by down ratings nearly all season. It's even more surprising since the Ravens and the Steelers are bitter rivals and the game ended with the Steelers beating the Ravens 39 to 38.

NBC wasn't the only one to see its NFL ratings take a dip. CBS' slate of games over the weekend were down 27% from last year, while ESPN was down 9%. Fox was the only network to see its ratings go up from last year with its numbers up 6%.

Overall, the ratings for the NFL's season are down 9% from last year.

 

[ksadler1]

Thank God the owners kept Goodell around. He'll save the NFL.....

 

[Hardline]

Let's all ignore the elephant in the room here.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Let's all ignore the elephant in the room here.

That the comparison is a red hot Cowboys team playing NY last year?

 

[mrmojo]

Even Sundays Cowboys Giants game would have received better ratings. I think the NFL has completely forgotten who their has cow is.....

 

[diefree666]

wouldn't it be great if they just designated Sunday Night Football as the Dallas Cowboys game. GIve up Thanksgiving for it. Play every Sunday night the whole season.

 

[LoneStarDawg]

You can’t possibly be surprised at these numbers

 

[cowboyblue22]

the ratings have been headed this way for the last two years the games are hard to watch and the officiating is awful and some of us fans are not sure that the outcomes of games are not tainted

 

[Carson]

People care less and less. I haven’t watched a game outside of Dallas, since week 8

 

[mooseq]

I can’t remember the last game I have watched that wasnt Cowboys this year.

And I play in fantasy football

 

[crashintonickdm]

Cowboys/raiders will likely be up 35%

 

[Direwolf63]

Will be curious to see the ratings on the Patriots/Steelers game Sunday. That should get big ratings. If not, this league is in bigger trouble than I thought. It would mean that the league relies on one team.

We all know who that is.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I think the NFL is hiding the really dirty little secret and that's the number of empty seats in stadiums.

I think it's a huge number.

 

[mrmojo]

Will be curious to see the ratings on the Patriots/Steelers game Sunday. That should get big ratings. If not, this league is in bigger trouble than I thought. It would mean that the league relies on one team.

We all know who that is.

The Steeler game isn't Sunday night is it, I thought we we're?

 

[diefree666]

Every sport has its peak; the NFL has reached it and is going downhill. And they have no one but themselves to blame. The NFL thought it was bulletproof; it ain't.

 

[Garrettop]

I think the NFL is hiding the really dirty little secret and that's the number of empty seats in stadiums.

I think it's a huge number.

Empty seats, tuned out sets. No one believes in the integrity of the league anymore or expects quality play.

 

[Direwolf63]

The Steeler game isn't Sunday night is it, I thought we we're?

No. Its the prime afternoon game.

We are on Sunday night. Thus those ratings will be good for sure.

 

[Tass]

Every sport has its peak; the NFL has reached it and is going downhill. And they have no one but themselves to blame. The NFL thought it was bulletproof; it ain't.

The biggest reason for the decline of football, in my opinion:

Not letting players HIT. The emphasis on safety is the exact opposite of what people want to see when they watch a violent sport. Football, boxing, hockey, the original iteration of UFC, car racing...being in the presence of potential death is what makes it exciting (though most people won't admit this). When your favorite player takes a huge hit after catching the ball but then hangs on, it's momentous. When a guy is down on the turf but then wards death off by getting up and walking off it's a thrill. There are supposed to be high stakes in the sport. That's what makes it exciting. If you completely neuter it, it isn't fulfilling what it was meant to fulfill. It's like making McDonald's all health-conscious and calorie-counting. You end up with tasteless food that nobody wants.

 

[IheartRomo]

The biggest reason for the decline of football, in my opinion:

Not letting players HIT. The emphasis on safety is the exact opposite of what people want to see when they watch a violent sport. Football, boxing, hockey, the original iteration of UFC, car racing...being in the presence of potential death is what makes it exciting (though most people won't admit this). When your favorite player takes a huge hit after catching the ball but then hangs on, it's momentous. When a guy is down on the turf but then wards death off by getting up and walking off it's a thrill. There are supposed to be high stakes in the sport. That's what makes it exciting. If you completely neuter it, it isn't fulfilling what it was meant to fulfill. It's like making McDonald's all health-conscious and calorie-counting. You end up with tasteless food that nobody wants.

This is a big part of it. Everything Goodell has touched has turned to rust. Nearly every single move he has made has been the wrong one and it's all coming to roost.

 

[HungryLion]

Too many game slots, over saturation.