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NFL viewership off 11% YOY (8 Viewers)

Watching much less college football too.  At least the NFL still has good season long fantasy/dynasty to make it more interesting  :shrug:  

 
Steve Tasker said:
This will be meaningless to everyone but I've kinda wanted to put it in writing.  As I've posted in here a few times this year, I've watched less NFL this year than I can ever recall.  The most instant complaint that pops into my head as to why is because of the length of games and frequency of commercials.  But in retrospect, I watch an absolute ton of college football and my viewership there hasn't changed (or has in fact become stronger) despite the fact that the games actually take even longer to play.  So I've tried over the past few weeks to delineate the two and figure out why I much prefer college football over the NFL.  Here's what I've come up with:

  • Variation in scheme/strategy - in the NFL, all 32 teams generally run a variation of a small number of offensive and defensive philosophies.  But in college you have teams all over the board - pro-style, triple option, read option, run and shoot, pistol, 3-4, 4-3, 4-4, buck linebackers, 3-3-5, etc.  I feel this adds an extra dimension to games.
  • The games are more meaningful - In college, drop 2 games in September and your season might be over.  In the NFL, drop 2 games in September and it's not uncommon to see a team run off a 10-4 record in the rest of the games and get right into the playoffs.  The concept of a middling wildcard team getting hot and winning a Super Bowl just doesn't happen in college, and I like that.
  • Constant new players - a star player in college football will get 2, maybe 3 years of stardom before either graduating or jumping to the pros.  Every year there's a new hotshot star (Lamar Jackson, for example) who can set the game on fire.  That just doesn't happen in the NFL.  The same teams with the same quarterbacks are good pretty much every year, rinse repeat.
  • The atmosphere of games - Even a big NFL playoff game just can't hold a candle to, say, a Saturday night in Baton Rouge.  The NFL atmosphere is so corporate, so controlled, so....blah.  Fans of college teams just seem to have a stronger attachment to their teams, and with the traditions, that all adds up.
  • Sheer number of readily-accessible games - this may have changed if I had Sunday Ticket, but I don't because I'm not home for a number of Sundays because I'm at the Bills game.  With my basic standard cable package, I can find probably 6-8 college games on at any given time all Saturday afternoon.  Even if 75% are blowouts, there's inevitably something worth watching.  Add in the WatchESPN app and there's another handful at my fingertips as well.  Without Sunday Ticket, I get 1-2 1 PM NFL games and 1-2 4 PM games, one of which is the Bills game and one of which is pretty much always the Giants game.  Meh.
  • Reviews/challenges - I don't love the concept of a replay review to begin with, but college reviews just seem to go so much smoother.  They don't review every scoring play and turnover, and tons of plays inside 2 minutes.  An NFL review seems to put everything on hold for 3-4 minutes....ref goes under the hood, channel may go to commercial, takes forever.  In college he puts on a headset and they've usually got it settled quickly....at least it seems so.
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I think this is one of the bigger issues out there.  I live in NYC, it's 3 games on Sunday with most likely 2 of those being Jets/Giants.  That used to be fine since I was single and went to a bar if I wanted something else, but that's not a long-term viable solution anymore.  For a media savvy enterprise, they've botched adapting to the changing TV viewing experience-expectations over the past 5-7 years.

I also think they are self-destroying themselves with the Red Zone channel, but that's another story.  Why watch any game when you can watch highlights in real-time.  This mindset filters into people turning out when they have to watch the full games at night.    

 
This needs to be bumped.....

The Cowboys/Packers game was the most watched divisional playoff game EVER.

If any of you NFL haters didn't watch it, you missed one of the best games in a long time.

 
eoMMan said:
This needs to be bumped.....

The Cowboys/Packers game was the most watched divisional playoff game EVER.

If any of you NFL haters didn't watch it, you missed one of the best games in a long time.
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Lack of Aikman v Favre takes away some of the intrigue.

