HOW BOUT THOSE RATINGS!?

[Cookie Lyon]

 If last night is any indication, NFL ratings are going to be a big story again in 2017. The Presidential election took a big chunk of viewers last year, with the league's ratings down 14 percent pre-election on Nov. 8 and just one percent post-election. However, the rating for last night's Chiefs-Patriots game was down considerably from past season openers.

Were people watching Hurricane Irma coverage instead? Are people still glued to cable news to keep up with what's going on in the White House? Or does the NFL have a problem with its product? If the hated Patriots getting their asses kicked couldn't bring in a big number, what will? This will be a storyline that gets a lot of play if those numbers continue. 

Meanwhile, NBC's PR department tried its best to spin the weak number, but the effort was a tad cringeworthy.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/09/08/traina-thoughts-nfl-ratings-problem

Thoughts?

[UpstatePanther]

its a legit discussion, but i have a feeling this thread will be in the Tinderbox before the end of the day. inb4 lol

[Cookie Lyon]

2 minutes ago, UpstatePanther said:

its a legit discussion, but i have a feeling this thread will be in the Tinderbox before the end of the day. inb4 lol

You're right. Someone will come in here and intentionally derail it.

[Jangler]

what were the ratings for the first half vs the second? Most people checked out at halftime thinking the game was over. Besides, Thursday games suck, and so do Mondays....have all the games on Sunday and be done with it.

[UpstatePanther]

4 minutes ago, Cookie Lyon said:

You're right. Someone will come in here and intentionally derail it.

exactly. truth be told, i think the NFL does have a problem with image at the moment. and i think people are coming at it from both sides. like... there's a large segment of the population that thinks the NFL isnt standing up for free speech. There's another large section that believes the League is allowing the country, service  members, and American ideals to be disrespected. I would go so far as to say that there's also a large portion (with alot of overlap with the other two) that is tired of the constant rules changes, not protecting players' health, etc. 

im not saying i fully agree with any of those perspectives. i see sides of all three, honestly. but i think the NFL is deflecting by making it about the Election or natural disasters

[4Corners]

this is interesting stuff. NFL is a ratings monster, no one can deny that. IMHO - the presidential stuff did effect the ratings of the NFL last year, but I think the real issue with TV viewership isn't because people are peacefully kneeling during the anthem, it's the piss poor officiating of the league. The NFL referees are terrible. Bad calls influence games. People can't do anything about it so they just stop watching. I couldn't care less that a grown man is using his constitutional right to peacefully protest something he believes strong about - BUT I do give a sh*t when I watch men old enough to be my grandpa continually miss calls, make bad calls, and use their own discretion to influence and dictate outcomes of games. 

Also, this Elliott story is going to be huge. People are going to watch Cowboys game just to root against a woman beater who probably shouldn't be playing and is using the US court system to weasel out of a suspension he probably deserves. 

[4Corners]

10 minutes ago, UpstatePanther said:

its a legit discussion, but i have a feeling this thread will be in the Tinderbox before the end of the day. inb4 lol

Once the head in the sand Trump supporters get a whiff of this thread it is over with

[Hogmolliesmaht]

2 minutes ago, 4Corners said:

this is interesting stuff. NFL is a ratings monster, no one can deny that. IMHO - the presidential stuff did effect the ratings of the NFL last year, but I think the real issue with TV viewership isn't because people are peacefully kneeling during the anthem, it's the piss poor officiating of the league. The NFL referees are terrible. Bad calls influence games. People can't do anything about it so they just stop watching. I couldn't care less that a grown man is using his constitutional right to peacefully protest something he believes strong about - BUT I do give a sh*t when I watch men old enough to be my grandpa continually miss calls, make bad calls, and use their own discretion to influence and dictate outcomes of games. 

Also, this Elliott story is going to be huge. People are going to watch Cowboys game just to root against a woman beater who probably shouldn't be playing and is using the US court system to weasel out of a suspension he probably deserves. 

The NFL has had crappy officials for decades. There is only one thing that has changed in the last couple of years to turn off viewers. I'm not even going to mention it, but there was a Yahoo sports poll about it last year.

[uncfan888]

There's a major hurricane about to destroy Florida.. I don't blame people for watching hurricane coverage. There are a whole lot of people in Florida and the southeast that have been keeping an eye on this thing

[4Corners]

4 minutes ago, Hogmolliesmaht said:

The NFL has had crappy officials for decades. There is only one thing that has changed in the last couple of years to turn off viewers. I'm not even going to mention it, but there was a Yahoo sports poll about it last year.

Agree w/ the first part this. Officiating across the board in every major sport is atrocious. Watch an ACC basketball game if you don't believe me. Social media, and the numerous ways to receive information (real or fake) is at an all time high, so it really puts a magnifying glass on stuff like officiating.

 

 I really, truly don't think kneeling during the anthem is effecting viewership. 

[4Corners]

4 minutes ago, carolina-chuck22 said:

The ratings will go up until it becomes a stupid political race joke move

"race" and all things associated with race and ethnicity is a ratings superstorm. It's why news mediums from ESPN to WFNZ salivate at the mouth anytime they get an opportunity to talk about it. It gets clicks. Fake news mediums like the two I mentioned above (especially ESPN), will try to spin stuff into a race discussion just based on the viewership and clicks it will generate. 

[Cookie Lyon]

10 minutes ago, UpstatePanther said:

exactly. truth be told, i think the NFL does have a problem with image at the moment. and i think people are coming at it from both sides. like... there's a large segment of the population that thinks the NFL isnt standing up for free speech. There's another large section that believes the League is allowing the country, service  members, and American ideals to be disrespected. I would go so far as to say that there's also a large portion (with alot of overlap with the other two) that is tired of the constant rules changes, not protecting players' health, etc. 

im not saying i fully agree with any of those perspectives. i see sides of all three, honestly. but i think the NFL is deflecting by making it about the Election or natural disasters

I agree with you that the NFL is deflecting by blaming the election and natural disasters on declining ratings. They have an excuse for everything. You're also correct that not protecting players and the constant rule changes has played a part in it as well.

[4Corners]

7 minutes ago, Cookie Lyon said:

I agree with you that the NFL is deflecting by blaming the election and natural disasters on declining ratings. They have an excuse for everything. You're also correct that not protecting players and the constant rule changes has played a part in it as well.

Yup. NFL has a ton of "fug you" money and can certainly influence public perception with PR spins and tactfully releasing information. I don't think anyone with a half a brain thinks that the NFL cares about it's players (past or present). What they care about are class action lawsuits and lawsuits from former players who can't walk and have to eat through a straw, or even worse do something horrible to themselves or others because of the undeniable effects of playing football and CTE. 

Goodell, and the powers that be in the NFL want every score of every game to be 50-49 and that's why you have seen an increase in rules to benefit offenses. 

As I've aged, you really see how corrupt and unethical, and just fuging stupid organizations like the NFL and NCAA are. It really turns me off. I hate ESPN, yet I am on my couch right now watching some stupid emotional story of Gameday.

[UpstatePanther]

23 minutes ago, 4Corners said:

Once the head in the sand political radicals get a whiff of this thread it is over with

FIFY.

its not just Trumpites, but they are half the problem.