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NFL tv ratings took a massive hit... what do you do if you are owners to try and increase ratings?

Alot of NFL watching is due to fantasy football. Many leagues not playing this year due to Covid and player testing uncertainty. CBS Sports # of leagues down. This contributes also. I am one not playing this year when normally in 2 leagues. One league taking year off other I opted out. I will watch good matchups but will not watch this Thursday when I normally would have.
 
As for the when my viewership declined I NEVER said it happened at the same time Kap started kneeling it was declining before that. But his kneeling didn't skew it one way or the other. Sorry if that blows a whole in your "theory".
Nope, strengthens my “theory”. So if your viewership declined before that, then your example doesn’t count. Just like mine...I stopped watching the NFL in 1993...didn’t have anything to do with Kap, so I wouldn’t be included in the drop in viewership that occurred when Kap started taking a knee, just like you wouldn’t either.
 
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Alot of NFL watching is due to fantasy football. Many leagues not playing this year due to Covid and player testing uncertainty. CBS Sports # of leagues down. This contributes also. I am one not playing this year when normally in 2 leagues. One league taking year off other I opted out. I will watch good matchups but will not watch this Thursday when I normally would have.

When I am not playing fantasy I am less apt to watch games that don't involve my team, and that makes me less likely to tune into prime time games that don't involve my team.
 
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I, personally, did not fight tooth and nail because it just wasn't that big a deal with me but I can tell you 100% that the reason my NFL viewing tapered off is exactly because of officiating, commercials, the flow of the game and some of the constant blathering of the announcing crew during the game. I also know that is the exact reason that members of my family and friends also stopped watching a lot of football. It really didn't have anything to do with Kap or kneeling.
My interest definitely dropped as the schtick involved with the league has increased. I like to watch sports.
Unrelated, I’m very interested in social justice and issues involving how we interact as a society. I have no interest in seeing social justice being combined with my sports. While players are advertising their social causes on their uniforms and helmets I do wonder what the reaction would be if somebody displayed an anti-abortion message? For many people, those are innocent lives killed. Would that be allowed? Has anybody done that yet?
 
I think you're right that moving forward sports will be political. I think that's because the players have so much more power than they ever did. I don't remember hearing about players actively speaking against Vietnam. Or Apartheid. Or AIDS in the 80s. Obviously they didn't have the media platform they do today. But those were major social issues in their day. Maybe players had strong feelings about those issues but didn't feel they could voice them. Now they do. Time will tell whether that's a good thing or not.

And because politicians, namely Donald Trump, use sports as a political tool to rile up his base. Want politics out of sports? Keep politicians out of sports.

FWIW - Muhammad Ali was pretty vocal about Vietnam.
 
Nope, strengthens my “theory”. So if your viewership declined before that, then your example doesn’t count. Just like mine...I stopped watching the NFL in 1993...didn’t have anything to do with Kap, so I wouldn’t be included in the drop in viewership that occurred when Kap started taking a knee, just like you wouldn’t either.


So they only way we can tell if Kap or the kneeling played a role in viewership decline is if we see the exact numbers at the time Kap started kneeling. It couldn't be a combination of events or anything.
Well played.
 
One of my pet peaves with the NFL and sports in general these days is the number and length of the commercial breaks. Nothing drives more more crazy that to see a team score, have the network go to a long commercial break, have the kickoff, then roll to another long commercial break. Then they might run one play, the quarter ends and it's off to another break.

This is something the NFL can easily address by mandating the number of commercial breaks the networks are allowed to take during a game as well as their length. And yea, I know that's what DVRs were invented for and sometimes I will watch a game on DVR delay for that reason, but if its a game/team I'm interested in, I like to watch them live.

I've never understood why they don't build in a bunch of 30 second commercials into the normal flow of the game. Change of possession? 30 second commercial. Injury timeout? 30 second commercial. And so on and so forth. Maybe a long commercial break between quarters. As it is, if you're watching a game and it goes to commercial, you know it's going to be 3 or 4 minutes. So you flip to another game or go get something to eat or go to the bathroom. But what you're definitely NOT doing is sitting there watching the commercials. But if the breaks were only 30 seconds and it would be right back to the action, you'd be more inclined to stay on the channel and actually watch the commercial. That's my $.02.
 
