Florio: Early Season Ratings Decline Continues for NFL

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Once again, Mike Florio refuses to be a puppet for the league and cuts through the NFL's spin. Compared to last year's opener, ratings were way down, which is the apt comparison, not the overall 2015 season Thursday Night average.

Early-season ratings decline continues for NFL

The statement from the NFL regarding the audience that watched the first Thursday Night Football game of the season creates the impression the glass is more than half full. The reality is that, however full the glass may be, it has sprung a leak.

The Jets-Bills game televised nationally by CBS and NFL Network generated a rating of 9.5 with a share of 18. The NFL trumpets those numbers as an increase of more than 20 percent over the average rating of 7.9 for each of last year’s Thursday Night Football games, several of which were televised by NFL Network only.

But before cracking open the champagne, consider this nugget buried in the release: Last year’s season-opening Thursday Night Football contest between the Broncos and Chiefs generated a 12.9 rating and a 24 share. Apples to apples, that’s a decline of more than 25 percent.

Florio is a damn good writer...love the witty one liners. I wonder if he writes his own stuff. It's ironic that PFT had become one of the few places to get a straight story these days.

 

[Mack Herron]

May the trend continue.

 

[PatsDeb]

Most people don't like when the fix is in.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

Eh, the league bends the fans over with ticket price increases, increased cable/satellite costs they pass on to the providers (who pass it on to us), and a lousy on field product characterized by men in zoo outfits being the main attraction. Add public relations nightmare one right after another and you get a product that is limp and watched out of habit more than devotion.

The league needs to fire Goodell, hire a pr firm to help shape a more friendly league image, and have the player's union have more say over league discipline.

 

[RayClay]

But...but...but, he's a marketing genius!

 

[Joker]

The league needs to fire Goodell, hire a pr firm to help shape a more friendly league image, and have the player's union have more say over league discipline.

Independent Arbitrator...been screaming this for TEN YEARS now. This SHOULD have been apparent after the Saints debacle. The owners had it right in front of them bringing in Tags...but somehow, Goody the Supermoron got to stay in the sandbox kicking sand like a lobotomized jackazz. No friggin business in the world would let a Lee Iacoca sit in judgement of General Motors but the NFL with these behind the scenes, cadaver level owners like the Maras and the Rooneys actually PUSH for an entire NFL offices of ex Jet employees and presidents to sit in judgement and actually PUNISH their chief rival since the AFL/NFL merger.

It's totally ludicrous and the FACT that everyone knows and STILL pushes it at the league level just illustrates how deep the corruption and petty jealousies run.

 

[Tuck]

I honestly don't trust the outcome of the games anymore, especially in the playoffs.

There are too many ways for the league to influence who becomes champion.

It's turned into the WWF.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I honestly don't trust the outcome of the games anymore, especially in the playoffs.

There are too many ways for the league to influence who becomes champion.

It's turned into the WWF.

Come on man, you are way off. It's WWE.

 

[Tuck]

Come on man, you are way off. It's WWE.

No, the WWE is real. The WWF was fake.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Independent Arbitrator...been screaming this for TEN YEARS now. This SHOULD have been apparent after the Saints debacle. The owners had it right in front of them bringing in Tags...but somehow, Goody the Supermoron got to stay in the sandbox kicking sand like a lobotomized jackazz. No friggin business in the world would let a Lee Iacoca sit in judgement of General Motors but the NFL with these behind the scenes, cadaver level owners like the Maras and the Rooneys actually PUSH for an entire NFL offices of ex Jet employees and presidents to sit in judgement and actually PUNISH their chief rival since the AFL/NFL merger.

It's totally ludicrous and the FACT that everyone knows and STILL pushes it at the league level just illustrates how deep the corruption and petty jealousies run.

The heyday of the NFL is over, so things will get interesting. Mark Cuban hit the nail on the head describing the arrogance of NFL owners, and if you've ever watched Shark Tank, you'll know Mark Cuban is a very brilliant man (NBA rants aside.)

