Florio: Early Season Ratings Decline Continues for NFL

[ralmat55]

Not only are the games increasingly boring flag fests, but the broadcast production quality has declined even more. I might watch non-Patriot games, but I never listen to them.

NFL announcers are awful. There are no Maddens or Cosells who you would tune in to watch. You can have Simms, Collinsworth, and Aikman. They are humorless drones who ballwash their way through games telling us nothing but the most obvious. A smart, glib guy like Matt Light teamed with the right play by play guy would be gold. But, the networks keep giving us Beasley Reece.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Not only are the games increasingly boring flag fests, but the broadcast production quality has declined even more. I might watch non-Patriot games, but I never listen to them.

NFL announcers are awful. There are no Maddens or Cosells who you would tune in to watch. You can have Simms, Collinsworth, and Aikman. They are humorless drones who ballwash their way through games telling us nothing but the most obvious. A smart, glib guy like Matt Light teamed with the right play by play guy would be gold. But, the networks keep giving us Beasley Reece.

Sadly, outside of Michaels and Collinsworth, I think today's crew of Gumbel and Green is the best in the biz right now, and yes, that is damning with faint praise. Can't wait until we get Joe Buck for the LA game. Ugh....

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Can't wait until we get Joe Buck for the LA game. Ugh....

Maybe his hair plugs can rise up and attack him again before then.

 

[fightingirish595]

********. the entire stupid conversation was you claiming as fact that the ratings went up because the election was over. i said imo the ratings went up because of the two teams who were playing. then you asked if i could prove it lmao.

the same thing happened in 2012? and you know why how? you don't. its opinion not fact wrong again. den and oak played a month ago and the ratings were low? again how do you know why the ratings were low? are you some kind of mind reader? they could have been low for many reasons. your assumption is opinion not fact. you are wrong again. you say games during the day haven't dropped off much. to that i say so what. that may or may not have anything to do with the election. so your assumption is your opinion. and news ratings always go down after a election. there is no data to say football has anything to do with the election. wrong again. the above post is based entirely on your opinion.

Oh my god can you comprehend what I am saying. Ratings for denver and oakland were low! which is a fact that helps my arguement because they were two good teams playing in primetime! And guess what. for the second week in a row, Ratings are up!

 

[captain insano]

Oh my god can you comorehend what I am saying.

lol i think you mean comprehend. not comorehend.

 

[ScottishPatriots]

Andrew Luck is in the concussion protocol, you could be about to be about to see Scott Tolzien vs the Steelers in prime time on Thanksgiving.

That's a ratings killer, that game could of at least been an entertaining shootout now it's going to be another unwatchable mess.

 

[PatsDeb]

Not only are the games increasingly boring flag fests, but the broadcast production quality has declined even more. I might watch non-Patriot games, but I never listen to them.

NFL announcers are awful. There are no Maddens or Cosells who you would tune in to watch. You can have Simms, Collinsworth, and Aikman. They are humorless drones who ballwash their way through games telling us nothing but the most obvious. A smart, glib guy like Matt Light teamed with the right play by play guy would be gold. But, the networks keep giving us Beasley Reece.

LOL, when I went to Quebec City recently I had to go to a sports bar to watch the Pats (vs. Steelers). At both the hotel and the bar, the guys were anxious that I understand the commentary would either be in French and/or I would not be able to hear it. Little did they know I thought that was a great thing!

 

[PatsDeb]

Andrew Luck is in the concussion protocol, you could be about to be about to see Scott Tolzien vs the Steelers in prime time on Thanksgiving.

That's a ratings killer, that game could of at least been an entertaining shootout now it's going to be another unwatchable mess.

How come my same avatar looks like I have been hanging with Alan Branch? ;-)

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Ratings were way up for the Dallas-Washington Thanksgiving day game -- highest regular season game in the NFL since 1995. But then there's this:

Sunday Night Football ratings crater in comparison to Week 12 of 2015

The SNF football game between Denver and KC was significantly down from last year. Of course, last year was Denver versus then-undefeated New England in the Harper's muff game.

So it's a mixed bag post election. My take at this point? There are certain marquee matchups the NFL has, and in its quest for parity and fairness to the entire 32, the NFL has forgotten that prime time is supposed to be a showcase of the best teams and historically relevant teams. It's no surprise that Dallas/Washington on Thanksgiving - especially this year - is going to be huge, and neither is it a surprise that Denver/New England last year was huge. I'm a bit surprised Denver/KC wasn't as big since KC is a historical winner, but I guess it still pales by comparison.

I hate saying it because I sound like the corrupt NFL front office, but the NFL is better when the Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Giants, Bears, Raiders, Redskins, Packers, 49ers, Broncos and Dolphins are good. They've been the league's flagship teams at various points since 1960, and they draw the ratings. I think the extreme parity has taken something away from that - even when these teams have good records, they're not "good" like they were in the pre-salary cap and free agency era. There's something to be said about ensuring all teams have a chance to be good, but there's also something to be said about having quality teams and rewarding the smarter teams.

 

[fightingirish595]

Ratings were way up for the Dallas-Washington Thanksgiving day game -- highest regular season game in the NFL since 1995. But then there's this:

Sunday Night Football ratings crater in comparison to Week 12 of 2015

The SNF football game between Denver and KC was significantly down from last year. Of course, last year was Denver versus then-undefeated New England in the Harper's muff game.

