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

Cowboys22 · Jan 19, 2018

Sarek said:
The NFL game has become stale with so many penalties and commercials. The announcers hype up every replay like it was the greatest close call that ever happened. Their overselling it and it's very noticeable.

I agree but don't discount the abundance of rule changes that have come in the Goodell era. It's not the same game it was for anyone over 30 who grew up loving the NFL. Stale is a very good word to describe the NFL for older fans. Blatant penalties not called, obvious catches now incompletions, no competition in the AFC, unequal and arbitrary punishments, and the NFL investigating things the police already cleared. It all makes for a stale experience compared to what the league was.

Sydla · Jan 19, 2018

Centex said:
I really think a lot of people just had enough of rich spoiled players who have made millions playing a sport but disrespect the country. Most of these players would not have been well off except for sports. And most would be worse off living any where else in he world.

I also think that so many fans resent being lectured by the NFL and or the networks. Bob Costas gun control rant is one example. This is been going on for years now. I have also read where the NFL has given money to political or social movements like BLM. They have chosen to become political. Regardless of what movements they support they will alienate a lot of people. The NFL needs to stick to football. People watch the games and follow the NFL for an escape. Once the escape is gone there is a lot less reason to watch.

I guess I have never really understood this type of thinking. Now if players were boycotting games or protesting during games, I guess I might understand it because it would disturb the actual viewing of games. But for the life of me, I can't understand why some players kneeling during a flag ceremony, which most people never even paid attention to anyway, suddenly ruins the actual game action.

A compelling matchup is a compelling matchup regardless if some players kneel before the game. Two great teams playing in a Sunday Night game is still two great teams playing regardless if some players kneel.

The "escape" is actually watching the actual game action, not the anthem before the game, which for years, was never even televised anyway.

Diehardblues · Jan 19, 2018

While there has obviously been some issues which has impacted the NFL the trends in TV viewership decline has been occurring for several years which up until last couple years has not impacted sports broadcast as much.

I’ll attach this story providing stats and graphs copying the latest figures from 2017 and overall decline in last 5 years. Teens segment has dropped over 40% and Millennials over 30%. The overall trends are in line to the decline we’ve seen in the NFL.

Teens (12-17) watched 11 hours and 47 minutes of traditional TV per week in Q1, a substantial 17.6% drop year-over-year (much larger than in Q1 2017) and a massive 45.5% contraction since 2012;
Older Millennials (25-34) watched 18 hours and 23 minutes per week in Q2, a 12.2% decrease year-over-year that was larger than Q1’s drop, along with a considerable 32.2% drop over 5 years;
Gen Xers (35-49) watched 26 hours and 59 minutes per week, a 7% decline that continues to accelerate over time (Q1’s drop was 4.8%; Q4 2016’s was 1.6%), and representing a 15.8% contraction over a 5-year period;
Adults aged 50-64 watched 39 hours and 35 minutes per week, down 1.8% year-over-year (weaker than in Q1), but relatively flat (-1.1%) over 5 years; and
Adults aged 65 and older watched 48 hours and 4 minutes per week, down by 1.2% from the previous year (the first decline since Q1 2015) and up by 6% over 5 years.
https://www.marketingcharts.com/featured-24817

hornitosmonster · Jan 19, 2018

northerncowboynation said:
Correction, millennials are leaving ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC behind in just about every programming time slot. There is a reason for the 2 billion dollar deal to live stream through Verizon. Live streaming is where millennials live. I know, I have 2 of them (not true millennials because they both arrived in the 90's but that's how they refer to themselves)

I have three myself. Zero attention span to watch a game. The current "in" social media app is Snapchat. Don't pretend the current generation is consuming the NFL like we did. It's people like me that are cutting the cord and streaming.

BotchedLobotomy · Jan 19, 2018

Clove said:
More people are moving towards social media and other internet and cell usage to watch games. I watch all the games I can't see on reddit.

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.

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

Sarek said:
The NFL game has become stale with so many penalties and commercials. The announcers hype up every replay like it was the greatest close call that ever happened. Their overselling it and it's very noticeable.

I'll live with the commercials. I understand that's how the networks have survived up until this point. It's how the networks profit. Could live with fewer penalty calls. It was marginally better this year than 2016 when there were several games with 20 plus calls. I wonder how the NFL plans to market in Europe. Not likely through American networks. It would be interesting to see their business model there

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

Heck expand north to Toronto. I'd gladly pay to see the Cowboys play.

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

hornitosmonster said:
I have three myself. Zero attention span to watch a game. The current "in" social media app is Snapchat. Don't pretend the current generation is consuming the NFL like we did. It's people like me that are cutting the cord and streaming.

My son watches, my daughter doesn't but her bf does. I certainly don't pretend to be in tune with millennials but yeah, they have a need for speed. In the good old days speed came in pill form, now it comes in cell phone and tablet form

.

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

Diehardblues said:
While there has obviously been some issues which has impacted the NFL the trends in TV viewership decline has been occurring for several years which up until last couple years has not impacted sports broadcast as much.

I’ll attach this story providing stats and graphs copying the latest figures from 2017 and overall decline in last 5 years. Teens segment has dropped over 40% and Millennials over 30%. The overall trends are in line to the decline we’ve seen in the NFL.

