NFL 2021

Another year, another dead 'the NFL is dying, look at the ratings' narrative.


View: https://twitter.com/mickakers/status/1437905906906251266

Why is it when someone points out the overall viewership has been dropping does someone always want to point to one game, just one, as a supposed indicator that it isn't true and even that number doesn't quite hit the weekly average from the previous season? Come now, let's look at all the facts.

Average Audience of Regular Season NFL Games
2020 15.4 million
2019 16.5 million
2018 15.8 million
2017 15.0 million
2016 16.5 million
2015 18.7 million
2014 17.6 million
 
Why is it when someone points out the overall viewership has been dropping does someone always want to point to one game, just one, as a supposed indicator that it isn't true and even that number doesn't quite hit the weekly average from the previous season? Come now, let's look at all the facts.

Average Audience of Regular Season NFL Games
2020 15.4 million
2019 16.5 million
2018 15.8 million
2017 15.0 million
2016 16.5 million
2015 18.7 million
2014 17.6 million
The weekly average far exceeded the previous season's average.....

Week 1 of the NFL season averaged 17.4 million viewers across the NFL’s various platforms, up 7% from last year and the league’s second-largest opening week average in the past five seasons.

Modest bump in NFL Week 1 audience
 
Why is it when someone points out the overall viewership has been dropping does someone always want to point to one game, just one, as a supposed indicator that it isn't true and even that number doesn't quite hit the weekly average from the previous season? Come now, let's look at all the facts.

Average Audience of Regular Season NFL Games
2020 15.4 million
2019 16.5 million
2018 15.8 million
2017 15.0 million
2016 16.5 million
2015 18.7 million
2014 17.6 million

Often because even these are skewed without considering trends in TV viewership and the ability to accurately track viewership on other platforms, and don't provide the context to better understand the drop in viewership.

For example, in 2020:

As mentioned above, the average NFL regular season game drew about 15.4 million viewers. The six most watched shows in primetime, excluding football, are averaging 11.2 million viewers through Jan. 17 (including a week of delayed viewing) — a 37.5 percent advantage for the NFL (and probably slightly higher: the football figures don’t include delayed viewing).​
In 2019, the league averaged 16.5 million viewers per game, about 33 precent more than the 12.43 million for the top six non-sports shows. So even though the league lost more than a million viewers per game, the gap between it and biggest entertainment shows only widened. What’s more, the top six shows for the current season includes CBS’ 60 Minutes; excluding that, the six most watched entertainment shows draw 10.91 million viewers, trailing the NFL by a 41 percent margin.​
TV viewership in general is down - but not down as much for the NFL. So yeah, the 'NFL is dying!' narrative (getting some of this locally too over the Raiders requiring vaccines, and then 1800 relinquished 2020 season tickets re-sold out in 40 minutes) has never really been alive itself.

Why is it when someone points out the overall viewership has been dropping does someone always want to point to one game

I didn't respond to anyone, so kind of confused why you had to prop up this false argument to begin your post.
 
Numbers are numbers. Now you can offer any manner of theories as to why those numbers are what they are or how those numbers relate to other presentations but it's irrelevant, they are what they are. And the fact is those numbers started to drop in 2016, long before Covid had any impact.

This is the same as a response: "Another year, another dead 'the NFL is dying, look at the ratings' narrative."
 
Numbers are numbers. Now you can offer any manner of theories as to why those numbers are what they are or how those numbers relate to other presentations but it's irrelevant, they are what they are. And the fact is those numbers started to drop in 2016, long before Covid had any impact.

This is the same as a response: "Another year, another dead 'the NFL is dying, look at the ratings' narrative."
It would have been quicker to just type 'I think I'm right regardless of any facts that are fatal to my chosen narrative"

The difference is my response is supported by data and context.

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Well, can't take much from the Patriots v Jets game other than it'll be a long season for Jets fans... but aren't they all?

Interesting stat, The Jets punted the ball only once yesterday.
 
To me it's like watching Romo commentate for the first time - there is so much more information dumped on your head that it's both jarring and amazing (and depending on how much you like it, much more of one or the other probably).
 
I wonder if Eli has nudged Peyton on the Pats yet.

Peyton: Blah blah blah, Patriots har har.
Eli: You know, Peyton, you seem to love talking about a team you rarely ever beat in the playoffs. I never lost to them in the playoffs.

You know one of them is turning heel and they'll battle at WM.
 
I wonder if Eli has nudged Peyton on the Pats yet.

Peyton: Blah blah blah, Patriots har har.
Eli: You know, Peyton, you seem to love talking about a team you rarely ever beat in the playoffs. I never lost to them in the playoffs.

You know one of them is turning heel and they'll battle at WM.

It’s really a false narrative that the Patriots owned Peyton Manning in the postseason. Although Manning was only 6-11 lifetime against the Pats, he was 3-1 in AFC Championship Games against Brady and the Pats.


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True, Brady was only 2-3 against Manning in the Playoffs, though one of those wins was the Broncos defense and a missed extra point. Manning's comeback in the '06 Super Bowl against the Patriots was probably Manning's best anything.
 
NFL announces that the first week of the playoffs which it now bills as “super wild card weekend” will move the early Saturday game to Monday night. Games will be 4:35 and 8:15 Saturday; 1:05, 4:40 and 8:15 Sunday; and 8:15 Monday.

CBS and NBC will have two games each, Fox and ESPN (simulcast on ABC) will have one. The Monday night game will not necessarily be the one ESPN/ABC gets.

The obvious issue here is that the winner on Monday will have a huge disadvantage the next week, playing on less rest.
 
NFL announces that the first week of the playoffs which it now bills as “super wild card weekend” will move the early Saturday game to Monday night. Games will be 4:35 and 8:15 Saturday; 1:05, 4:40 and 8:15 Sunday; and 8:15 Monday.

CBS and NBC will have two games each, Fox and ESPN (simulcast on ABC) will have one. The Monday night game will not necessarily be the one ESPN/ABC gets.

The obvious issue here is that the winner on Monday will have a huge disadvantage the next week, playing on less rest.

The only disadvantage for the Monday winner will be if their next game is on the following Saturday, which I would think the NFL would try to avoid. Monday to Sunday is the same as Sunday to Saturday…..


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The only disadvantage for the Monday winner will be if their next game is on the following Saturday, which I would think the NFL would try to avoid. Monday to Sunday is the same as Sunday to Saturday…..


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Agreed, but I don’t know how they could guarantee this under the current playoff format. They re-seed after the Wildcard round.
 
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