 
A friend of mine, retired cop, is adamant that it is because police/etc are boycotting NFL due to Colin Kapernick.  I laughed.

 
rascal said:
A friend of mine, retired cop, is adamant that it is because police/etc are boycotting NFL due to Colin Kapernick.  I laughed.
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I mean the protesting kind of stopped and the ratings went up. I think it was mostly due to the election but I dont think the former can be ruled out :shrug:

 
rascal said:
A friend of mine, retired cop, is adamant that it is because police/etc are boycotting NFL due to Colin Kapernick.  I laughed.
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After the first couple weeks it was old news and nobody cared. Had the media not blown it up hardly anyone would have noticed. Is anyone other than CK still protesting?

 
eoMMan said:
This needs to be bumped.....

The Cowboys/Packers game was the most watched divisional playoff game EVER.

If any of you NFL haters didn't watch it, you missed one of the best games in a long time.
Click to expand...
Try not to take the sport's declining popularity so personally. You're not a lesser person because fewer people watch the NFL.

 
Regular season was down, but playoffs have been up.  Makes sense considering Pittsburgh, NE, and Dallas were in 3 out of the last 4 games.  All really popular teams.

Next season will definitely shed some light on regular season trending.

 
jonessed said:
Regular season was down, but playoffs have been up.  Makes sense considering Pittsburgh, NE, and Dallas were in 3 out of the last 4 games.  All really popular teams.

Next season will definitely shed some light on regular season trending.
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Not really surprised the playoffs have gone up. You have big name teams and games that mean something. Of course people will watch now.

 
Sammy3469 said:
Steve Tasker said:
  • Sheer number of readily-accessible games - this may have changed if I had Sunday Ticket, but I don't because I'm not home for a number of Sundays because I'm at the Bills game.  With my basic standard cable package, I can find probably 6-8 college games on at any given time all Saturday afternoon.  Even if 75% are blowouts, there's inevitably something worth watching.  Add in the WatchESPN app and there's another handful at my fingertips as well.  Without Sunday Ticket, I get 1-2 1 PM NFL games and 1-2 4 PM games, one of which is the Bills game and one of which is pretty much always the Giants game.  Meh.
Click to expand...


I think this is one of the bigger issues out there.  I live in NYC, it's 3 games on Sunday with most likely 2 of those being Jets/Giants.  That used to be fine since I was single and went to a bar if I wanted something else, but that's not a long-term viable solution anymore.  For a media savvy enterprise, they've botched adapting to the changing TV viewing experience-expectations over the past 5-7 years.

I also think they are self-destroying themselves with the Red Zone channel, but that's another story.  Why watch any game when you can watch highlights in real-time.  This mindset filters into people turning out when they have to watch the full games at night.    
Click to expand...
Totally agree with this.  I still prefer pro (probably at least partly because of fantasy), but I have been getting more into college the past few years, largely because of the sheer gluttony of the available games (and the pure variety of teams.  Suddenly a Washington State-Colorado game is cool and interesting, and funky matchups can crop up all the time).

I've been going to a bar almost every Sunday for the past few years because I love watching all of the NFL games, but it would be really hard just to watch 1 at a time (aside from the Eagles).  But I've come to get a little bit sick of drinking all day every Sunday because it just puts a hole in that whole day.

Now I'm considering how to get a set-up in my basement with multiple TVs (or devices) so I can watch at once, but it's insane that the only way to do this is through DirectTV.  It's hard to believe that the NFL couldn't make more money opening it up to all providers and making a better/more available experience for all consumers.  Maybe the networks would not pay as much that way because ad-watching might go down, but the red zone would be a counter to that.

(My wife also likes pro better, but I've subtly been getting her to relent about NCAA by just putting games on with no sound.  Even got her to watch about a half-hour of an ESPN doc about SMU (different from Pony Express) . . .)

 
Long Ball Larry said:
Totally agree with this.  I still prefer pro (probably at least partly because of fantasy), but I have been getting more into college the past few years, largely because of the sheer gluttony of the available games (and the pure variety of teams.  Suddenly a Washington State-Colorado game is cool and interesting, and funky matchups can crop up all the time).

