NFL Draft NFL Excuses Run Out After Ratings Declines Continue - Page 22

Eleazar · 11-03-2017, 05:07 AM

NFL's Litany of Excuses Runs Out After Ratings Fall for Second Year

By Lucas Shaw
Bloomberg.com
November 2, 2017, 11:30 AM CDT

TV networks are running out of excuses for the dwindling popularity of the National Football League.

They blamed the election for ratings declines last year, and hurricanes for a soft week one in September. Protests during the national anthem, and President Donald Trump’s criticism of the league, have faded from the headlines.

Advertisers are starting to believe a different explanation: the viewers aren’t coming back. Audiences are down an average 7 percent from a year ago through the first eight weeks of the season, excluding last Monday. That’s on top of a decrease of about 8 percent last season that spurred numerous changes in the broadcasts, from shorter commercials to better matchups earlier in the year.

“There’s just not as many people watching TV the way they used to watch TV,” said Jeremy Carey, managing director of Optimum Sports, a sports marketing agency. “It’s going to be an issue for advertisers when they can’t reach a large-scale audience the way they have.”

With CBS Corp., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co. set to report earnings in the next few days, analysts are bound to raise questions. These companies have used the popularity of the games to extract additional fees from cable operators, promote other shows on their networks and sell lots of commercials. Pro football games drew about $3.5 billion in ad spending last year, including the postseason, according to SMI Media Inc.

Media companies have spent billions of dollars on the right to air football games, which had been immune to the erosion of viewership for other TV programming. Audiences for TV networks have diminished for years as the growing popularity of online alternatives Netflix and YouTube and the availability of most shows on-demand have reduced the appeal of dramas and comedies. Live TV, like sports, was supposed to be immune, but that theory looks highly questionable now.

Ratings for the NFL suggest the same societal trends are now affecting the league, even if the declines aren’t as dramatic. The drop in game viewership ranges from 5 percent for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” to 11 percent for the CBS Sunday package. “Monday Night Football,” on Disney’s ESPN, has attracted more fans this year than a year ago, but the numbers are still down from 2015.

Viewership of the four main broadcast networks fell 8.7 percent last year, and 12 percent among adults 18 to 49, an important demographic for advertisers.

CBS’s 11 percent slump for NFL games is the steepest of the networks. Its parent company, which reports earnings after the close Thursday, is more vulnerable than rivals to the trend because the vast majority of its earnings come from the broadcast network. The declines at CBS reinforce a complaint that has gotten louder and louder in recent weeks: The league got greedy in adding the Thursday night game on broadcast.

Reserving top games for Thursday night robbed other time periods of good match-ups. After a nosedive in ratings at “Monday Night Football” last season, the league has scheduled better games for that time period, further damaging Sunday afternoon.

“Ratings declines on both general entertainment and NFL programming could be the single biggest point of focus for investors this quarter, and we’re not sure what media companies can say about the health and tone of the ad market to assuage fears,” Steven Cahall, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note last month.

Viewership is dropping fast among people under 54 -- a key demographic for advertisers -- and even faster among those 18 to 34. Audiences for games on CBS, NBC and Fox have slid at least 10 percent among that younger cohort.

Advertisers aren’t abandoning the NFL, one of the only places they can still reach more than 10 million people at once. But they are growing concerned. John Schnatter, who appears in TV spots on behalf of his Papa John’s Pizza International Inc., laid into the league on a conference call this week, blaming the ratings for his company’s slow revenue growth and calling for the league to put an end to player protests.

Networks and other advertisers identify a wide range of reasons for the NFL’s struggles. The league has overexposed itself by making highlights available on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat. Identifiable stars like Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers have either retired or gotten hurt. The quality of play has deteriorated. Player protests and concussions have driven away some fans.

Some executives argue viewership of the league has still improved over the long term while dropping for every other show. Yet the amount of time people have spent watching football this season is at the lowest point since 2011, back when there were fewer televised games, according to Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports’ head of research.

