DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Why Are NFL Ratings Down?

This is an opinion piece.

I have a few theories on why the ratings are down for NFL games. Refute, debate, discuss............but please, leave the personal insults out of it.

Reasons for the Decline in Ratings:

1. The rule changes combined w/the league mandated emphasis regarding concentrating on certain rules has slowed the game down and made it far less entertaining. There were 23 plays that drew flags in last night's game between Arizona and the Jets. As bad as that is, it wasn't the most flags thrown in a game this year. There were 31 thrown in a contest between the Lions and Titans earlier this year.

The flow of the game is being disrupted by the high volume of flags. Furthermore, the officials give lengthy explanations as to exactly what the infractions were, which slows down the game even more.

I turn on football to watch players making good/great plays, not to see some middle-aged guy talking about the violation of the rules.


2. The presidential debates. This is a legitimate excuse.

3. MLB playoffs. The only thing is that the playoffs didn't hurt the NFL this much in the past. I think people are tuning into MLB because the NFL is becoming so hard to watch.

4. Social issues. I want to be entertained when I watch sports. I quit watching MLB years ago due to the concentration on steroids and labor disputes. I only started watching again this year.

I do not want to hear about Kapernick. I don't want to see black millionaires protesting about how bad our country is. I don't want to hear that Kap only lost his job because he protested. He was benched last year, long before he ever knelt. I want to be entertained by the game of football and I do not want to listen to all the social commentary that is being generated by spoiled, pampered athletes.

And while there are plenty of people who do like such things, I suspect that there are many more potential viewers like me who want to separate sports and politics. If I want to discuss race, I think there are far better venues than a sport's show.

That's my take. What's yours?

Oh, and again................please leave the personal insults out of it.

i've mentioned in other threads, but the flags, discussions, reviews, commercials, etc have really ruined the games for me.

It's gone from 3 hours on the dot to 3.5 hours ... with no change to the time of the game.

The officiating is terrible, the players' execution and lack of discipline is excruciating to watch, and it seems way too saturated. I mean, every time I turn on the TV they're talking about "Dak/Romo" or "Brady" or "Big Ben".

We've all seen this moment coming, but the NFL is too over the top now

Probably a few reasons... some of which you mentioned.

Maybe it's football burnout.... For me, I pretty much only watch the Browns games until playoffs whereas I used to watch all that was available.
Howard Cosell once said that after awhile, one NFL game looks like all the rest.

I find there are WAY too many TV commercials, which to me interrupts the flow of the game as much as the penalties (which are an issue, I agree).

Team kicks a FG, timeout, two minutes of commercials.
Kicks off into the end zone, timeout. More commercials.

Aside from Brady, Cam and maybe Roethlisberger, who are the real stars of the league that attract the casual follower?
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

More and more people have pulled the plug on tv and are streaming games which does not get accounted for in the ratings.

I think that you and Dawgs4Life brought up a great point about the commercials. I should have listed that as one of my reasons.

Salaries keep going up and the number of commercials seemingly keep pace w/the salaries. Heck, they have even went to more of a running clock in the modern era. What used to be a stoppage of the clock on certain plays is no longer in effect, which reduces the amount of action, but doesn't reduce the length of the game.

I agree with the commercials and the amount of penalties. I understand the need to protect players from bad injuries but, in my opinion there are more injuries now than ever. Maybe, instead of all the silly rules they keep putting in place and the poor officiating (ex. Duke's fumble in the 'skins game, the PI by Sherman against Atlanta that 99.9% of the time they call it but, surprise surprise they didn't this time), they need to focus R&D on better equipment. My wife loves rugby as it is fluid and never stops. She can't stand American Football because of how it constantly stops/starts. Add to it all the commercials and all the injury time outs and yea, it just drags on and on. How do you grab the interest of kids who are the future audience? Red Zone? Fantasy FB?

Interesting point about the athletes and social cause/issues. I view it as a platform that allows them to have an audience. I don't disagree with them voicing their opinion. No different than Ali did before them OR, musicians. Many bands/musicians in the 60's used their stage platform and tv to go on about the war and injustices at home and abroad. No difference.

Regarding the MLB playoffs....I don't know if that is pulling people away in droves. Maybe, but, baseball is throughout the week and not just on Sunday.

A winner like the Browns might spark interest because lets face it....aren't we all tired of the same teams and faces? Example: If the World Series ends up being the Indians vs the Cubs....people might really get excited and tune in. Unfortunately, with exception to those of us who are Cleveland fans I suspect the rest of the country will want the Cubs to finally win. Same can be said if the Browns ever make it to the Super Bowl.