I've been going to a bar almost every Sunday for the past few years because I love watching all of the NFL games, but it would be really hard just to watch 1 at a time (aside from the Eagles).  But I've come to get a little bit sick of drinking all day every Sunday because it just puts a hole in that whole day.

Now I'm considering how to get a set-up in my basement with multiple TVs (or devices) so I can watch at once, but it's insane that the only way to do this is through DirectTV.  It's hard to believe that the NFL couldn't make more money opening it up to all providers and making a better/more available experience for all consumers.  Maybe the networks would not pay as much that way because ad-watching might go down, but the red zone would be a counter to that.

(My wife also likes pro better, but I've subtly been getting her to relent about NCAA by just putting games on with no sound.  Even got her to watch about a half-hour of an ESPN doc about SMU (different from Pony Express) . . .)
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I went through years of that, then the Ticket. It was fun, but exhausting.

For me, that experience ruined me and there just is no good alternative. I'm either going to sink a whole day into it, or just not watch any of it. I have no interest in watching one lone regular season NFL game. Or parts of it. You try halfway watching a single NFL game and you really aren't going to see very much football. For me, it just makes more sense to ignore the NFL and do something more useful on Sunday. I really like having my Sunday's back.

Speaking of other leagues, I almost feel like the schedule advantage that the NFL once had is gone (NFL and Nascar both benefited from generally only requiring viewers to attention one day a week, which is/was very convenient for most viewers). Now, viewers don't want to be tied to one day a week. They want to watch things when it suits them. I find NBA League Pass(and National TV games) and MLB.tv to be much more convenient. There's going to be something to watch on the few days a week that I'll have some time to tune in. 

As a cordcutter who is not going to give DirecTV my money, I prefer checking out what the NBA has going on when I have time throughout the week vs. hoping the local station puts a great game on at a set time on Sunday. Give me the Hornets, Giannis, and Embiid throughout the week over Flacco or Cousins on Sunday.

 
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pollardsvision said:
I find NBA League Pass(and National TV games) and MLB.tv to be much more convenient.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's insane how great MLB.tv is and how great it would be to have an NFL equivalent.  I guess if I stopped fantasy, I could possibly live with NFL game rewind, but I'd still have to watch the Eagles live.

 
I watched the first half of the first game.  I had my fill of the boring NFL and did not watch any more football yesterday.  I used to love the NFL but my interest continues to decline every year.  The product is not what is used to be. 

 
Add to that first blowout the fact that the game seemed to take forever.  I think it was at the 2 hour and 50 min mark as the 4th Q was just starting. 

 
DocHolliday said:
I watched the first half of the first game.  I had my fill of the boring NFL and did not watch any more football yesterday.  I used to love the NFL but my interest continues to decline every year.  The product is not what is used to be. 
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I feel the same.  Was hoping they would be good games but it also doesn't help I don't care about any of these teams

 
DocHolliday said:
I watched the first half of the first game.  I had my fill of the boring NFL and did not watch any more football yesterday.  I used to love the NFL but my interest continues to decline every year.  The product is not what is used to be. 
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Was watching a soccer blowout during most of the first half, at least there were much less commercials and stoppages.  Every time I flipped over to the ATL/GB game it seemed they were going to break for an injury.

 
From a licensed apparel standpoint, this will be one of the worst Conf Champ/SB Champ in history.  Neither of the two conference champ teams are meaningful...ATL fanbase is tiny and the NE fanbase doesn't care enough to buy anything anymore.  The only hope is a bunch of people jump on the ATL bandwagon if they win the SB for the first time.

 
gump said:
From a licensed apparel standpoint, this will be one of the worst Conf Champ/SB Champ in history.  Neither of the two conference champ teams are meaningful...ATL fanbase is tiny and the NE fanbase doesn't care enough to buy anything anymore.  The only hope is a bunch of people jump on the ATL bandwagon if they win the SB for the first time.
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Atlanta to me is like Houston.  The metro area is so vast that they don't really ever develop anything but a bandwagon fan base.  It's not their fault really, the geography is so bad I mean how can you really get invested in the games?   And I assume Atlanta is all in on SEC Football, like Houston is on Texas for the most part.