So it's a mixed bag post election. My take at this point? There are certain marquee matchups the NFL has, and in its quest for parity and fairness to the entire 32, the NFL has forgotten that prime time is supposed to be a showcase of the best teams and historically relevant teams. It's no surprise that Dallas/Washington on Thanksgiving - especially this year - is going to be huge, and neither is it a surprise that Denver/New England last year was huge. I'm a bit surprised Denver/KC wasn't as big since KC is a historical winner, but I guess it still pales by comparison.

I hate saying it because I sound like the corrupt NFL front office, but the NFL is better when the Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Giants, Bears, Raiders, Redskins, Packers, 49ers, Broncos and Dolphins are good. They've been the league's flagship teams at various points since 1960, and they draw the ratings. I think the extreme parity has taken something away from that - even when these teams have good records, they're not "good" like they were in the pre-salary cap and free agency era. There's something to be said about ensuring all teams have a chance to be good, but there's also something to be said about having quality teams and rewarding the smarter teams.

This sunday nights game was one of the highest this season wasnt it?

 

[Hammer of Thor]

This sunday nights game was one of the highest this season wasnt it?

Yes, but that's generally not how TV ratings are judged from a growth perspective; they're judged comparing each week to the equivalent week in the prior year. November is a TV "sweeps" month which I've generally gathered to mean that TV advertising revenue is based on ratings in this month (February and May are also "sweeps" months but aren't applicable to football). You'll note year over year, the NFL tries to put the highest profile matchups in primetime November (to the extent it can predict in April and to the extent they can exercise the flex option in November). That is why -- to get the maximum ratings during a time that's measured for advertising dollar purposes, which translates into higher prices the network would be willing to pay for the games.

So on the surface, yes this was one of the NFL's best rated games of the year. But compared to past November games (or specifically 2015's comparable game), the ratings were down.

 

[deroc5050]

Ratings were way up for the Dallas-Washington Thanksgiving day game -- highest regular season game in the NFL since 1995. But then there's this:

Sunday Night Football ratings crater in comparison to Week 12 of 2015

The SNF football game between Denver and KC was significantly down from last year. Of course, last year was Denver versus then-undefeated New England in the Harper's muff game.

So it's a mixed bag post election. My take at this point? There are certain marquee matchups the NFL has, and in its quest for parity and fairness to the entire 32, the NFL has forgotten that prime time is supposed to be a showcase of the best teams and historically relevant teams. It's no surprise that Dallas/Washington on Thanksgiving - especially this year - is going to be huge, and neither is it a surprise that Denver/New England last year was huge. I'm a bit surprised Denver/KC wasn't as big since KC is a historical winner, but I guess it still pales by comparison.

I hate saying it because I sound like the corrupt NFL front office, but the NFL is better when the Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Giants, Bears, Raiders, Redskins, Packers, 49ers, Broncos and Dolphins are good. They've been the league's flagship teams at various points since 1960, and they draw the ratings. I think the extreme parity has taken something away from that - even when these teams have good records, they're not "good" like they were in the pre-salary cap and free agency era. There's something to be said about ensuring all teams have a chance to be good, but there's also something to be said about having quality teams and rewarding the smarter teams.

The Dolphins? Do people in Miami even care about the Dolphins?

 

[h0c2000]

This sunday nights game was one of the highest this season wasnt it?

Pats/Seahawks has a 12.7. This weeks was 11.8

 

[Hammer of Thor]

The Dolphins? Do people in Miami even care about the Dolphins?

This millennium? No - the team has generally stunk. But from the merger to the time Dan Marino retired, they had the best record in the NFL, although only had 2 Super Bowl titles to show for it. They had a reasonably large following outside of Miami too.

 

[chumpchange]

Well, we can definitely rule out the election for the declining ratings. Wonder what Goodell will come up with next?

The Colts-Jets game on Monday nearly broke a record for fewest TV viewers

 

[Nikolai]

Well, we can definitely rule out the election for the declining ratings. Wonder what Goodell will come up with next?

The Colts-Jets game on Monday nearly broke a record for fewest TV viewers

Yep, glad to see that the election excuse is out the window now.

 

[Koma]

Well, we can definitely rule out the election for the declining ratings. Wonder what Goodell will come up with next?

The Colts-Jets game on Monday nearly broke a record for fewest TV viewers

Well, the NHL, NBA and college basketball have started, plus there's the Walking Dead and Christmas is right around the corner. How can the NFL compete?

 

[The Gr8est]

Well, we can definitely rule out the election for the declining ratings. Wonder what Goodell will come up with next?

The Colts-Jets game on Monday nearly broke a record for fewest TV viewers

Interestingly, I wasn't watching the game and didn't intend to. I turned it on with about 8 minutes remaining because I peeked in at the game thread and read so many comments about how horrific the Rats were.

So I guess Goodell will take viewers watching for a short time to see the train wreck as a positive.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Well, we can definitely rule out the election for the declining ratings. Wonder what Goodell will come up with next?

The Colts-Jets game on Monday nearly broke a record for fewest TV viewers

Forgive me Reverend Maynard et. al., for I have sinned.
Turned on TV after watching Netflix chick flick The Crown to see Jets torched by 2 wide open TDs.
Once I stopped laughing (OK, it took a while) I shut the abomination off.

 

[goheels22002]

I've actually done that myself intentionally.

Time my workouts so that I can peek in at the scores on the TV at the gym, while not turning on the games at my house.

Workouts on the weekends are critically important. I have a different NFL boycott approach. I watch the Patriots every week, and then fire up YouTube ESPN BodyShaping videos from the 1990s.