All ratings were down except one

[erod]

The solution? More Thursday Night Football!!!

The NFL has to stop this. The games are painfully ugly, the uniforms are even worse, the audience is small, and it's damaging the image of the league.

 

[Silver Surfer]

How about dropping the price to watch and attend games?

I keep hearing about how the Millennials are struggling to get by, working multiple jobs and doing without. That's the current/next generation of fans. If they don't watch, its a pretty sure bet their kids won't either, because they largely get their values from their parents.

You can see them trying to expand markets by looking for new demographics (women) and geographical areas (Mexico and Europe).
They're becoming like Disney World: catering to the wealthy from all over the globe and treating the locals like an afterthought.

The NFL and its players' own greed will be its undoing.

 

[Nightman]

The NFL is committing suicide with all the SJW stuff and targeting their own stars for punishment

The NBA would never go after Lebron or Steph Curry...... they protect them

MLB is regional but it is the same game it has been for 100 years.....besides a well run replay system

The NFL has bogged down the game with penalties and commercials.....those are huge problems.....like player conduct they look for ways to take big plays OFF the board with replay.....there is no spontaneity

The NFL loaded the deck with good matchups and TNF was down 13%, Fox down 28% Fox National down 12%, CBS down 10%, SNF up 5% with Dallas and Zeke, MNF down 12% and 7% from low ratings last year............ ESPN is hemorrhaging viewers with anchors like Jemele Hill and cord cutters....... they are down 10m households in the last 5years

The NFL is not indestructible and the fans will and have been leaving... look at NASCAR and WWE and that is whats coming

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

The NFL has to stop this. The games are painfully ugly, the uniforms are even worse, the audience is small, and it's damaging the image of the league.

Just look at that game last night. Unwatchable.

 

[QT]

If I'm not mistaken, the Cowboys play the Chargers in LA this year.

If so, it will be 75% Cowboys fans.

Basically an extra home game.

Also, the Arizona game might be a majority Cowboy crowd as well.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Cowboys vs The World.

 

[TheCoolFan]

The NFL has to stop this. The games are painfully ugly, the uniforms are even worse, the audience is small, and it's damaging the image of the league.

The NFL is just too arrogant in thinking that it doesn't matter how crappy of a product it is, fans will tune in, spend money, etc.

Thursday Night Football could go away today and I bet there wouldn't be much backlash from the fans (and obviously the players hate it so there would be no complaints from them either).

Yet the NFL probably sees the potential to make a few extra bucks in the short-term so they think it's worth it. They are banking on the "football superfan" who lives and breathes football 24/7 but in reality, those types of people are a minority. People care for their own teams but good luck getting the casual fan to consistently tune into games like Houston/Cincinnati.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

This is why the NFL is seemingly stepping out on the limb in the Zeke situation. You may ask yourself, why would the NFL go after the very organization that is a rating cow?

Here is what I think. The NFL, in their minds, needs to make up for past mistakes on the DV issue. What better way to make up for it, than going after a high profile player from that very same ratings cow. Perhaps their thoughts are that the Cowboys are going to be watched no matter what, win or lose which has been proven in the past. Even in the post JJ lean years, the Cowboys still remained a very good ratings draw despite some very mediocre seasons.

A convenient situation presented itself to the NFL that allows them to make a very very grand statement: "Look at us!, we are punishing a Star player in the NFL for DV!".

It's a win/win situation for the NFL in this case, a grand statement on DV, plus the ratings cow that is the Dallas Cowboys will STILL be the biggest draw in the NFL. In other words, no skin off their teeth.

It's the proverbial having their cake and eating it too.

 

[Philmonroe]

Speaking of that do we get Romo and Nance this week? Anyone know?

Someone answered already but I'm amazed at how many still don't get how the nfl works as far as tv channels with few exceptions.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Dallas in prime time is the one constant for ratings no matter what. Other matchups can get big or even bigger ratings but they must have some type of intrigue associated with it or only fans of those two teams are watching. Everyone watches Dallas. You are either a Dallas fan or you want to see them lose.

There is no in between.....

 

[ThreeandOut]

This is why the NFL is seemingly stepping out on the limb in the Zeke situation. You may ask yourself, why would the NFL go after the very organization that is a rating cow?

