Relax Gentlemen, The NFL Is Not So Much

Maple Leaf · Oct 17, 2007

Yes, no doubt, attendance is as strong as ever. It is impecable as what Don Wassall's figures suggest. But two major points should be stated: one, the NFL only plays 16 games so it shouldn't be very difficult for them to sell them out unlike baseball that has 160 games per team, and, two, gate receipts are not the largest source of revenue to a franchise, network television contracts are.

With the most lucrative televion contract in major league sports, even a small decline in ratings will affect future negotiations and will hurt the NFL's bargaining power. A significant downward trend in ratings of even 1 point can add up to tens of millions of dollars less PER TEAM in revenue. For example, if last year's average weekly rating for the sunday night game was 11.8 and this year's turns out to be 10.8, advertisers are going to tell the networks to back off with their pricing for time slots as it is unwarranted. A significant drop in the weekly rating average of say 1.75 to 2.55 will cause a flat out demand by advertisers for a reduction in time slot prices as a result of significantly poorer viewership.

If the NFL owners have to take a cut in revenue from the networks they are going to have to take a long and hard look at their product on the field and decide as to why people are not as interested. Perhaps they will see what we know already.

Maple Leaf · Nov 4, 2007

Ratings I find amusing and fascinating the NFL's executives are perspiring over.

October 22- 28

Ratings for top 19 shows on all of television

#2 Game 4 World Series @ 12.6

#6 Game 2 WS @ 11.1

#9 Game 1 WS @ 10.5

#19 Game 1 WS and Pre-Game show @ 8.5

And where was the NFL and that flagship show Sunday Night Football, the show supposedly All of the United States watches with their families? Why it didn't even make the list! Fox blew away NBC, CBS, and NBC.

More to come.

Colonel_Reb · Nov 4, 2007

I heard that Desperate Housewives had a higher rating than one of the WS games that was on at the same time.

White Shogun · Nov 4, 2007

I predict the Colts - Patriots game will right the ship for the NFL, at least for one Sunday.

Matt_Bowen_Fan · Nov 4, 2007

Maple Leaf said:
Ratings I find amusing and fascinating the NFL's executives are perspiring over.

October 22- 28

Ratings for top 19 shows on all of television

#2 Game 4 World Series @ 12.6

#6 Game 2 WS @ 11.1

#9 Game 1 WS @ 10.5

#19 Game 1 WS and Pre-Game show @ 8.5

And where was the NFL and that flagship show Sunday Night Football, the show supposedly All of the United States watches with their families? Why it didn't even make the list! Fox blew away NBC, CBS, and NBC.

More to come.

There was no Sunday night game on 27 October...

Maple Leaf · Nov 4, 2007

Yes, there was no Sunday Night Football but there were plenty of NFL football shows and games during the week and weekend and they didn't make the list either. People are tuning out slowly but surely and that is the point I'm trying to make on this topic.

White Shogun, yes, you are correct, as I have previously stated as well, the Patriots/Colts game this weekend will have playoff type ratings possibly as high as 19.1 but after that the slide will continue.

Many here speculate as to why the NFL with all of its vast corporate funding in advertising seems to have reached a super-saturation point and is finally in some calculable decline. I guess the NFL has to give itself a shake and seriously ask the question: just how long can they expect the American public to want to watch mostly all black teams like Jacksonville, Detroit, etc.
Americans lost interest in boxing when it went mostly all black so why not football?

More to come.

Matt_Bowen_Fan · Nov 4, 2007

The only NFL show that truly comparable would have been Monday Night Football, which is limited due to it being on cable. Everything else was prime time and network. Convince me with numbers from weeks without the national past its times world series and with Sunday night football.

Maple Leaf · Nov 4, 2007

Matt Bowen, just go back 3 weeks ago and read my post showing Sunday Night Football pulling in an almost ALL TIME record low of 5.3! Or research ratings for yourself and find out how 15-20 ratings were the norm for the NFL as late as the 1980's! THE SEASON AVERAGE FOR WEEKLY RATINGS FOR THE NFL IS CURRENTLY STANDING AT 10.0! No, they are dropping.

More to come.Edited by: Maple Leaf

SteveB · Nov 5, 2007

I think you are on to something here Maple Leaf and it explains why ABC moved Monday Night Football to ESPN. ABC had been seeing declining ratings for MNF for years. They tried different things such as Dennis Miller in the booth to appeal to non fans with no results.

Maple Leaf · Nov 5, 2007

Maple Leaf said:
the Patriots/Colts game this weekend will have playoff type ratings possibly as high as 19.1 but after that the slide will continue.

