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Regardless of attitude toward scandals, NFL fans still watching

The NFL’s position as the most popular programming on television continues. Early signs suggest that the domestic violence and child abuse scandals that are rocking the league are not yet affecting the NFL’s appeal among TV viewers.

This is a difficult column to write. A myopic focus on the health of the TV ratings of a league embroiled in scandals runs the risk of appearing tone deaf to serious societal issues. It’s clear to me that fans are invested in these domestic violence and child abuse stories and want to see substantive changes in the way the NFL does business.

It also appears likely that these same fans are separating their disgust of the league’s off-field problems from their enjoyment of the league’s on-field product.

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SBJ Podcast:
Media writer John Ourand and Assistant Managing Editor Tom Stinson on how the NFL's recent scandals have had no effect on the league's ratings or advertising, as well as their thoughts on ESPN's suspension of Bill Simmons, in this week's NFL "Behind The Headlines" podcast.

We will know that the NFL’s problems are hurting the league’s business when TV ratings drop and advertisers pull out. But after nearly a month of bad press, neither has started happening. Network sources can’t identify one advertiser that has pulled, or even lowered, its advertising spend around televised games. Even Anheuser-Busch, which released a statement critical of the NFL’s handling of these crises, remains active on Sunday afternoons. This seems unlikely to change, as NFL games attract more people than any other television program.

It’s early, but women have continued to watch the NFL.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
It’s still early — way too early to draw sweeping conclusions — but TV viewership remains as strong as ever for the league. Network executives say they would expect to see viewer levels drop off immediately during these types of scandals, and that’s not happening. For example, the Baltimore Ravens’ first game after the second Ray Rice videotape was released — a Thursday night game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers — averaged a whopping 43 rating in the Baltimore market. Last year, Ravens’ games averaged a 30.9 rating in Charm City.

Some of the NFL’s TV packages are down or flat. Viewership for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” is off 5 percent and NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” is flat after four games in the opening three weeks, for example.

Overall, ratings were down slightly after the season’s first two weeks, but overall viewership — when you add viewers for all of the games — was up slightly across all demos. Total viewers were up 2 percent, women 18 and older were up 3 percent, and men 18 and older were up 1 percent after the first two weeks.

The focus on total viewers rather than individual network packages is not just ratings spin. Every year before the NFL season, I talk with one of my most valued sources about the stories I should be tracking. This year, weeks before TMZ released the Rice elevator tape, this source predicted that with the creation of the “Thursday Night Football” package on CBS, individual network ratings would drop and overall viewership would rise. That is what’s happening so far.

“What you’re going to see this year is that total consumption of the NFL will probably go up, but I think that most of the individual Sunday/Monday packages will go down a little,” the source said. “So you may have a situation where total viewing is up and yet none of the partners feel totally satisfied.”

The trend I’m watching is if women stop watching. In the aftermath of Tiger Woods’ 2009 sex scandal, the PGA Tour’s viewership dropped significantly. The biggest drop-offs came from female demographics.

Again it’s early, but so far, women have continued watching the NFL. Through the first two weeks of the season (and excluding CBS’s Thursday games), ratings among women were showing a small decline from last year, down 4 percent, but that decline was on par with ratings among men, which were down 5 percent.

“We haven’t seen any indication that women are turning away from the NFL,” said an ESPN research executive via email.

After the second Rice tape was released, ESPN surveyed 544 adults about their thoughts of the Rice scandal and the NFL’s handling of it. As has been the case with the ratings, what was seen and heard from women in responses was similar to the answers provided by men.

“A small segment of female NFL fans said they are less likely to watch NFL games on TV due to the Ray Rice incident,” the ESPN research executive said. “However, like the TV ratings, the figure is on par with what men said as well.”

John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.

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