“The cumulative effect of everything happening in the world at large is having an impact on NFL viewership,” Mulvihill said. “ The league was defying the laws of gravity.”

ForeverChiefs58 · 12-30-2017, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

You just posted a bunch of shit teams in games played during a pretty harsh winter

You think there is harsh weather in LA?

What about SF?

Miami?

Jacksonville?

Do you see snow on the ground?

What about dome teams?

NY is one of the biggest markets regardless.

There are shitty teams every year.

Hell, Chiefs teams were shit for awhile with cold weather. Did you ever see it that empty?

It’s happening all across the NFL this year

**DaneMcCloud** · 01-02-2018, 01:04 PM

http://adage.com/article/media/ratings-slum/311777/

DESPITE ANOTHER RATINGS SLUMP, THE NFL REMAINS TV'S TOP DOG

While seemingly everyone from the Papa John's guy to the President of the United States has seen fit to weigh in on the NFL's season-long TV ratings slide, pro football's Kung Fu Grip on American viewing habits remains indisputable. Despite losing 9 percent of its year-ago audience and coming under attack from both sides of the political spectrum, the NFL in 2017 continued to cast a long shadow over the media landscape.

According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, NFL games accounted for 37 of the year's top 50 broadcasts, or nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of the most-watched programs on TV. That marked a 32 percent increase compared to 2016, when the NFL laid claim to 28 of the top 50 most-watched programs, and was flat versus the 37 top airings the league chalked up in the previous year.

(That the NFL's dominance appeared to wilt somewhat in 2016 had much to do with the fact that 11 of that year's most-viewed broadcasts were notched by NBC's coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics.)

----

Which one of you butt****s wants to try and sell us that the NFL's popularity is waning?

Dierdorf72 · 01-02-2018, 01:18 PM

It took a long time for Rome to fall.

ModSocks · 01-02-2018, 01:23 PM

Foreverchiefs58 here to remind us that shit teams with losing records struggle to sell tickets late in the season.

Care to post some kickoff pics of Arrowhead circa 2012 week 16 against the Colts?

ForeverChiefs58 · 01-02-2018, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

http://adage.com/article/media/ratings-slum/311777/

DESPITE ANOTHER RATINGS SLUMP, THE NFL REMAINS TV'S TOP DOG

While seemingly everyone from the Papa John's guy to the President of the United States has seen fit to weigh in on the NFL's season-long TV ratings slide, pro football's Kung Fu Grip on American viewing habits remains indisputable. Despite losing 9 percent of its year-ago audience and coming under attack from both sides of the political spectrum, the NFL in 2017 continued to cast a long shadow over the media landscape.

According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, NFL games accounted for 37 of the year's top 50 broadcasts, or nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of the most-watched programs on TV. That marked a 32 percent increase compared to 2016, when the NFL laid claim to 28 of the top 50 most-watched programs, and was flat versus the 37 top airings the league chalked up in the previous year.

(That the NFL's dominance appeared to wilt somewhat in 2016 had much to do with the fact that 11 of that year's most-viewed broadcasts were notched by NBC's coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics.)

----

Which one of you butt****s wants to try and sell us that the NFL's popularity is waning?

Don’t take it personal. But I’d believe the sponsors, owners, and coaches who’ve come out and commented on it over you. Not to mention the pictures of half empty stadiums, team merchandise down, and mass amount of former fans and players who’ve all spoken out about it. There have been plenty of articles about the slump as well.

Hopefully in the offseason, the owners fix the problem so the players can stop appearing to disrespect what most fans actually look up to; Our flag, our military, and our police and first responders.

They need to treat kneeling the same as having a jersey untucked, or socks not pulled up, or having a small decal on helmet or shoes, or twerking in the end zone. Otherwise, it will get even worse. There is no free speech at a job or in the end zone. Sooner they understand that the better.