Here is what I think. The NFL, in their minds, needs to make up for past mistakes on the DV issue. What better way to make up for it, than going after a high profile player from that very same ratings cow. Perhaps their thoughts are that the Cowboys are going to be watched no matter what, win or lose which has been proven in the past. Even in the post JJ lean years, the Cowboys still remained a very good ratings draw despite some very mediocre seasons.

A convenient situation presented itself to the NFL that allows them to make a very very grand statement: "Look at us!, we are punishing a Star player in the NFL for DV!".

It's a win/win situation for the NFL in this case, a grand statement on DV, plus the ratings cow that is the Dallas Cowboys will STILL be the biggest draw in the NFL. In other words, no skin off their teeth.

It's the proverbial having their cake and eating it too.

What they failed to account for was the suspension being delayed. Going after the running back on the most visible team in the league is proving to be a double edged sword for the NFL. Every game that he plays, he's getting greater exposure and more people are finding out how unfair the NFL has been here, especially after Mazzant's ruling. That's why the NFL is trying so desperately to get the suspension enforced right away.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

There is no in between.....

Everybody cares. It's quite a phenomenon.

 

[aikemirv]

Speaking of that do we get Romo and Nance this week? Anyone know?

To be CBS, it has to be an NFC home game. - weird I know....

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

What they failed to account for was the suspension being delayed. Going after the running back on the most visible team in the league is proving to be a double edged sword for the NFL. Every game that he plays, he's getting greater exposure and more people are finding out how unfair the NFL has been here, especially after Mazzant's ruling. That's why the NFL is trying so desperately to get the suspension enforced right away.

I agree that they failed to account for the courts siding with Zeke. But why would they when they have gotten their way up until now.

 

[JoeKing]

Speaking of that do we get Romo and Nance this week? Anyone know?

Our game is on Fox... Romo is CBS.

 

[TheHerd]

ESPN runs through 2021, the others are through 2022. I think football as we know it will see a major change after that.

 

[JoeKing]

Wow, that's a large viewership the Cowboys draw. They really are America's Team.

 

[ThreeandOut]

I agree that they failed to account for the courts siding with Zeke. But why would they when they have gotten their way up until now.

The courts sided with Brady initially and it took him a year to get suspended.

 

[Direwolf63]

Also, the Arizona game might be a majority Cowboy crowd as well.

Which is great. The problem is that that stadium has been a house of horrors for the Cowboys. They invent new and bizarre ways of losing there. Including, but not limited to, icing their own kicker

 

[Shake_Tiller]

I think the thing that would help the NFL the most would be to create a minor league system like MLB has, though only one minor league, not several like MLB uses. That would allow players of all ages the ability to play on teams coached by NFL minor league coaches and show they can perform at the NFL level. That would mean less time wasted on many top round draft picks who end up as busts. Instead, most drafted players would go into the minor league first, and then get promoted to their NFL team. Now, some players could still go straight from the draft to the NFL, but this way, teams would be filled with more players who can play, rather than holding spots for players not ready to play but would be claimed if not protected on the active roster.

The NFL needs to stop using college football as their minor league because college football does not play by the same rules or even have the same play style as NFL teams. Even college teams that run so-called "pro-style" offenses are not running true NFL offensive schemes.

Rather than some 8-team NFL Europe type of league, the NFL should copy MLB and allow every team to create one minor league team. They could do things differently such as once a player has played 2 years for a minor league team, another NFL team can make an offer to sign-him and his current NFL team could either match the offer, promote him or let him go.

Such a league would be especially valuable in developing QBs and OL. That alone would make it worthwhile -- at least from a fan's standpoint. Eliminate Thursday night football (other than holiday games), and play the minor league games that night. Play maybe a 12-game schedule and allow for a few late-season call-ups, such as MLB does. Expand the rosters, say December 1, to accommodate the call-ups.

I'd let players rehab in the minor league at the team's discretion. And I would let players who are suspended for other than criminal (violent crime) reasons play in the league at whatever wage it pays. A guy like Randy Gregory, for instance, could hone his skills, stay in shape, and be in some kind of structured environment, if he chose to take advantage of the opportunity.

Minor league games would be good programming for the NFL Network, which would help justify the expense. And by allowing every NFL team to have a team, there would be added fan interest.

The caliber of play in the NFL would improve, and more players would have jobs. Seems like a win/win.

The colleges would oppose because players would have an option to play football somewhere else, but it's time big-money college football was ratcheted back a bit in any case.