 
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Watched about 1/2 of the first quarter of the Patriots/Steelers game last night when preparing dinner.  Absolutely no desire at all to watch anything other than that.  It's just such a boring product, IMO.

 
culdeus said:
Atlanta to me is like Houston.  The metro area is so vast that they don't really ever develop anything but a bandwagon fan base.  It's not their fault really, the geography is so bad I mean how can you really get invested in the games?   And I assume Atlanta is all in on SEC Football, like Houston is on Texas for the most part.
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Yea you nailed it.  Atlanta is routinely a top city in NCAA football TV ratings, and UGA is a top 10 selling school in licensed.  

 
They need to institute those rules where if a team is behind by double digits they keep getting the ball back after a score.

 
culdeus said:
Atlanta to me is like Houston.  The metro area is so vast that they don't really ever develop anything but a bandwagon fan base.  It's not their fault really, the geography is so bad I mean how can you really get invested in the games?   And I assume Atlanta is all in on SEC Football, like Houston is on Texas for the most part.
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Atlanta's problem is that nobody is "from there".  They experienced a huge population boom with young professions starting in the mid to late 90s.  I dont' think I'm going out on a limb that those that are sports fans are likely to stick with their hometown teams vs. switching to Atlanta.  Assuming those people stayed an had kids, I also don't think that I'm going out on a limb that they'd raise their kids as fans of their team vs. Atlanta....although I'm sure there's a small population of Falcons adopters over time.

 
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Tiger Fan said:
Atlanta's problem is that nobody is "from there".  They experienced a huge population boom with young professions starting in the mid to late 90s.  I dont' think I'm going out on a limb that those that are sports fans are likely to stick with their hometown teams vs. switching to Atlanta.  Assuming those people stayed an had kids, I also don't think that I'm going out on a limb that they'd raise their kids as fans of their team vs. Atlanta....although I'm sure there's a small population of Falcons adopters over time.
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That's a big part of it.  But also that the UGA type locals (mostly outside the city) haven't connected to the Falcons...or Braves for that matter (although more so than the Falcons).

 
gump said:
That's a big part of it.  But also that the UGA type locals (mostly outside the city) haven't connected to the Falcons...or Braves for that matter (although more so than the Falcons).
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Falcons have never anywhere near the regional pull of the Braves, for some reason

 
Slapdash said:
Falcons have never anywhere near the regional pull of the Braves, for some reason
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What's the nearest baseball franchise?  I mean Rays/Marlins?  I doubt they pull much in the way of support, they generally suck.  I'd guess Atlanta might even be closer to Houston than the next other MLB team.  That plays a huge role.  

Ok, just looked, the next closest team is Cincy.   

 
culdeus said:
What's the nearest baseball franchise?  I mean Rays/Marlins?  I doubt they pull much in the way of support, they generally suck.  I'd guess Atlanta might even be closer to Houston than the next other MLB team.  That plays a huge role.  

Ok, just looked, the next closest team is Cincy.   
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The Braves became the team of the South of sorts during the TBS years. I'd say the difference in popularity between the Braves and Falcons has a lot to do with those TBS years, along with the presence of the Cowboys (and to some degree, the Redskins and Steelers). For a long time, Southern NFL fans didn't have much in terms of truly local teams, so they just became bandwagon fans. As a kid in NC, I remember most people just picked between the Cowboys, Steelers, and Redskins (many at an age where they likely didn't even know the Falcons existed).

All those Southern people moving to ATL probably grew up in either a Cowboys, Steelers, or Redskins household. Along with TBS, the Braves benefited from bandwagon-type teams that might've stolen potential Braves households largely being in the Northeast. Even now, MLB doesn't even have teams in NC and TN , where the NFL does. NFL also has teams in FL that people care about. MLB does not (sorry Cappy).

 
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This Super Bowl sucks. Mu guess is 90% of the viewers are only watching for:

1. Commercials

Or

2. Hoping the Patriots lose

 
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