I agree with these posts on this matter. Just imagine if the rest of the league had to watch our Browns every week, the ratings would be worse. We've had some poor play and many mistakes due to all our young players but what has really upset me is not just the amount of the penalties but the needless ones like the one on TP for tossing the ball in the Ravens game. How about the Duke Johnson recovery that went to the Redskins? PI calls where the CB barely touched the receiver. It's frustrating and hard to watch.

Yeah, it's annoying as heck.

It's like the NFL's goal has been to become the love child of Arena Football and the XFL with a sprinkling of college ball.


It's not professional football anymore, it's an entertainment production.
Add in poor officiating and stupid rule changes that have ruined the game -- there's better things to waste time (and especially money) on.

deleted...

we're scum bags and we are 0 - 6 remember?

Irrelevant to this topic, man - not trying to tell you how to post.

Ratings are down cause no team can go a whole series without one flag being thrown.

Last nights Monday night game was damn near unwatchable. There's no tempo, no pace to the game anymore.

It feels like the refs control the game, not the actual teams playing.

I think it's just a matter of over-saturation. Too many football games on too many nights, bad games (TNF), parents worried about CTE, too many penalties, no celebrations and the fantasy football bubble has burst.

I think this is why the NFL has such a hard-on for Europe and soon to be China. They know the sustained growth on US soil could only be maintained so long. The casual fan will get bored and look at other entertainment options.

+1

Plus, with all the commercial breaks, that breaks the flow as well.

I mentioned it on here a while ago, but if you take a step back and really pay attention, the average NFL game can't seem to get out of it's own way:

Commercial
Kickoff
Commercial
Flag
5-yard out
Commercial
Review
Flag
Sack
Incomplete
Punt
Commercial
Long TD
Replay
Commercial
PAT
Commercial
Kickoff
Commercial
Run

Like Swish said, where's the flow?

I know a lot of people can't accept soccer and this isn't an attempt to sway those people, but there are two 45-minutes halves, no replays and only commercials at the half.

Heck, I feel like MLB is doing a better job than the NFL right now.

For 10 years they have consistently made rule changes to make this a pass happy league and now they have 32 teams and only 10 QBs who are good enough to take advantage of the rules they have implemented. Some teams, like the Broncos, Vikings, Panthers (at least last year) have figured out how to play good defense against it. Maybe that will help or maybe it will just frustrate people who got used to seeing 800 yards passing and 4 TDs in games.

Their incessant fixation on the same 3 or 4 story lines over and over again... call it market saturation if you want but during the games, during the pre-game, during the post-game, on ESPN radio, on NFL network.. it's the same stories about the same teams and people over and over and over.. If your team isn't very good, it doesn't get discussed, if it doesn't get discussed, it gets boring. I don't care if Prescott or Romo starts, I'm sure there are 15 teams that wish they had ONE QB as good as either of them.

The minutia of instant replays, slow-mo, super slow-mo, 10 different angles, trying to determine if there was, in fact, a blade of grass between his hand and the ball when he fell to the ground. Even on plays that aren't challenged, it is so tedious. I would rather they spend the 30 seconds telling me how he got open or who made a great block than spending the whole 30 seconds between plays showing me the last 1/10th of a second of the play from 10 different angles to determine if it was a catch or not.

The AFC.. I give the NFC a little credit, the Vikings have risen up, the Falcons.. while the Cardinals and the Panthers are struggling, the Seahawks look good but not dominant... the 3rd rated team in the AFC in the power rankings is the Buffalo Bills. Is there anybody who honestly believes that the super bowl team from the AFC won't be either the Patriots, Steelers or Broncos? ... AGAIN? It has been 13 years since anybody other than the Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Ravens, or Broncos represented the AFC in the super bowl. Manning is gone so the Colts are not much of an option any more.. the other 4 were most people's pick this year.. You can make the argument that other teams just need to get better, and that's fine.. but I get bored watching it year after year knowing that from the very beginning, my team has no chance.

For me it started about 5 years ago with the INJURIES ...

The INJURIES are almost to hard to keep track of ... most on here only follow the browns and think were getting hit with injuries more than anyone .... well .. were in the top 10 maybe even top 5 .. but there's a few teams that have been beat up more than us and a bunch more in the same boat with us ..

Two weeks ago when TB played they had NO DL STARTERS suited up and they play a 4-3 ..

GB just traded for Kniles Davis cause they have no healthy RB's .. last week they had 2 WR's take more snaps behind Rodgers than they did there RB's .. witch was Lacy ..

Minni has lost Bridgewater, AP, Kalil and about 3 others plus there weekly injuries .. like in there last game they played w/o Diggs and another OLman ... I think in there last game they only had 2 OL starters playing ...

