TV Ratings decline

[jterrell]

Don't know if you've been following this but the thinking that a captive audience would be a ratings bonanza has not happened and in fact the TV nets are doing make goods and discounting the rates because of the 25% drop in viewership. It was off almost 50% on Thanksgiving. This is unheard of to be discounting rates on the NFL.

In case you haven't noticed, the commercial load has increased and the same tired ATT, Progressive, State Farm, Toyota ads are hard to avoid along with every prescription drug with s=ide effects as bad as what they're designed for. It is overkill to the point of really being interested in the game to stay with it. I find myself drifting and checking out what's going on elsewhere.

There are several reasons floating out there, one of which we cannot discuss here, but I do not think this is temporary, I think the NFL and the nets are going to have to adjust to what I think the real enemy is, choices. And I have seen some ad men addressing this as the challenge.

TV nets don't usually try to counter NFL programming and in fact will promote games on other nets but the new kids on the block, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Hulu, Peacock and HBO MAX don't have to worry about that, they just keep cranking out the productions. And advertising them during the games.

It does sound logical that live sports would get a boost with a stay at home audience but all of them were off and not just by a little, MLB. NBA, NHL were in the dumpster. And the once impervious NFL joined them and with TV deals coming up tied to the cap, this will be most interesting to see where this goes.

Some will say this is temporary. Like some said the NFL ratings would go through the roof. I don't think so.

NFL viewership is down 8% for the season. That is insanely high versus ANY OTHER PROGRAMMING.
Cable packages are way down.
In 2018, there were 90.3 million US households subscribed to PA (Cable/Satellite) TV, with that number dropping by almost 4 million in 2019 to 86.5 million. This number was expected to drop even further in 2020 to 82.9 million households.

Homes that have cut the cord are likewise increasing at a similar rate. In 2018, the number of households without pay TV service was 36 million. That number has steadily increased to 40.2 million in 2019 and an estimated 44.3 million in 2020.

It is important to point out that just because a household doesn’t have Pay TV service, doesn’t mean they are a cord cutter. As many Millennials enter the workforce, they simply do not see the benefit of paying over $123 a month on cable service and are colloquially referred to as ‘Cord Nevers’. A cord cutter is someone who once did pay for TV, then cancelled their service in favor of cheaper and/or more customer friendly alternatives such as streaming or the use of a DTV antenna.

NFL has no real issues with viewership. It's an overall shift in the market place to streams a decent % of which are free and not counted.

The NFL will likely eventually just run its own app. And sell the games directly to you.

 

[Jammer]

It's not the same game I watched years ago. It's not as fun because the rules have changed so much. It got boring and then rest of the crap was inserted into the narrative I just quit watching, and I've discovered I have a lot more time on Sundays to do other things. I don't miss it. I never would have thought that 10-15 years ago.

 

[InTheZone]

Ratings declining is here to stay though regardless of where people watch the game. Nfl has only themselves to blame.

 

[ChuckA1]

its a mix of both, but I'd say the streaming era has far more of an impact of live TV than anything else

Respectfully, you are telling me a hardcore NFL fan would now rather watch Netflix? Sorry, I just don't buy that.

And this being blamed on an election year is nonsense also, imho. Viewership was declining at the start of the season. The NFL has done this to themselves.

 

[Diehardblues]

I agree CC. I mean, not so long ago, current events didn't matter. Didn't matter what was going on, the NFL trumped everything. That's not the case any longer I guess. Hard to ignore that reality.

Actually Pres election years have impacted viewership for several decades.

 

[InTheZone]

Nobody watches live tv anymore. It has nothing to do with politics or whatever crap people with questionable agendas want to believe so bad.


We’re in the Netflix era

Questionable agendas? Feel free to believe what you want, we can revisit this whenever you like.

 

[Diehardblues]

Ratings declining is here to stay though regardless of where people watch the game. Nfl has only themselves to blame.

Rating declines are sports and network wide. This isn’t just a NFL issue. The NFL is still drawing the largest crowds on the Networks.

This is more about Americans trends and of course the Pres election which always impacts viewership and the pandemic in which cable news are up record numbers.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Don't know if you've been following this but the thinking that a captive audience would be a ratings bonanza has not happened and in fact the TV nets are doing make goods and discounting the rates because of the 25% drop in viewership. It was off almost 50% on Thanksgiving.

The Cowboys Thanksgiving day game was the highest rated TV show since the Super Bowl last February.

 

[InTheZone]

Rating declines are sports and network wide. This isn’t just a NFL issue. The NFL is still drawing the largest crowds on the Networks.

This is more about Americans trends and of course the Pres election which always impacts viewership and the pandemic in which cable news are up record numbers.