I think somebody knows what he is talking about. And what was the rating for that game? HOW ABOUT 19.3!! This was absolutely predictable, a hands down walk in the park. But why?

Why did this game not only smoke all other game ratings this season but WAS THE HIGHEST RATED SHOW ON TELEVISION FOR THE WEEK?

The answers are right there for the NFL executives to see if they care to notice.

a) two unbeaten teams,
b) two unbeaten teams with white quarterbacks,
c) two unbeaten teams stocked with more white players than all of the other teams in the league,
d) two unbeaten teams with white quarterbacks, stocked with plenty of white players, that routinely beat teams that are mostly black.

Evidently, white players play better than black players, white teams win more, the best players in the game are white, and, most importantly from the owner's point of view, white stocked teams win also at the ratings war- people want to see them. People watch them much more than black teams that keep on losing and displaying bad manners. Let's face it, these black players are full of bullsh#t and bad manners.

Message to owners: allow white players to play and you will make MORE MONEY. Sounds like a sound financial plan.

More to come.

Don Wassall · Dec 28, 2007

Does anyone else find it peculiar that both NBC and CBS will be simulcasting the NFL Network's broadcast of thePatriots-Giants game on Saturday night? This is the first time something like this has happened since the first Super Bowl game. I can see one of the corporate networks going for it since a significant portion of the country doesn't get the NFL Network (and its nearly coal black stable of affirmative action on-air employees), but two of the big three? The Patriots and/or Giants might be resting their starters for a good portion of the game. Will be interesting to see what kind of ratings it generates.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7604346

Guest · Dec 28, 2007

I don't find it peculiar at all, because, contradictory to Maple Leaf's entire argument, football is more popular than ever.

There are two football leagues, NFL and NCAA, which, by themselves, are more popular than major league baseball.

The Patriots-Giants game could be one of the most watched simulcasts ever.

Bart · Dec 28, 2007

Don Wassall said:
Does anyone else find it peculiar that both NBC and CBS will be simulcasting the NFL Network's broadcast of thePatriots-Giants game on Saturday night? This is the first time something like this has happened since the first Super Bowl game.

I thjought it was odd. I didn't think the game was such a big deal. It's not like the Giants are in the same class as the Colts who had a lot of buzz before losing to New England. A game with a playoff spot on the line would be far more interesting to me. Having two networks in competition for viewres tells me I am in the minority on this subject.

PitBull · Dec 28, 2007

I think maybe something funny will be staged during the game by our
neocon govt. Other than that, its pretty pathetic if its a ratings ploy.Edited by: PitBull

Maple Leaf · Dec 29, 2007

It is quite obvious why the game will be simul-casted: the Pats/Colts game was the most watched game since last season's playoffs and this is a chance for the league to cash in on what is expected to be a big ratings bonanza based on the CURIOSITY factor. Because the Pats season is so rare it has sparked an interest in the game from people who would otherwise not be interested in the game. That is where the extra viewers come from. I don't think there is anything unusual about corporate collaboration; the NFL is always and forever on the hunt for more and more revenue.

For those who STILL don't get it, the NFL is, like ALL professional sports, in sure and slow and steady decline in it's ratings. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT NOBODY WATCHES FOOTBALL. It IS to say that American interest in professional sports is slowly waning. In the early days of television it was not uncommon for a significant sporting event like a World Series game draw ratings in the 50% range. But decade after decade as sports changed, and demographics in the United States changed, sports -including NFL football- is viewed less. The regular NFL season looks like it will close with a 10.1 to 10.3 regular season rating average.

The most fascinating thing about this phenomena is that Americans, roughly 90% of them, are not necessarily watching sports because their tastes have become more refined and elevated. Most of that 90% are watching waste such Survivor, Dancing With The Stars, Are You As Smart As A Fifth Grader? ,etc.

By the way that NFL network being available to 40% of homes means it is forced on them in BUNDLED cable packages. Do not mistake that figure as meaning that 40% of American homes watch NFL football.

Don Wassall · Dec 30, 2007

The hold of traditional establishment media strongholdsis declining ininfluence along with sports ratings. Daily newspapers and evening news broadcasts reach fewer and fewer people. Part of it is the dumbing down process but part of it is also the balkanization of society into more and more specialized interests. The 1,000 channels on cable and the 1,000,000,000 channels on the Internet are driving the change.

It's possible the NFL will eventually become what the media likes to brand the NHL as -- a "niche" league. The NBA would already be there except for endless media resuscitation, and baseball is also heading in that general direction.

Relax Gentlemen, The NFL Is Not So Much

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