It is way too early at this point to know if Week 7’s NFL games will continue the ratings decline that has been impossible to miss this season.
However, it is worth keeping in mind just how disastrous things have been for the league’s decision to appease anti-Trump/BLM forces.
Just in case you were thinking that the NFL’s speedy descent into ratings oblivion would soon come to an end, don’t bother, it’s not.
As the National Football League enters into Week 7, statistics show that TV ratings are getting steadily worse, not better.
Week 6 was down nearly nine percent over the 2016 season with only 15,026,000 viewers (down 8.2 percent). Though, even worse, viewership has fallen almost 19 percent over the 2015 season, down from the 18,485,000 viewers from two years ago (down 18.7 percent), Sporting News reported.
Logically following the loss of national audience, the NFL is losing in the local markets, as well.
“Twenty-five of 31 teams (excluding the Chargers, because of the move) are drawing lower local numbers than they did in 2016. Nineteen have dropped 5 percent or more, including brand name teams like the Cowboys (7 percent drop), Patriots (8 percent) and Steelers (6 percent), and both New York clubs (the Giants are down 7 percent, the Jets are down 37 percent). Conversely, only three teams (Chiefs, Bucs, Lions) have improved by more than 5 percent,” Albert Breer wrote at Sports Illustrated.
Viewership is down in 20 of the 36 team markets in which games are broadcast, Breer found. While online viewing has grown, it has been nowhere near the sort of growth capable of offsetting the loss of traditional TV broadcasts.
At least one NFL owner is sure that the national anthem protests have driven fans away. Giants owner John Mara told Breer that “there’s no question” that the protests are hurting the league.
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