NFL Pregame Viewership Reflective Of Struggles, But "Fox NFL Kickoff" Bucks Trend

The decline for NFL games has been well documented, and that dip has also meant a decline for most pregame shows through Week 9. Not helping Sunday morning shows this year was the league’s third London game returning to linear TV (NFL Net) after streaming on Yahoo last year (aired over-the-air only in local markets). Fox and CBS again have had one Sunday morning London game each. Looking at pre-election figures, viewership for “Fox NFL Sunday” is 32% higher than its counterpart on CBS, “The NFL Today.” But Fox’ 12:00pm ET pregame show is down 6% to date. CBS is seeing a 3% drop for “The NFL Today.”

EARLY BIRD CATCHES A WORM: One bright spot for pregame shows is “Fox NFL Kickoff” in the 11:00am window. The show, which is in its second year on the broadcast net, is up 15%. Some of that lift may be due to more affiliates carrying the show in ’16. The show aired on around 84% of Fox affiliates during the ’15 season, and that figure has increased to 86% this season. The increase in coverage for the show has come in some larger markets as well, including Memphis, Baltimore, Columbus, Denver, Hartford and K.C.

FOLLOW MY LEAD: NBC’s “SNF” has seen an 18% drop through Week 9, its lead-in show “Football Night in America” has seen a similar drop (generally airing from 7:30-8:20pm). While ESPN’s “MNF” has seen a 19% drop, “Monday Night Countdown” has seen a 22% drop in viewership, despite a well-publicized offseason cast change. The cast change also has not helped “Sunday NFL Countdown,” whose viewership is down 15% in the 11:00am-1:00pm window on Sundays. Leading into that show in the 10:00am window, “NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition” is seeing viewership decline 13%. If the three mornings during which London games aired are excluded from ESPN's averages, "Sunday NFL Countdown" is down 9% and "NFL Insiders" is down 11%. Over on NFL Network, its four-hour pregame show on Sunday mornings (9:00am) has seen a 1% dip. There was one less show this season, as NFL Net carried Giants-Rams from London on Sunday morning of Oct. 23.