21 excuses we've heard for NFL ratings being so bad

pulse

September 20, 2017 6:26 PM

The loudest explanation the NFL gave last year was "unprecedented interest in the presidential election," but ratings continue to dip this current season.

No one really knows why the NFL ratings have been so bad — first last year, and now through the first two weeks of the current season.

The loudest explanation the league gave last year was "unprecedented interest in the presidential election." And indeed, ratings did improve a bit after the election ended.

"It's an encouraging rebound," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN in December. "I think it proves that the election was certainly a factor."

But if Goodell was optimistic then, and when ratings for preseason NFL games looked good this summer, he probably isn’t quite as rosy now.

Through the first two weeks of the season, NFL ratings were down 12% and 15% respectively, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The first weekend, many blamed interest in watching hurricane coverage. But for week two there was no easy explanation.

So what's going on?

In covering the NFL's ratings woes over the past few years, I've run into a bunch of explanations for why TV viewers aren't tuning in with the same numbers.

Here's a list of all the excuses I've heard thrown around, (some valid, some much less so):

about 70 per game last year
which Mark Cuban has been saying for years
Players protesting during the national anthem.
The handling of domestic violence cases involving players.
NFL RedZone.
Fantasy Football.
Social media.
The MLB postseason.
Not enough scoring.

With the NFL's TV network partners estimated to earn $2.5 billion from ad revenue this season, everyone involved has a clear incentive to figure out how to turn the viewership trend around.

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