There's many common denominators for why networks, especially sports networks, have declined this year. And I can tell you personally election coverage had zero impact on me watching a game at any point in my time. And people arent going to give up their favorite sport for "pandemic" news.

 

[CouchCoach]

The issue for the NFL is the next contract and this drop will be used by the nets in the negotiation. The real question is what other entity is out there that would compete with the TV nets for the games? Amazon, Apple, Disney and Netflix have huge pockets. Just don't know how interested they are in running live sports

 

[Typhus]

The NFL has seen its heyday. It’s going to be a steady fall into the underground now.

sadly I agree.
This game will never be the same..
Its started with Good morning football on ESPN.
Its like the views version of football... thanks for ruining another channel.

 

[lurkercowboy]

Of course there are obvious factors that cannot be named, but what about oversaturation? Most NFL weeks in the 1970s there were two early games and one late game televised on Sundays, and the Monday night game. That was it. Our "sports news" was on the local channels that rarely mentioned anything above the local level. Yet somehow, my peer group and I knew far more about the NFL than anyone I know now. I knew far more then than now. In some way, less was more. Does anyone think the same?

 

[InTheZone]

The Cowboys Thanksgiving day game was the highest rated TV show since the Super Bowl last February.

Because all other ratings have been poor? Dont the cowboys usually turn out to have the highest ratings? You can still have lower ratings across the board, someone still has to come out the top.

 

[CouchCoach]

Actually Pres election years have impacted viewership for several decades.

That affects all ratings. News/talk stations spike in radio unlike any other time except in national emergencies.

 

[CouchCoach]

Of course there are obvious factors that cannot be named, but what about oversaturation? Most NFL weeks in the 1970s there were two early games and one late game televised on Sundays, and the Monday night game. That was it. Our "sports news" was on the local channels that rarely mentioned anything above the local level. Yet somehow, my peer group and I knew far more about the NFL than anyone I know now. I knew far more then than now. In some way, less was more. Does anyone think the same?

I feel the same but I grew up with 3 TV nets and any college and NFL games on TV were special. Some games actually had an event feel to them like OU/TEX, ND/USC and OSU/MI and now that all seems just the usual.

 

[ChuckA1]

Rating declines are sports and network wide. This isn’t just a NFL issue. The NFL is still drawing the largest crowds on the Networks.

This is more about Americans trends and of course the Pres election which always impacts viewership and the pandemic in which cable news are up record numbers.

Yes, the viewership has declined for many sports. But I don't buy a fan will rather watch pandemic news while locked in his house on a Sunday afternoon. That is completely incorrect as most of us want to get away from the news. Again, the various leagues have done this to themselves.

 

[lurkercowboy]

I feel the same but I grew up with 3 TV nets and any college and NFL games on TV were special. Some games actually had an event feel to them like OU/TEX, ND/USC and OSU/MI and now that all seems just the usual.

Yes, the NFL used to feel more like a special event. Maybe it was not just the NFL, but all sports were rarer back then.

 

[DallasEast]

Some folks have been walking a tightrope with the thread's lifespan to this point.

Link 1
Link 2

 

[Bobhaze]

ravens browns not entertaining? i mean for two great defenses to look porous was it great offense? seems like an epic battles from the media responses..

For every browns-ravens great game, there’s 10 snoozers like jets vs anyone, jags vs Texans....and hate to say it, but most of the games our Cowboys have thrown out this year have been just bad football. IMO, the NFL was waaaaay better when there were less teams. 24 is probably about right instead of 32.

I’m always going to watch the Cowboys cuz I’m a lifelong fan, but lots of casual Cowboys and NFL fans aren’t that interested in watching a bad football game when there are 150 other choices available for their entertainment. It’s not like 1980, when there were 5 channels available.

My 3 sons, all now in their 30s, grew up watching the Cowboys every week with their old man. These days, they consider the Cowboys a complete joke. My youngest son, now 33, says he last watched a Cowboys game wall to wall in 2009. My older two sons, 35 and 37, are both huge Dallas Mavericks fans. They were in 5th and 7th grade respectively the last time the Cowboys won a divisional playoff game. They are huge Dallas sports fans, but gave up on the Jones boys years ago.

 

[cowboyblue22]

It will be interesting to see how the NFL handles this going forward. Sure, it would be easy to simply blame the decline on current events. I am of a mind, however, that the drop in viewership is more systemic in nature -- quality of product on the field, politicization of sports in general, oversaturation and, dare I mention, the pampered and tolerated nature of the modern sports star -- and will not likely rebound without fundamental changes to the game itself.

for me i think if they changed the rules that u only get half of ur pay when u lose games may get a lot better and the league will look lots better