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I think you're right that moving forward sports will be political. I think that's because the players have so much more power than they ever did. I don't remember hearing about players actively speaking against Vietnam. Or Apartheid. Or AIDS in the 80s. Obviously they didn't have the media platform they do today. But those were major social issues in their day. Maybe players had strong feelings about those issues but didn't feel they could voice them. Now they do. Time will tell whether that's a good thing or not.

Wow. Ali had a good bit to say about Viet Nam. Arthur Ashe was very active against Apartheid and Aids. Paul Robeson was pretty active in his day as well.
And lets not even mention the Olympics. They have been political since they began.
 
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More Black males are killed in one weekend in Chicago than by the police in one year, yet the NFL players have "No Problem" with that. They are too busy spending their money than to go into our cities and attempt to stop the violence. Taking a knee during the National Anthem is easy since they have a captive audience to display their ignorance and contempt for a country that has provided them a privileged lifestyle few other Americans have.
 
And because politicians, namely Donald Trump, use sports as a political tool to rile up his base. Want politics out of sports? Keep politicians out of sports.

FWIW - Muhammad Ali was pretty vocal about Vietnam.

Of course Ali was. I'm talking about large collectives of players. And championship teams have been going to the White House for decades before Trump came along. Heck, Nixon was the reason we were robbed of a national championship in 1969. Politicians have long been in sports. Silly to suggest that is a Trump invention.
 
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Of course Ali was. I'm talking about large collectives of players. And championship teams have been going to the White House for decades before Trump came along. Heck, Nixon was the reason we were robbed of a national championship in 1969. Politicians have long been in sports. Silly to suggest that is a Trump invention.

Silly to try to equate Nixon with Trump as it concerns meddling in sports - otherwise, really good comparison.
 
So they only way we can tell if Kap or the kneeling played a role in viewership decline is if we see the exact numbers at the time Kap started kneeling. It couldn't be a combination of events or anything.
Well played.
Not the point, the point is there was a big drop in viewership when he did that...nothing else changed from the previous year, so to bring up all these reasons like commercials, officiating, etc. which were the same the year before, is basically just trying to find a reason other than the obvious. That’s like saying Mel Gibson’s popularity dropped like a rock after his anti-Semitic outburst, but it really wasn’t because of that, it was because his past movies were getting stale, or he was getting old, or he’s not as good looking, or whatever except for the obvious reason. And OJ’s popularity dropped after Nicole was murdered just because people were tired of his Hertz commercials.
 
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Wow. Ali had a good bit to say about Viet Nam. Arthur Ashe was very active against Apartheid and Aids. Paul Robeson was pretty active in his day as well.
And lets not even mention the Olympics. They have been political since they began.

Ok. I agree. But show me the sports leagues that were involved. Was there "AIDS" written on the court at the U.S. Open? How about NFL players with Ho Chi Minh written on the backs of their helmets? What we're seeing now with regards to athletes making a political statement is unprecedented in sports. That was my point. Maybe I made it poorly.
 
Silly to try to equate Nixon with Trump as it concerns meddling in sports - otherwise, really good comparison.

Tell that to 1969 team. And good grief, I wasn't equating them at all. I was using Nixon as an example of a politician involving himself in sports almost 50 years before Trump became president.
 
Trying not to get political or condescending but I am reading your post and I would assume that most of your friends are middle aged to 50 year old white men. So yeah they probably are fatigued. I know I am fatigued with the social justice campaign. Which is why it is probably needed. The issues faced by these young black men in the nfl are not faced by my demographic. Kind of like how I can only take about 10 minutes of my 9 year old niece and her obsession with tiktok. I’m not sure where the line is with a movement and getting down to the business at hand. Obviously here it’s football. No easy answers here.
Most are over 60, actually.. but not all are white. But yes, most. Point being when a huge segment of your viewing audience is saying bugger off, the grand poobahs (showing my age lol) of the nfl better figure something out pronto.

Agree with your comments... and there is no easy fix.
 
