NFL ratings and reasons
Published 10.16.2016I have kept to my resolution not to watch American football this season— and my husband for the most part is still with me, though occasionally he choosing to watch "his team," which is perfectly fine. Again, as I said in my in my original piece, football is not illegal and begrudge no one their indulgence in a sport they enjoy.
In the first weeks of the season, I was able to finish a painting project, but otherwise the extra time in my schedule has been spent reading or writing. In particular, the additional time writing has resulted in more postings at my websites, which is a good thing. But my dream of being able to finish long languishing projects, for the most part, has not been realized.
However, that's not why I decided to write this piece. The reason for this second entry about "hand egg" is that NFL ratings are down for the year. Ratings are down, and the articles offer every excuse imaginable, except that people are turning away from the NFL because of the brutality of the game.
Ratings are down 10%, which is a number that can't be ignored. Interestingly, primetime numbers are down the most, which suggests that maybe the election is part of the problem. Certainly the first debate so record viewership and the NFL game that night was affected. However, the rating for the subsequent two debates have not set records, and the VP debate was one of the lowest ratings ever.
Some blame Colin Kaepernick, and I'm sure that's a portion of the decline— particularly amongst those who are distressed about the demographic shifts in the country.
It is also true that there are many more ways to watch the games (beyond the television), and which don't count to the same effect with advertisers as a web view. I don’t understand why that is— it happens to late night shows too. Youtube views should be as important as network viewing. And they can make so that to see it you have to take the ad blocker off or run a commercial as part of the video.
I don’t want to get too side tracked into the inanity of the advertising business, but do they really think people stay glued to their sets during ads? Commercial breaks are for bathroom or fridge visits. Surely my home is not the only one where that is the case.
Another reason that gets mentioned is that lack of a "narrative" (no good vs evil) because so many stars have either retired, or are injured or have been suspended, If this is the case, then the ratings will change for the better now that Tom Brady (cast in the villain role, so far as I can see) is back playing. (Yes, exposure to some football news is impossible, and I do know in general terms what's going on, even as I don't watch anything or read analyses.)
Sheesh, even the end zone celebration rule is blamed. EVERYTHING but the fact that football is basically watching a group of men try to injure each other.
Whatever the reason for the ratings decline, I can't say that I'm disappointed. However, neither am I prepping to dance on the NFL's grave. If the bulk of the decline is election related… the election will be done and dusted by November 9th. If the decline is based on the migration to viewing on other devices, well, eventually advertisers will figure it out and the number will shift.
Suffice to say, I'm not unhappy but I'm no celebrating the decline either, because I'm no convinced it's real. I might think it's more real if fantasy football leagues had reported a downturn in interest, but so far as I've seen, that is not the case.
Disclaimer
Related writings:
Search this site: