NFL owners yesterday "assessed the league's unusual and precipitous dip in TV ratings" at their quarterly meeting, and the "impact of the dramatic presidential election cycle was certainly a prevailing sentiment," according to Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY. NFL ratings were "down 11% for the first six weeks of the season" compared to last year. Falcons Owner Arthur Blank said, "It's a very muddied water right now because you've got obviously the debates going on and you have the Donald Trump show. That's a lot of commotion right now. It's pretty hard to figure out right now what's real and what's not." Texans Owner Bob McNair: "The debates have had a big impact." However, Bell notes the debates "represent just the biggest of several suspected factors," including Patriots QB Tom Brady serving a four-game suspension, Peyton Manning retiring and "protests by players." Colts Owner Jim Irsay said of the protests, "It's the wrong venue. It hasn't been a positive thing." Irsay's view is "undoubtedly shared by other owners who frown on the protests drawing attention from their product." It is "way premature to suggest that the NFL is in trouble of losing its position as the nation's most popular sport," but the league is "taking the declining numbers seriously." Blank: "The ratings thing, we can't ignore" (USA TODAY, 10/19).
IMPACT ON ADVERTISERS: AD AGE's Anthony Crupi wrote whatever is "subverting the NFL's mesmeric hold over the nation, the primetime ratings struggle is beginning to give advertisers a bad case of the willies." Still, several upcoming "SNF" games "look promising" for NBC. Taken as a two-year stack, the drop in NFL ratings "is tempered to a 5% loss, which reflects the huge numbers NFL games racked up early last fall" (ADAGE.com, 10/18). A report by Fitch Ratings stated that this season's decline in NFL primetime TV viewership is unlikely to have a negative impact on the NFL's credit ratings in the near term. However, if the trend continues for a prolonged period it could hurt future television contract renewals in '20 and beyond (Fitch).
FUN & GAMES: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes, "Hypocrisy aside, the NFL's over-zealousness in cracking down on end zone celebrations and limiting game-day video content on the individual teams' social media accounts is stunning for its short-sightedness." As TV ratings "continue their free fall," the league "should be actively trying to appeal to younger fans, not reminding them of why the NFL is mocked as the No Fun League." The NFL "might think it is protecting its broadcast partners or its own brand by barring the 32 teams from posting their own video highlights or using them to create animated GIFs." However, when there is an "endless array of entertainment options and what's hot can change in a nanosecond, touchdown dances, highlights and cheeky GIFs can help expand the audience." Armour: "They create chatter and attract eyeballs, and that, in turn, raises interest. Look at the NBA, which has embraced social media with the enthusiasm of a 14 year old" (USA TODAY, 10/19).
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS: VICE SPORTS' David Roth wrote under the header, "Maybe NFL Ratings Are Down Because The Games Are Bad." If a game is "bad enough, even people that authentically enjoy watching football can see the game as it appears to people who don't like watching it." Roth: "Lay enough of these games end to end over the course of a week or six, and you're just about caught up with this NFL season, and probably some way towards understanding why the ratings for the league's marquee Sunday and Monday night games are down markedly" (SPORTS.VICE.com, 10/18). ESPN’s Bomani Jones said, “These haven’t been entertaining football games. ... They go to commercial. There’s a kickoff. Then after the kickoff they go to commercial and then they come back again to play. That’s not an enjoyable viewing experience and when you have penalties up in the way that they appear to be, then no that’s not something that people want to watch” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 10/18).
WHO'S THE REAL CULPRIT? THE RINGER's Kevin Clark wrote the NFL's "real culprit" in its ratings decline "may be oversaturation." Amid the league's "budding ratings crisis, it's possible that there's just too much football on TV." In recent years, the NFL has "introduced a regular Thursday broadcast as a way to boost the profitability of the NFL Network ('06); instituted a doubleheader on the first Monday night of the season ('06); and added a few early-morning games per season in London to build the international audience." This has led to an "explosion of instances in which just one game is on at a time" (THERINGER.com, 10/18). The Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan said, “The reason for the declining interest more than anything else is the millennial viewing habits, it’s the 'cut the cord' people.” ESPN’s Pablo Torre said, “This right now is like a murder mystery. There are all these suspects -- it’s ‘Clue’ -- and we don't know who’s responsible. All we can say for sure is that there is this election which is the most insane ratings-grabbing election that we’ve ever seen” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 10/18).