Political shouting match? Who knows why they were down, assuming that info is correct. You really think the numbers went down THAT much because some players chose to do something as simple as kneeling during the National Anthem, which there is no reason to play before games? LOL

No the ratings are down because of the incessant BLM pandering by Goodell, the owners and the self-proclaimed world wide “woke” leader, ESPN and the other networks. As I have said frequently before all of this cancel culture lecturing is mere lip service in terms of genuinely helping blacks and other minorities. I assume that there are others who share my view that I am sick of being bombarded with all of this drivel every time I turn on a sporting event. Unless and until all of these social justice crusaders actually DO something like giving Karpernick a job, giving other blacks head coaching and front office jobs, etc. spare me the constant pompous lectures.
 
Don't want a political shouting match, but was just thinking if I am an NFL owner if those tv ratings numbers hold they are in for a world of hurt. If you were an NFL owner what would you do at some point if these rating numbers hold? Just curious to hear how people would attempt to increase numbers as some ratings numbers were down 15 to almost 30%...

So can we get you to change your thread title now that it's been proven incorrect? Ratings declined a little bit ... there was no massive hit.
 
That is an excellent point but its not just people under 30. Many have cut the TV portion of the Cable and are using different streaming services. I would like to know how that is factored in because I bet that number is more substantial than many of us think.
I don't know how this is factored in. While traveling, I simply could not find NFL content unless paid for at one of the sanctioned NFL sites which have to be counted. NFL really locks that stuff down.
 
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I don't know how this is factored in. While traveling, I simply could not find NFL content unless paid for at one of the sanctioned NFL sites which have to be counted. NFL really locks that stuff down.

 
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Yep....that is simply people watching NOT hooked up via coax cable tv. but if you want to get content you have to sign in with some kind of PPV TV (NFL net, cable provider, etc.). This isn't like you don't have to have a paid subscription...you have a subscription, just not through a traditional cable. (unless people find another way that I can't find, I am aware of some pirating sites but those get shut down as soon as they pop up)
 
Yep....that is simply people watching NOT hooked up via coax cable tv. but if you want to get content you have to sign in with some kind of PPV TV (NFL net, cable provider, etc.). This isn't like you don't have to have a paid subscription...you have a subscription, just not through a traditional cable. (unless people find another way that I can't find, I am aware of some pirating sites but those get shut down as soon as they pop up)
Yup... the NFL keeps a very tight lid on streaming numbers. Going to be almost impossible to get true numbers
 
Yup... the NFL keeps a very tight lid on streaming numbers. Going to be almost impossible to get true numbers

Not just the NFL, for the most part Netflix releases zero data on the viewership of anything on their platform, and I can only assume Amazon Prime is the same. (Grante for the most part, who watches what is less important to them, they just want subscribers) so it not just that the NFL does that, but the platforms that you can stream games on does not release that data, be it who is watching the Bears - Packers game, or be it who watched Season 2 of some show on Netflix.
 
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Not just the NFL, for the most part Netflix releases zero data on the viewership of anything on their platform, and I can only assume Amazon Prime is the same. (Grante for the most part, who watches what is less important to them, they just want subscribers) so it not just that the NFL does that, but the platforms that you can stream games on does not release that data, be it who is watching the Bears - Packers game, or be it who watched Season 2 of some show on Netflix.

I know in the past Netflix has released numbers, at least for Stranger Things...

  • Nielsen said the third season of “Stranger Things” was watched by a record 26.4 million U.S. viewers during the four-day holiday weekend of July 4.
  • Netflix revealed its own streaming data about the series, saying that more than 40.7 million global household accounts had watched the show during the weekend.
Maybe thats because the numbers were good. 🤣
 
Wow. Ali had a good bit to say about Viet Nam. Arthur Ashe was very active against Apartheid and Aids. Paul Robeson was pretty active in his day as well.
And lets not even mention the Olympics. They have been political since they began.

Paul Robeson was an ardent Stalinist who wrote a fawning obituary for him and continued to defend him long after the extent of his atrocities were known. He was equally quick to criticize western imperialism and defend Soviet expansion and totalitarian oppression of its people and the puppet states around it. Somehow, he gets a pass. Ali and Ashe should not be associated with a person of that ilk.
 
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Paul Robeson was an ardent Stalinist who wrote a fawning obituary for him and continued to defend him long after the extent of his atrocities were known. He was equally quick to criticize western imperialism and defend Soviet expansion and totalitarian oppression of its people and the puppet states around it. Somehow, he gets a pass. Ali and Ashe should not be associated with a person of that ilk.

