NFL Ratings Down 16% in the Playoffs from a Year Ago

[DFWJC]

I saw a ton of empty seats at that Pittsburgh game..was weird.

I'd be very surprised if there were any real empty seats at the game, ryno. Those very cold weather games usually have fans going to and from the inside (and warm) vending areas. And at halftime and several minutes into the 2nd half, there are usually a ton of empty seats for awhile.

As for the TV ratings, well, that's been going on all year.

 

[superonyx]

Oh you want stars like Dez and Elliott and Zeke in the playoffs?

Your list of who to blame should have Jerry Jones #1, by far.

Its not about what I want. Im watching regardless. The entire post is about ratings. Which team gets the ratings? Its about what America wants.
America has become indifferent to the game. Having almost every playoff team from a year ago not even make the playoffs kills the star power the casual fans need to care.

People need to feel something to tune in. Love, hate it doesn't matter.... Indifference is what the NFL is struggling with.

 

[mickswag]

 

[superonyx]

This is exactly why I love sports.........at the end of the day it still comes down to may the best team/man win. If the league control the outcome coz this or that team isn't popular what does that say. I doubt there's any concern over PLAYOFF ratings down, regular season, yes but not playoffs. Just part of the beast coz every team as a right to a Super Bowl regardless of market size or popularity.

I get it...I do...
But when each season you have completely different teams who are the 'best' teams then it become a ratings problem for the casual fans.
First to worst and worst to first is becoming the norm instead of an exciting rare event.
This is what first place schedules, free agency, and talent stretched thin gets you.
You may enjoy it... I'm sure you do.. But the ratings don't lie. People feel indifferent about the game.

 

[superonyx]

I didn't read all the posts here, but of the ones I did read nobody mentioned all the political BS. That's the main reason I lost interest in the NFL this year and I have a lot of friends that quit watching for that reason. It's bad enough that we have to watch 300 commercials during games, but now we have to be force-fed all the political BS too. If I want to catch up on politics I'll watch CNN. When the NFL gets back to football, I'll watch the NFL again. Until then, they're just digging their own graves.

And for all the entitled millionaires playing in the NFL that are protesting our country, feel free to explore a professional football contract in another country. Don't let that big Red White and Blue door hit you in the a** on your way out...

BS!!!!
You are here in January and our Cowboys are not playing. The locker rooms have been cleared out and half of the team is sitting on a beach somewhere and you are pretending to have quit football just so you can bring politics into this thread.

You then expose yourself with the last piece of MERICA!!! in your last sentence. Not agreeing with a social problem doesn't mean a person should have to leave the country. What kind of weak minded crap is that?

Keep the politics out of here.

 

[JW82]

I agree. I couldn’t be more bored with the ******** patriots. Couple that with terrible officiating and my hatred for goodell. My interest in the NFL is at an all time low.

Because of the BS with Zeke, I am sure like many Dallas fans, who happen to be the biggest group of fans in the country, refused to watch non Dallas games this year. That could not have helped ratings.

 

[Clove]

This is the same "convenient" excuse the NFL has been saying the last two years. The NFL has their heads buried in the sand. While I agree that more people are watching the NFL by other means other than TV, it's not enough to justify the drops in ratings we are seeing. It also does not explain the overall attendance drop this year. I am a life long NFL fan and consumed as much NFL as I could on a weekly basis up until this year. This year I really cut back based on alot of things that were almost all related to the NFL. I know I am not alone, and if the NFL is starting to lose fans like me, they should be worried.

I would imagine that most people have DVR. DVR is used 90% of the time in my house. I also have a cell phone which I use if I'm out and about. I also have a computer with a 42"screen, a laptop, and several tablets in my house. There is no need to watch games other than my team, live if I have those items. And half of the population are young people. I know for a fact, they live on cell phones/tablets.

 

[Sydla]

BS!!!!
You are here in January and our Cowboys are not playing. The locker rooms have been cleared out and half of the team is sitting on a beach somewhere and you are pretending to have quit football just so you can bring politics into this thread.

You then expose yourself with the last piece of MERICA!!! in your last sentence. Not agreeing with a social problem doesn't mean a person should have to leave the country. What kind of weak minded crap is that?

Keep the politics out of here.

I liked his "protesting our country" comment. LOL.

 

[mugsybows]

Because of the BS with Zeke, I am sure like many Dallas fans, who happen to be the biggest group of fans in the country, refused to watch non Dallas games this year. That could not have helped ratings.

i know i didnt. that and the blatant no holdings while we are going through this power struggle and the league was pretty much WWE to me but less entertaining. why bother.

 

[ksadler1]

BS!!!!
You are here in January and our Cowboys are not playing. The locker rooms have been cleared out and half of the team is sitting on a beach somewhere and you are pretending to have quit football just so you can bring politics into this thread.

You then expose yourself with the last piece of MERICA!!! in your last sentence. Not agreeing with a social problem doesn't mean a person should have to leave the country. What kind of weak minded crap is that?