WilliamTheIrish · 01-02-2018, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

Don’t take it personal. But I’d believe the sponsors, owners, and coaches who’ve come out and commented on it over you. Not to mention the pictures of half empty stadiums, team merchandise down, and mass amount of former fans and players who’ve all spoken out about it. There have been plenty of articles about the slump as well.

Hopefully in the offseason, the owners fix the problem so the players can stop appearing to disrespect what most fans actually look up to; Our flag, our military, and our police and first responders.

They need to treat kneeling the same as having a jersey untucked, or socks not pulled up, or having a small decal on helmet or shoes, or twerking in the end zone. Otherwise, it will get even worse. There is no free speech at a job or in the end zone. Sooner they understand that the better.

Eat shit.

Eleazar · 01-02-2018, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

Don’t take it personal. But I’d believe the sponsors, owners, and coaches who’ve come out and commented on it over you. Not to mention the pictures of half empty stadiums, team merchandise down, and mass amount of former fans and players who’ve all spoken out about it. There have been plenty of articles about the slump as well.

It's obviously a non sequitur to say that because some NFL broadcasts are still highly rated that the NFL's popularity has not changed.

ForeverChiefs58 · 01-02-2018, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Eat shit.

Go nibble on the end of a shotgun

ThaVirus · 01-02-2018, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

You think there is harsh weather in LA?

What about SF?

Miami?

Jacksonville?

Do you see snow on the ground?

What about dome teams?

NY is one of the biggest markets regardless.

There are shitty teams every year.

Hell, Chiefs teams were shit for awhile with cold weather. Did you ever see it that empty?

It’s happening all across the NFL this year

Good Lord, did you completely gloss over the “shit teams” part of my post or what?

Pitt Gorilla · 01-02-2018, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

Don’t take it personal. But I’d believe the sponsors, owners, and coaches who’ve come out and commented on it over you. Not to mention the pictures of half empty stadiums, team merchandise down, and mass amount of former fans and players who’ve all spoken out about it. There have been plenty of articles about the slump as well.

Hopefully in the offseason, the owners fix the problem so the players can stop appearing to disrespect what most fans actually look up to; Our flag, our military, and our police and first responders.

They need to treat kneeling the same as having a jersey untucked, or socks not pulled up, or having a small decal on helmet or shoes, or twerking in the end zone. Otherwise, it will get even worse. There is no free speech at a job or in the end zone. Sooner they understand that the better.

just keep the players in the locker room like they used to so you snowflakes won’t have to look at kneeling. OR you could choose to stop being such a ****ing pussy.

ForeverChiefs58 · 01-02-2018, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

just keep the players in the locker room like they used to so you snowflakes won’t have to look at kneeling. OR you could choose to stop being such a ****ing pussy.

Whatever douche bag. I’m not saying anything that sponsors, owners, coaches, former players, and fans all across the country haven’t said you ****ing moron.

But by all means, go back to being your asshole ****ing idiot self.

WilliamTheIrish · 01-02-2018, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

Go nibble on the end of a shotgun

I'll bet you (and your mother too), are no stranger to the embraces of barnyard animals.

All cucked up over the kneeling. What a ****ing pussy you are.

suzzer99 · 01-02-2018, 09:28 PM

Maybe they can pay Trump to go on twitter and say the NFL is cool again.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...bility-crashes

Quote:

On September 21, 25% of Trump supporters said they had a very favorable view of the NFL and 11% had a very unfavorable view.

As of Sept 28, those numbers have dramatically changed with 33% of Trump supporters say they have a very unfavorable view of the NFL and 16% report having a very favorable view.

GloryDayz · 01-02-2018, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

http://adage.com/article/media/ratings-slum/311777/

DESPITE ANOTHER RATINGS SLUMP, THE NFL REMAINS TV'S TOP DOG

While seemingly everyone from the Papa John's guy to the President of the United States has seen fit to weigh in on the NFL's season-long TV ratings slide, pro football's Kung Fu Grip on American viewing habits remains indisputable. Despite losing 9 percent of its year-ago audience and coming under attack from both sides of the political spectrum, the NFL in 2017 continued to cast a long shadow over the media landscape.