And all the touch football new penalties ... skirts on qb's, defenseless recievers and leading with your head are all a direct result of INJURIES .. The INJURIES have affected every aspect of the game ..

To the product on the field being diluted, new rules to keep players "safe" and it has affected the reffing ..

INJURIES are all encompassing ..

And for me personally ... the social stuff .. the only reason I even watch anymore is because I make a nice chunk of change in FF and LMS pools ..

Next year .. after the social crap ... i will more than likely be done .. if i could get a rebate from DTV I would be done now ...

Anyhow .. just thought i'd let u know U overlooked INJURIES .. as they AFFECT more than one aspect of the downfall of the NFL ..

Soccer is a great example. Especially how they make up commercial time.

I know a lot of people are against it, and I'm on the fence as well, but with the exception of the World Cup and the Euro cup (and all the other continental tournaments) they have sponsors right on their jerseys.

And the sideline walls are completely filled with advertisements.

It's a great alternative to not having TV timeouts.

+2

This is it for me as well. Between blatant BS blown calls, endless commercial breaks and flag after flag after flag, the games just drag on forever.

IT's annoying when the Browns are on, it makes me not pay attention at all when other teams are on.

Honestly, the MLB playoffs have been much better tv lately.

I agree with some of your thoughts..

Kap and his protests and those that followed him. Just makes me angry.

Also the penalties.. Far to often for my taste. And bad calls. Well, there have always been bad calls but it seems as if the Refs are even less professional this year. Not sure if that's fact, but it just feels that way.

Basically, they do so many things in an attempt to speed up the game and I think the result is the opposite.

Good point Diam, I had never considered the injuries.. if/when I tune in, I want to see stars at the highest level, not rotating back-ups.

Unless it's Browns-related, a lot of the stuff outside the lines I don't pay attention to: Kap, OBJ's crap, Goodell's power tripping suspensions cuz of substance abuse, all the rest.
Point is, that stuff doesn't bother me, I don't care.

1. Commercials are non stop, it gets almost unwatchable with so many TV timeouts.
2. Election season
3. Love it or hate it, people are sick of the liberal PC agenda the NFL shoves down peoples throats. An entire month of pink? Consistently showing Kaepernick ont he sideline EVERY SINGLE WEEK?
4. Ludicrous penalties for celebrations, ridiculous fines and penalties for trivial acts of excitement.
5. Parody actually working against them.....last night.....Jets/Cards....preseason sounded AWESOME, in reality.....two low end football teams with little at stake.
6. BLACKOUTS! No less than 3 games in my area I couldn't get the Browns game.
7. Flat out, millennials are cutting cable. $100-$180 for basic cable and internet? Netflix and internet is $50

Just possible reasons off the top.

Not to oversimplify, but I feel like the NFL's attempt to attract casual fans with rule changes that increase offense, ie, "excitement", has ruined the game for fans who remember the game as it was meant to be played. I don't say that to sound like I'm some kind of elitist, because I know there's lots of fans who know more than me, but I just feel like the game that used to be epic is now mundane, banal, and of no consequence. The only diff between TV wrestling and the NFL is that the NFL hasn't gotten around to scripting its outcomes - yet.

Summer camp instead of training camp.

They dont play the NFL brand of football in college anymore. The league continues to get younger and younger and they dont know how to play the freaking game.

Refs no longer get a lot of actual work in camp either. there are only a few hours of live football action for the entire training camp.

Commercials after TDs, after Kick Offs, during Replays, more random commercials. Sometimes the same commercial back to back. Terrible Trump commercial, followed by terrible Clinton commercial, followed by terrible local politician attack ad. Commentators/announcers trying to talk up the network's other shows which I'm fairly certain they don't watch.

Inconsistent officiating and perceived bias. Officials often being in awful position. I think the league should go to the officials calling the penalties from a box with fixed cameras from more of a birds eye view (or at least out of the fray) with just the head official on the field to throw the yellow hankies and explain the calls. Having old men run around and try to see everything seems outdated. Those officials then actually recording what they saw/called and playing it to the audience rather than having people have no idea what the penalty actually was might help clean things up/ add transparency.

Someone mentioned that the game is more entertainment than sport anymore and while that's somewhat true, they are also trying to suck a lot of the entertainment value out of it. Who really cares if players celebrate? It's a game. I'm not a fan of a lot of Odell's actions but getting flagged for taking your helmet off after you are off the field of play? (out the back of the endzone) How is he supposed to get air time for his Head and Shoulders hair?