Keep the politics out of here.

Really?...That's what you got out of my post?...The NFL has become nothing but a huge protest stage. And where did I say ANYONE should leave the country?...Go ahead and quote my post where I said that, I'll wait...The NFL is for entertainment, not to cry on TV when things aren't going right in REAL FRICKEN LIFE...If these guys want to change things in this country, then they should be in government, which is just as corrupt as the NFL now days...And you can take your "social problem" crap outta here too...hypocrite...

 

[theebs]

Who cares.

I hope the types that are mad about the protests do stop watching and attending games.

 

[waldoputty]

From Outkick the Coverage:

This past weekend the NFL had three very competitive games among its four divisional round playoff contests.

Unfortunately for the league, ratings continued to plummet.

In fact, ratings are plummeting so much that virtually no major media outlets are even talking about ratings at all. It’s almost like the league and its television partners have put out the code red not to acknowledge the collapse in viewership so far in 2018.

...

Adding all these numbers up 120.8 million viewers watched the NFL divisional round playoffs in 2018 vs. 144.1 million who watched in 2017, a decline of 23.3 million total viewers.

That’s an overall viewership decline of over 16%, even steeper than last week’s 13% playoff decline. (Even if you leave out the Packers-Cowboys numbers completely the NFL playoff ratings would have still been down 10.3%).

These playoff numbers weren’t just bad compared to last year either, they hit a ten year low.

Will that change this coming weekend with the AFC and NFC title games? We’ll see. But no matter how you slice it, the NFL ratings, both playoff and regular season, are collapsing in 2018.​

Read the whole thing

could not happen to a better group

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

I liked his "protesting our country" comment. LOL.

Maybe a more correct phrase would be (explaining a lot of viewers that have quit watching) the perception of "protesting our country". Whether that be the case or not that is the perception to many who have turned away from the NFL, no denying that (unless one just wants to be argumentative).

Obviously there are other factors contributing to ratings decline.

 

[KJJ]

Not what I said. But without the zeke bs its possible.

Seemed to be what you were inferring.

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

Who cares.

Do you think advertisers and thus TV networks care?

 

[superonyx]

Really?...That's what you got out of my post?...The NFL has become nothing but a huge protest stage. And where did I say ANYONE should leave the country?...Go ahead and quote my post where I said that, I'll wait...The NFL is for entertainment, not to cry on TV when things are going right in REAL FRICKEN LIFE...If these guys want to change things in this country, then they should be in government, which is just as corrupt as the NFL now days...And you can take your "social problem" crap outta here too...hypocrite...

I don't remember the last game I watched that even showed players protesting...What was that maybe week 10? So how is it a big protest stage?
Oh so they don't have to leave the country but they should work for a professional football team in another country.....Hows that work exactly?
You don't get to tell someone else how they get to use their public platform. You hate that don't you? MLK changed things in this country and he wasn't in government. You also don't get to tell someone else how they can change things. You hate that you can't control everyone don't you?

You get to choose if you watch. Thats it. You came and lied about how you quit watching and you got called out on it.

 

[LocimusPrime]

I'm surprised this thread hasn't been moved to the NFL forum yet.

Kudos! That's where threads go to die, it gets more life here.

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

i know i didnt. that and the blatant no holdings while we are going through this power struggle and the league was pretty much WWE to me but less entertaining. why bother.

The blatant "no holding calls" chapped me. Even though I know in my heart the NFL "guides" outcomes of games, the no holding BS along with the inequities associated with the Zeke BS just chapped my arse! Goodell and his punitively guided PC NFL is killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

 

[ksadler1]

I don't remember the last game I watched that even showed players protesting...What was that maybe week 10? So how is it a big protest stage?
Oh so they don't have to leave the country but they should work for a professional football team in another country.....Hows that work exactly?
You don't get to tell someone else how they get to use their public platform. You hate that don't you? MLK changed things in this country and he wasn't in government. You also don't get to tell someone else how they can change things. You hate that you can't control everyone don't you?

You get to choose if you watch. Thats it. You came and lied about how you quit watching and you got called out on it.

I believe what I said was "feel free to explore it"...I'm still waiting for you to quote where I posted anyone should leave this country...You're grasping at straws now bringing MLK in to this...He made his own stage, he didn't rely on a sports venue to provide one...I actually have respect for what he did...What you're trying to say, not so much...you're the definition of a hypocrite...

 

[hornitosmonster]

They also streamed Thursday night games through Amazon Prime. Now a big contract through Verizon. The owners may be old but they aren't stupid. I like your post showing just how much viewership is down across the networks by all age groups. Hey, we watch netflix and I can honestly say it's been at least two years since I've watched a network series. Most are just stupid and boring and I hate reality TV with a passion. Screw the Kardashians .

Netflix and Amazon have the best shows right now. I can imagine what Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead would have been without TV restrictions. They would have been better if you can imagine that.