According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, NFL games accounted for 37 of the year's top 50 broadcasts, or nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of the most-watched programs on TV. That marked a 32 percent increase compared to 2016, when the NFL laid claim to 28 of the top 50 most-watched programs, and was flat versus the 37 top airings the league chalked up in the previous year.

(That the NFL's dominance appeared to wilt somewhat in 2016 had much to do with the fact that 11 of that year's most-viewed broadcasts were notched by NBC's coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics.)

----

Which one of you butt****s wants to try and sell us that the NFL's popularity is waning?

So we add the Rio Olympics to the list of excuses now?

Talking the kneeling out of it, the overall social activism and WWFL nature of the NFL aren't helping. But that's JMO.

iDeaL · 01-04-2018, 10:25 AM

Obviously there are many factors going into the ratings decline. For me, I lose a little bit of interest every time I see the Chiefs get ****ed by refs and other darling teams get helped out, and the general sketchiness of the last 2 or 3 Super Bowls has also contributed. For now, I still try to watch all Chiefs games unless I'm busy (I'm out of market so I usually have to find a stream), and usually have one of the local games or RedZone on the TV on Sundays, but I'll say this. Now that Gruden is likely coming back, the Faid are going to be even more of a media darling and continue to be crammed down all of our throats. If the Oakland aka LAS VEGAS ****ing Raiders win or make it to another SB before we do, I'm done with the NFL.

11-03-2017, 05:07 AM
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	NFL Excuses Run Out After Ratings Declines Continue NFL's Litany of Excuses Runs Out After Ratings Fall for Second Year By Lucas Shaw Bloomberg.com November 2, 2017, 11:30 AM CDT TV networks are running out of excuses for the dwindling popularity of the National Football League. They blamed the election for ratings declines last year, and hurricanes for a soft week one in September. Protests during the national anthem, and President Donald Trump’s criticism of the league, have faded from the headlines. Advertisers are starting to believe a different explanation: the viewers aren’t coming back. Audiences are down an average 7 percent from a year ago through the first eight weeks of the season, excluding last Monday. That’s on top of a decrease of about 8 percent last season that spurred numerous changes in the broadcasts, from shorter commercials to better matchups earlier in the year. “There’s just not as many people watching TV the way they used to watch TV,” said Jeremy Carey, managing director of Optimum Sports, a sports marketing agency. “It’s going to be an issue for advertisers when they can’t reach a large-scale audience the way they have.” With CBS Corp., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co. set to report earnings in the next few days, analysts are bound to raise questions. These companies have used the popularity of the games to extract additional fees from cable operators, promote other shows on their networks and sell lots of commercials. Pro football games drew about $3.5 billion in ad spending last year, including the postseason, according to SMI Media Inc. Media companies have spent billions of dollars on the right to air football games, which had been immune to the erosion of viewership for other TV programming. Audiences for TV networks have diminished for years as the growing popularity of online alternatives Netflix and YouTube and the availability of most shows on-demand have reduced the appeal of dramas and comedies. Live TV, like sports, was supposed to be immune, but that theory looks highly questionable now. Ratings for the NFL suggest the same societal trends are now affecting the league, even if the declines aren’t as dramatic. The drop in game viewership ranges from 5 percent for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” to 11 percent for the CBS Sunday package. “Monday Night Football,” on Disney’s ESPN, has attracted more fans this year than a year ago, but the numbers are still down from 2015. Viewership of the four main broadcast networks fell 8.7 percent last year, and 12 percent among adults 18 to 49, an important demographic for advertisers. CBS’s 11 percent slump for NFL games is the steepest of the networks. Its parent company, which reports earnings after the close Thursday, is more vulnerable than rivals to the trend because the vast majority of its earnings come from the broadcast network. The declines at CBS reinforce a complaint that has gotten louder and louder in recent weeks: The league got greedy in adding the Thursday night game on broadcast. Reserving top games for Thursday night robbed other time periods of good match-ups. After a nosedive in ratings at “Monday Night Football” last season, the league has scheduled better games for that time period, further damaging Sunday afternoon. “Ratings declines on both general entertainment and NFL programming could be the single biggest point of focus for investors this quarter, and we’re not sure what media companies can say about the health and tone of the ad market to assuage fears,” Steven Cahall, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note last month. Viewership is dropping fast among people under 54 -- a key demographic for advertisers -- and even faster among those 18 to 34. Audiences for games on CBS, NBC and Fox have slid at least 10 percent among that younger cohort. Advertisers aren’t abandoning the NFL, one of the only places they can still reach more than 10 million people at once. But they are growing concerned. John Schnatter, who appears in TV spots on behalf of his Papa John’s Pizza International Inc., laid into the league on a conference call this week, blaming the ratings for his company’s slow revenue growth and calling for the league to put an end to player protests. Networks and other advertisers identify a wide range of reasons for the NFL’s struggles. The league has overexposed itself by making highlights available on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat. Identifiable stars like Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers have either retired or gotten hurt. The quality of play has deteriorated. Player protests and concussions have driven away some fans. Some executives argue viewership of the league has still improved over the long term while dropping for every other show. Yet the amount of time people have spent watching football this season is at the lowest point since 2011, back when there were fewer televised games, according to Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports’ head of research. “The cumulative effect of everything happening in the world at large is having an impact on NFL viewership,” Mulvihill said. “ The league was defying the laws of gravity.”
Posts: 80,659

