I think there are many reasons why the NFL is struggling to maintain its viewership and pointing to any specific one as the largest impact is not being very realistic. I can list many reasons off the top of my head why fewer people are watching the NFL (in no particular order) ..
- The quality of the NFL in terms of product (team competitiveness) has declined with many teams in perpetual "rebuild" mode.
- The lack of young superstar quarterbacks to replace the retiring superstar quarterbacks. Yes, there are good young quarterbacks, but none of them are proving to be superstar level beyond 1-2 years, and even then, just being good does not mean "superstar". Maybe Prescott, Wentz, Goff, Watson, etc. will turn into the Bradys, Mannings, and Rodgers of tomorrow, but for now, they are just good quarterbacks.
- A lot more TV options on Sundays than in the past. Netflix and other streaming services are now available 24/7 which means a Sunday afternoon can be dominated by non-NFL/sports media consumption. In the past, NFL fans controlled their TVs on NFL Sunday afternoons because there was really nothing else on worthy of watching beyond old movies, TV show reruns and documentaries. Now, there's plenty to watch whenever you want.
- Fewer people are going to church these days which is impacting the ritual of going to church, eating Sunday lunch and football for the rest of the day.
- Having more games on TV every week by adding Thursday games has diluted the uniqueness of NFL games.
- Having Monday night games on a paid-for TV channel (ESPN) as more and more people cut the cord from cable and satellite TV services.
- Showing half of Thursday night games on a paid-for TV channel (NFL Network) as more and more people cut the cord from cable and satellite TV services.
- MLB teams with long standing histories and huge fan followings such as the Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, etc. fighting for and making the post season in baseball.
- Player protests that originally focused on kneeling during the National Anthem has offended many people. While many have switched to a more supported kneel-before-the-anthem protest, many fans are not separating them after the fact as their actions still remind them that those players were kneeling during the anthem previously.
- The rising costs of NFL game tickets increasing each year for most teams.
- The rising costs of NFL merchandise increasing each year for most teams.
- The rising cost of NFL Sunday Ticket increasing each year.
- The NFL turning into criminal prosecutors by going after popular players year after year, month after month, in court.
- The quality of refereeing in the NFL continuing to decline despite mistakes that are clearly identified by fans and sports commentators with HD TV and high frame rate video.
- The lack of consistent penalty calling and enforcement depending on which team of referees you get, while fans being told the right call was made, and then the opposite ruling is made the next week and again said to be correct.
- Constant changes to the game by the NFL to make it more competitive such as shorter kickoffs, longer extra points, new overtime rules, etc. moves the game further away from the one most grew up watching.
- The constant effort to make the game safer for players at the expense of removing hard hits causing fewer turn overs and game changing plays.
- The increased protection of players who may or may not have suffered concussions helping to remove more and more players from games.
.. and those are just the ones I thought of while writing this.
Before someone chimes in with their agenda flag waving like mad, I listed these as objectively as I could. I do not agree with all of them and most of them have had no impact on my NFL my viewing habits. These are just things I have heard people complaining about either in conversations or throughout the internet and while one or two may not be enough to impact someone's viewing habits, I am sure the more boxes that get checked on this list will eventually start to make that impact for many people and likely already have.
