TV viewership for NFL games remains down from last season, but "had been closing the gap" since Week 1 -- "until last weekend," according to Richard Morgan of the N.Y. POST. The "
poor Week 9 ratings dragged down average NFL viewership season-to-date," with viewership now down 5.7% to date. After Week 1, viewership was down 11.8%. Since then, the gap had "narrowed each week" to where it was off just 5.6% through Week 8. Morgan: "It doesn't get any easier for the NFL from here on" (
N.Y. POST, 11/9). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio writes there is "no reason to think" this year’s "troubling" ratings trend will change in the second half of the season. The absence of a post-election bounce this year "means the gap is about to get bigger." It is "unclear what the NFL can do on the fly to avoid that." One solution would be the "aggressive use of flexing to ensure that the best games will be played in the biggest Sunday spots." Florio: "Creativity will be needed to fix this one, and it needs to be applied not after the season ends but in real time" (
PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 11/9).
: In Tampa, Tom Jones asked "who would've ever thought" that CBS' Tony Romo would be "more valuable in the television booth than on the football field?" Romo is the "best broadcaster to come along since John Madden." He is a half-season into his new gig and is "already the best analyst in the game ... by far" (
TAMPA BAY TIMES, 11/8). Romo and Jim Nantz appeared on “CBS This Morning” today. Nantz said of Romo, “He's a star. I just love the new guy and I’m so excited for what this season has brought for the football fan." Romo then called his new reputation for calling plays before they happen "a little overrated.” Romo: "I feel like I see a lot and you’ve got to condense it and almost simplify it for people watching. So I see a front, a coverage, the philosophy with the coach coming into the game, what he wanted to do defensively to make this quarterback think this certain thing. A lot of that is just the history of what you learned and you feel." Nantz: “We went into this season not overconfident, not arrogant, but feeling like we're just starting something as a partnership that could be special” (
“CBS This Morning,” 11/9).
PHILLY FANATICS: NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA's Rob Ellis wrote he has "never understood" local fans' "hate" for Fox' Joe Buck. Ellis: "I am a Joe Buck fan. Always have been. I find him to be well-prepared, smooth, knowledgeable, has great timing, a sense of humor, often self-deprecating, and knows when to lay out and let the analyst speak or let the picture tell the story." Still, Buck is the "bane of many sports fans." What it "really boils down to is he is not a local broadcaster." Buck's allegiance "does not lie with the home team," and Philly fans "don't like that." The Eagles currently boast the NFL's best record at 8-1, meaning fans are "going to be getting plenty" of Fox' No. 1 NFL team of Buck and Troy Aikman. Ellis: "Maybe this time around, we'll listen to Buck with a different ear?" (NBCSPORTS.com, 11/7).