I think what Mr. Cuban is alluding to is the downfall to so many businesses: greed. The owners and Goodell have constantly treated their sponsors like dime-a-dozen replaceable clowns, treated employees/NFLPA like garbage by not honoring clear gentlemen's agreement about fairness, done everything possible to squeeze every last penny out of their fans, and, in the eyes of many, have been glad to sacrifice the long-term league integrity to win a few PR battles, and alienated two entire fanbases to the point of permanent hatred, without seeming to care. That doesn't even touch on the more sinister things that probably go on behind the scenes with clear favoritism and a growing suspicion that the outcome/competitiveness of games is not always left to the teams. The "independent investigations" on team rule breaking, player safety, etc. should force our hands in believing that outcomes are fixed in advance, since we know they are willing to go there. There is simply no ethics, and lies are the norm. Self-interest, intimidation, propaganda...all indisputable hallmarks of the Goodell era.

In addition, despite being by far the most successful and profitable sports league, they are looking to grow,grow at all costs. What they've forgotten is that football is just a game and that many leagues have risen and plateau'd. People tire when things get too big. Slow growth and caution are the winning ingredients to long-term growth. The owners and ****dell now covet growing the league internationally, refusing to comprehend the most basic principle of business, which is that maintaining and satisfying present customers is by a better option than alienating them while constantly seeking new ones.

The NFL will not be a line moving to the right, moving constantly upward forever. No one is. And when things start to sour, that's when they'll begin to see the damage they've done. Hopefully the opening week ratings are a sign of some big disappointment for the despised league office and owners. Don't think I've seen a more arrogant group of men who mostly already profit from tax money and tax exemptions.

I hope it gets ugly.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

No, the WWE is real. The WWF was fake.

Lol...hey man, be careful. Almost just woke up my sleeping wife with a loud laugh!

 

[borg]

The greed of the league has turned me off. Besides the excessive costs to buy tickets, park, eat and drink....what has kept me away from stadiums is the commercial breaks between action. There is no flow in games and fans are forced to sit there stupidly waiting for TV commercials to finish hawking pizza and beer before running the next play. Life is too short to live under the NFL's terms.

Then there is the in your face 24 / 7 / 365 non stop NFL news cycle the league creates to remain relevant during their 7 months of down time....down time filled with arrest reports, news of tax payer funded stadiums, league sanctions verses players and teams, the butchering of sport's rule book...too much. LEAVE SOME MYSTERY.

FANTASY has also changed the way fans view this sport. Instead of focusing on the action, people have their heads buried in their devices. If my kid is anything like the new norm for fans, all he cares about are fantasy points and his adrenalin rush has more to do with how well his "flex" personnel are doing than the Patriots. Sure, the NFL still owns his attention but Red Zone is his choice to view.

 

[ausbacker]

The greed of the league has turned me off. Besides the excessive costs to buy tickets, park, eat and drink....what has kept me away from stadiums is the commercial breaks between action. There is no flow in games and fans are forced to sit there stupidly waiting for TV commercials to finish hawking pizza and beer before running the next play. Life is too short to live under the NFL's terms.

Then there is the in your face 24 / 7 / 365 non stop NFL news cycle the league creates to remain relevant during their 7 months of down time....down time filled with arrest reports, news of tax payer funded stadiums, league sanctions verses players and teams, the butchering of sport's rule book...too much. LEAVE SOME MYSTERY.

FANTASY has also changed the way fans view this sport. Instead of focusing on the action, people have their heads buried in their devices. If my kid is anything like the new norm for fans, all he cares about are fantasy points and his adrenalin rush has more to do with how well his "flex" personnel are doing than the Patriots. Sure, the NFL still owns his attention but Red Zone is his choice to view.

I enjoy playing Fantasy Football but it's unfathomable to me that players would prefer their Fantasy Football team won at the expense of their actual team winning.

 

[borg]

I enjoy playing Fantasy Football but it's unfathomable to me that players would prefer their Fantasy Football team won at the expense of their actual team winning.

1) Alpha male syndrome....one must constantly prove superiority and a fantasy win confirms superiority (in their mind)
2) Gambling consumes the soul
3) Money always comes first
4) Goodell hates old people and puppies

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Independent Arbitrator...been screaming this for TEN YEARS now. This SHOULD have been apparent after the Saints debacle. The owners had it right in front of them bringing in Tags...but somehow, Goody the Supermoron got to stay in the sandbox kicking sand like a lobotomized jackazz. No friggin business in the world would let a Lee Iacoca sit in judgement of General Motors but the NFL with these behind the scenes, cadaver level owners like the Maras and the Rooneys actually PUSH for an entire NFL offices of ex Jet employees and presidents to sit in judgement and actually PUNISH their chief rival since the AFL/NFL merger.