Well I did say "active" I didn't put a qualifier of good or bad on it. ;)
 
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Isn't it true that the NFL has never had to compete for eyeballs with the NHL, NBA and MLB at the same time. Could that be a factor in these "catastrophic" ratings?

My dad is a lifelong Eagles fan, as am I. He's "boycotting" the season. I am not. I need the diversion.
 
I know in the past Netflix has released numbers, at least for Stranger Things...

  • Nielsen said the third season of “Stranger Things” was watched by a record 26.4 million U.S. viewers during the four-day holiday weekend of July 4.
  • Netflix revealed its own streaming data about the series, saying that more than 40.7 million global household accounts had watched the show during the weekend.
Maybe thats because the numbers were good. 🤣

Whenever things get canceled from Netflix there is never any "they were only watched by X numbers of people so that factored into the choice" so yea, other then some sort of bonkers numbers that are released (And lets face it, that is more of a 'look don't be the only one not watching' ploy on their part) they do not constantly release numbers on every show daily like a broadcast or cable network's numbers are ran.
 
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Don't want a political shouting match, but was just thinking if I am an NFL owner if those tv ratings numbers hold they are in for a world of hurt. If you were an NFL owner what would you do at some point if these rating numbers hold? Just curious to hear how people would attempt to increase numbers as some ratings numbers were down 15 to almost 30%...
How about standing for the National anthem like in previous years.
 
Maybe they will implement some laws to make sure there is equal treatment....oh wait. Never mind that, but maybe they will implement some programs that make sure minorities get preferential treatment for some employment opportunities and they could call it affirmative action....oh wait. Never mind that, maybe they could come up with some laws that give minorities a leg up on getting into colleges....oh wait. Forget all those things and every other law on the books, let’s just say there’s inequality and riot about it. We’ll just keep complaining about the 9 unarmed black men killed by police in 2019 out of 11 million arrests....yeah, that proves inequality.
I think we should have equal treatment. So all of the players should get a contract = to Pat Mahomes! Wait. I think all of us should get contracts like that. Then we can all claim equality!!!!
 
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Nope, strengthens my “theory”. So if your viewership declined before that, then your example doesn’t count. Just like mine...I stopped watching the NFL in 1993...didn’t have anything to do with Kap, so I wouldn’t be included in the drop in viewership that occurred when Kap started taking a knee, just like you wouldn’t either.
In the past, I watched as many games as I could. I turned to the KC-Houston game and turned it off as soon as I saw BLM on the Houston helmets. I lasted 45 seconds. I asked my wife if she ever dreamed that anything could make me despise sports??? Well the day has come. And if it starts in college and high school, I’ll be done with them, too!
 
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Sports used to be an escape from life. Now it isn't. That turns some people off

I'd love to see an experiment -- show an NFL game on 2 channels -- one broadcast is purely focused on sport, the other includes all the politics. I bet 70%+ of viewers would pick the 1st one

"That turns some people off" ....No, that turns a LOT of people off.
 
In the past, I watched as many games as I could. I turned to the KC-Houston game and turned it off as soon as I saw BLM on the Houston helmets. I lasted 45 seconds. I asked my wife if she ever dreamed that anything could make me despise sports??? Well the day has come. And if it starts in college and high school, I’ll be done with them, too!
You turned the channel for 45 seconds during a commercial on Fox News? You might have missed another lead in...
 
In the past, I watched as many games as I could. I turned to the KC-Houston game and turned it off as soon as I saw BLM on the Houston helmets. I lasted 45 seconds. I asked my wife if she ever dreamed that anything could make me despise sports??? Well the day has come. And if it starts in college and high school, I’ll be done with them, too!
Can’t be, you must have changed the channel for another reason....posters on here will you that you’re lying. They’ll never admit people actually turn games off because of politics.
 
Can’t be, you must have changed the channel for another reason....posters on here will you that you’re lying. They’ll never admit people actually turn games off because of politics.
Ok mister "I haven't watched the NFL since 1993" yet comment on how bad the Giants OL is.
 
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Silly to try to equate Nixon with Trump as it concerns meddling in sports - otherwise, really good comparison.
Nixon awarded a trophy to the winner of the Texas - Arkansas game while Penn State was still undefeated, and Trump wanted the Big Ten to play about 3 weeks ago. Apples and Oranges, but whatever.
 
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