01-02-2018, 01:04 PM	#317
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	http://adage.com/article/media/ratings-slum/311777/ DESPITE ANOTHER RATINGS SLUMP, THE NFL REMAINS TV'S TOP DOG While seemingly everyone from the Papa John's guy to the President of the United States has seen fit to weigh in on the NFL's season-long TV ratings slide, pro football's Kung Fu Grip on American viewing habits remains indisputable. Despite losing 9 percent of its year-ago audience and coming under attack from both sides of the political spectrum, the NFL in 2017 continued to cast a long shadow over the media landscape. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, NFL games accounted for 37 of the year's top 50 broadcasts, or nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of the most-watched programs on TV. That marked a 32 percent increase compared to 2016, when the NFL laid claim to 28 of the top 50 most-watched programs, and was flat versus the 37 top airings the league chalked up in the previous year. (That the NFL's dominance appeared to wilt somewhat in 2016 had much to do with the fact that 11 of that year's most-viewed broadcasts were notched by NBC's coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics.) ---- Which one of you butt****s wants to try and sell us that the NFL's popularity is waning?
Posts: 88,960

01-02-2018, 01:18 PM	#318
Dierdorf72 Starter Join Date: Dec 2017 Casino cash: $10000400	It took a long time for Rome to fall.
Posts: 99

01-02-2018, 01:23 PM	#319
ModSocks Needs more middle fingers Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego Casino cash: $4194563	Foreverchiefs58 here to remind us that shit teams with losing records struggle to sell tickets late in the season. Care to post some kickoff pics of Arrowhead circa 2012 week 16 against the Colts? __________________ Life is like a dick. Sometimes it gets hard for no reason, but it can't stay hard forever.
Posts: 64,419

01-04-2018, 10:25 AM	#330
iDeaL Starter Join Date: Nov 2017 Casino cash: $7980400	Obviously there are many factors going into the ratings decline. For me, I lose a little bit of interest every time I see the Chiefs get **ed by refs and other darling teams get helped out, and the general sketchiness of the last 2 or 3 Super Bowls has also contributed. For now, I still try to watch all Chiefs games unless I'm busy (I'm out of market so I usually have to find a stream), and usually have one of the local games or RedZone on the TV on Sundays, but I'll say this. Now that Gruden is likely coming back, the Faid are going to be even more of a media darling and continue to be crammed down all of our throats. If the Oakland aka LAS VEGAS **ing Raiders win or make it to another SB before we do, I'm done with the NFL.
Posts: 151