It's totally ludicrous and the FACT that everyone knows and STILL pushes it at the league level just illustrates how deep the corruption and petty jealousies run.

Once again, JOKER is the voice of reason.

Truly, we are in The End Times

 

[fightingirish595]

Not suprised. Im in the minority that believes the games are rigged for the spread. They have been for a very long time. College games feel like they go 4 hours now because of all the reviewing. I noticed ever since the inception of the red zone channel, games seem to be a lot more interesting

 

[reflexblue]

I'm not going to get into all of goodells bs, that would take awhile. One thing stands out to me is over saturation, to many football games. Football on sunday, sunday night, monday, thursday, its a diminishing return on utility situation. Like someone said, always leave the audience wanting more. Then add that to all the new rules and fines, and the terrible refereeing,

 

[Rob0729]

I honestly don't trust the outcome of the games anymore, especially in the playoffs.

There are too many ways for the league to influence who becomes champion.

It's turned into the WWF.

I actually think Goodell is becoming Don King and turning the NFL into the Heavyweight Boxing Division of the 1990s. Back in the 1990s, King played by his own rules and just did whatever he wanted by playing with the contender rankings and making bums top contenders to fight Mike Tyson. He never hid that fact and everyone knew it. After Tyson went down, the entire thing fell apart because people lost faith in the product and King no longer had an unstoppable force to promote.

I see that with Goodell. Even people who were cheering him on for getting the Pats and Brady knew that he is playing by his own rules and he will stack the decks to get the outcome he wants. He is destroying the integrity of the game he claims all the time he is trying to protect.

I never bought the argument that the owners love this guy because he takes all the bullets shot at the league to protect the owners. I think that most of the owners are smart enough to know that most of the bullets that are shot at the League are ones caused by Goodell's arrogance (Deflategate, Ray Rice, Bountygate). They will tolerate him as long as the League is thriving, but if the ratings continue to decline, they will ousted him when the next vote comes along.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

The greed of the league has turned me off. Besides the excessive costs to buy tickets, park, eat and drink....what has kept me away from stadiums is the commercial breaks between action. There is no flow in games and fans are forced to sit there stupidly waiting for TV commercials to finish hawking pizza and beer before running the next play. Life is too short to live under the NFL's terms.

Then there is the in your face 24 / 7 / 365 non stop NFL news cycle the league creates to remain relevant during their 7 months of down time....down time filled with arrest reports, news of tax payer funded stadiums, league sanctions verses players and teams, the butchering of sport's rule book...too much. LEAVE SOME MYSTERY.

FANTASY has also changed the way fans view this sport. Instead of focusing on the action, people have their heads buried in their devices. If my kid is anything like the new norm for fans, all he cares about are fantasy points and his adrenalin rush has more to do with how well his "flex" personnel are doing than the Patriots. Sure, the NFL still owns his attention but Red Zone is his choice to view.

Not much different from a television series. Many of them appear to be great, and based on the character and writing, they seemingly can't go wrong. Then to appeal to a larger audience, the producers promote the show in every way imaginable so it becomes an inescapable pop culture craze that fizzles out, and the writing becomes more and more far-fetched in an attempt to wow. Few shows haven "gotten big"and avoided this (Breaking Bad, for example.). Put simply, the NFL is in the process of jumping the shark. It was cool when the game was about football. Let's remember that a lot of the rule changes occurred not due to player safety but for more emphasis on the passing game and less contact on WRs. What was the reason for that? Same reason for the league invented home run explosion in MLB 20 years ago. That worked great for the ratings then. Long-term, it cost the league its status as the national pastime. NFL now carries the torch of greed and awaits the same fate. The hypocrisy of player safety is asinine when you consider only the most marketable players (QBs) are more protected than other positions, since their injuries would reduce revenue. We are already starting to hear about the 18 game schedule, adding playoff games, etc. Same garbage for why I completely stopped watching pro baseball.

 

[IllegalContact]

There plenty of things wrong with the NFL......always has been

But don't worry, it's not going away and they're not going to lose money.....as with any growth that's unsustainable.....there are corrections

Go back to bountygate and there weren't too many people here complaining......seems disingenuous

Point is that if you hate something so much, then why continue on with it.

Unless your goal is to find joy in constantly *****ing and running to this board saying 'look....see? See?' ...... which is f*cking pathetic