Teens (12-17) watched 11 hours and 47 minutes of traditional TV per week in Q1, a substantial 17.6% drop year-over-year (much larger than in Q1 2017) and a massive 45.5% contraction since 2012;

Older Millennials (25-34) watched 18 hours and 23 minutes per week in Q2, a 12.2% decrease year-over-year that was larger than Q1’s drop, along with a considerable 32.2% drop over 5 years;

Gen Xers (35-49) watched 26 hours and 59 minutes per week, a 7% decline that continues to accelerate over time (Q1’s drop was 4.8%; Q4 2016’s was 1.6%), and representing a 15.8% contraction over a 5-year period;

Adults aged 50-64 watched 39 hours and 35 minutes per week, down 1.8% year-over-year (weaker than in Q1), but relatively flat (-1.1%) over 5 years; and

Adults aged 65 and older watched 48 hours and 4 minutes per week, down by 1.2% from the previous year (the first decline since Q1 2015) and up by 6% over 5 years.

https://www.marketingcharts.com/featured-24817

Nice. Some facts we can sink our teeth in to. I like facts

. My kids fall in to category 2 and I'm a cat 4 hurricane

Aven8 · Jan 19, 2018

coult44 said:
Listen folks, ever since the Cowboys won their last super bowl game,
The event has got bigger and bigger. More
Popular by 100X . They are doing just fine without us being involved and JK knows it. When teams like Jax, Minny, Philly, Atlanta, and Seattle have championship appearances and the Dallas Freeeeeeking Cowboys haven't in two and a half decades, you must be honest . We ar some good fans to stick with this sorry franchise We are now ranking with teams like Cleveland and Cincy in playoff success?? Holy geeeeeewiz

I get all that. But we still draw eyeballs. Lots of them. If I had my bet we have games this year that were more watched than most of these playoff games.

But you're right. We do stink!

Diehardblues · Jan 19, 2018

northerncowboynation said:
Nice. Some facts we can sink our teeth in to. I like facts . My kids fall in to category 2 and I'm a cat 4 hurricane

I’m in the 50-64 soon to be in the oldest category which has the least decline which I watch during football season prob close to 25 hours of just football a week. But while I enjoy surfing online during watching TV, it’s still my main source of entertainment while at home. I have a sports cave with 5 TV’s.

But I have friends and family who don’t even have cable or satellite ,streaming all of their programming thru the Internet.

The NFL will need to adjust to the trends of the times . I think their first broadcast on Yahoo exclusively this year with a game from London was their test.

The next TV bargaining agreement will no doubt be less for the NFL unless they add additional weeks and or games but remember even with these declines the NFL is still the#1 broadcast on TV so if your a sponsor that’s where you want your dollars going.

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

Diehardblues said:
I’m in the 50-64 soon to be in the oldest category which has the least decline which I watch during football season prob close to 25 hours of just football a week. But while I enjoy surfing online during watching TV, it’s still my main source of entertainment while at home. I have a sports cave with 5 TV’s.

But I have friends and family who don’t even have cable or satellite ,streaming all of their programming thru the Internet.

The NFL will need to adjust to the trends of the times . I think their first broadcast on Yahoo exclusively this year with a game from London was their test.

The next TV bargaining agreement will no doubt be less for the NFL unless they add additional weeks and or games but remember even with these declines the NFL is still the#1 broadcast on TV so if your a sponsor that’s where you want your dollars going.

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

.

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

coult44 said:
Listen folks, ever since the Cowboys won their last super bowl game,
The event has got bigger and bigger. More
Popular by 100X . They are doing just fine without us being involved and JK knows it. When teams like Jax, Minny, Philly, Atlanta, and Seattle have championship appearances and the Dallas Freeeeeeking Cowboys haven't in two and a half decades, you must be honest . We ar some good fans to stick with this sorry franchise We are now ranking with teams like Cleveland and Cincy in playoff success?? Holy geeeeeewiz

I'll be a fan of the Boys until (A) I'm too demented to remember what a fan does or (B) I'm taking a big old dirt nap. Don't ever confuse me with a Cleveland or Cincy fan lol

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

Hey Goody, wise up, we're the draw team. Tell the refs to keep the flags in their pocket unless it's Tank rushing the QB, then they should call the obvious holds

crashintonickdm · Jan 19, 2018

the issue is simple: the teams in the playoffs simply aren’t draws

Cowboys
Packers
Bears
Seahawks
49ers
Giants
Commanders

All absent

northerncowboynation · Jan 19, 2018

Yep, the Raiders, Rams ad Chargers drew how many fans to their stadiums? Hey, we hate on JJ but he hasn't moved the team to California yet

Jake · Jan 19, 2018

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

They weren't empty when the game started. They began emptying when it was 28-7 Jags and the "diehard" Steeler fans - who had been drinking since dawn - started noticing it was 12 degrees.

Jake · Jan 19, 2018

Cas2800 said:
Go ahead and show those overpaid, arrogant players kneeling for the Superbowl. I guess American took them seriously when the players said "If you don't like it...Don't watch." Dummies forget fans are what pays their big salaries.

Jake · Jan 19, 2018

Quickdraw said:
The big draws aren't in the playoffs. That's why the viewership is down. As much as people love to hate the Cowboys, they draw viewers.

Stop being logical. That sort of thinking has no place here.

Vanilla2 · Jan 19, 2018

ksadler1 said:
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...

Weird right?

It’s almost like the only people talking about the politics are the people that are tired of the politics in football

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

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Wide Right

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Beyond tired of Jerry

Beyond tired of Jerry

Beyond tired of Jerry

Well-Known Member