Plus, I think there are just so many other options out there. Setting aside a block of 4 hours is hard to do in our On Demand society. There are also more interactive ways of getting sports/entertainment. People seem to crave control as much as ever now. Madden kind of gives you a way to make the calls when you think you could do a better job of coaching, drafting etc.

My top ten reasons.

1. Online streaming.

2. Goodell's lack of leadership and vision to open NFL viewing to all cable and satellite TV providers with a pay per view option for any game sold out or not.

3. Global warming.

4. Deflate Gate.

5. Obama

6. Brett Favre

7. Johnny football

8. Hillary

9. Trump

10. Election 2016

Too many commercials...certainly.
Too many penalties...I'd say so.
Too many timeouts (3)...a pet peeve of mine.
And where are the respected announcers that by themselves are enjoyable to listen to? The Pat Summeralls, Maddens, Giffords, Meredith? Most of todays announcers are bland...

j/c:

A lot of good replies.

I want to comment about the online streaming angle for a moment. While I think that is an actual fact and a good point, I also believe that more people are getting turned off this year by many of the other things that have been mentioned on this thread.

Yeah, I don't know how the hell I didn't include commercials.

I personally enjoy the college rules much better, and think it's a better game to watch at this point. The NFL would be better served to implement the following rules imo....

1. PI is a 15yard penalty like college. There is no consistency at either level on the PI calls so at least quit making them 50 yard penalties.

2. I love the college OT rules and they are super exciting......wish the NFL would go this route.

3. Find out what a dang catch is and go with it........good grief.

4. The last 2 minutes of the game the clock should stop on a 1st down like college......makes for much more exciting endings.

The ratings aren't down with CFB and they are up against MLB and have had the same social issues. The problem is the NFL is just not a very entertaining product right now, because they have taken the excitement out of the game........really need some rule changes.

Vers here's the biggest reason-

People are done with cable. It's too damn expensive and people are watching via phones / tablets.

Several posters have commented on an oversaturation problem. That isn't the case for me. I would love to watch football every night. I watch a ton of college games on multiple nights of the week.

However, like someone else mentioned, the NFL has really tried to entice the casual fans to watch, so the oversaturation of the sport could be a real issue.

I think a lot of good points have been brought up and there are obviously several factors at play here.

The question is..........what can the NFL do to fix the problems? I have some thoughts, but would enjoy hearing yours first.

1. Pay per view option for any game with all the cable or satellite providers, not just direct tv.

2. Fire Goodell. He has done more to hurt the game than help it.

3. No suspensions for players that are prescribed medical Marijuana by the team doctor.

4. No UK, Canada, Mexico, or European regular season games.

5. If a ball is caught and the player makes two steps in bounds with the ball.... it's a catch.

6. Softer helmets. Helmet to helmet infractions for intentional flagrant hits only.

7. Start all evening (Mon, Thurs, & Sunday) games by 8:00pm eastern.

8. Field goals over 55 yards are worth 4 Pts

9. A runback for a TD on a kick off is worth 8pts

10. A runback for a TD on a punt is worth 7Pts

11. A onside kick recovery is worth 1pt

Officiating - Not only slowing the game down but affecting the outcomes. It's no longer "fair".

Favoritism - This relates to officiating. Bias clearly shows up in the officiating. There are league "favorite" teams. New England, Denver, and Pittsburgh are fawned over and favored. It used to be about two teams squaring up and playing football. It's not about that any more, it's about protecting the "Brand" with a capital B. Again, it's no longer "fair".

It's boring - There used to be a time in football when anything could happen. Teams could come back from three scores down and win. Play on the field could affect the game without experiencing interference from the officials in the form of a flag.

Divas and Prima Donas - Who wants to see Odell propose to a net, Brady whine whenever he's touched, or every receiver throw up the flag hand if they're brushed by a defender?

Commercial Breaks - It's impossible to become engrossed in the game, attention span is automatically and repeatedly broken.

Announcing - The announcers have become opinionated knuckleheads who bring nothing to the experience.

Overload - We don't need Thursday Night, Sunday Night and two games on Monday Night Football.

Bottom line, the game as it stands now sucks.

Who here has quit fantasy football?

I did 4 years ago and have never looked back.

After being involved for ~10 years, I found that fantasy football was ruining my weekend football experience. For example, say the Browns won, I might still be ticked off because my fantasy team lost by a point after the Titans kicker missed a FG, I started the wrong QB, or a Browns player on the team I was playing against went off and made me lose (something that should make me happy had the reverse effect). Even worse, I ended up having to root for players and teams I don't like.

Meaning, it ended up spoiling too many weekends, so I quit. I've been much happier since (well, I'm still a Browns fan so it hasn't been a picnic).