NFL's Declining Viewership: One Slice at a Time

wade boggs chicken dinner

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People don't want to organize their lives around fixed entertainment schedules anymore and live sports are going to be hurting for that.
It also means that people aren't going to sit around and watch football just for the sake of watching football. They'll watch games in which they have a rooting interest but probably not a ton more than that.

I think the NFL made a huge mistake in trying to get into as many windows as it has. Games between mediocre teams have always been a slog (remember the infamous Bills-Jets "no announcer" games?). But in the past, those games have been limited to markets who had rooting interest. Now, with all of these windows to fill, the NFL has to show these terrible games - i.e., Dolphins Ravens - to a national audience, and people just don't want to watch that.

Plus, almost all of the good QBs are either retired, retiring, or hurt. Who wants to watch Matt Moore versus Ryan Mallett during prime time?
 

soxhop411

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If you eat franchise pizza in New Haven you are an idiot.
i got into a similar argument with a co-worker here in LA.... when he wants Mexican or Italian food he will go to places like Taco Bell or Olive garden....

LA literally has a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant on every corner... Same goes for Italian restaurants..

Unless you are stoned out of your mind, why would anyone in LA go to taco Bell for Mexican food?

He then walked away
 

swiftaw

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I wonder what the RedZone viewing figures are like? If it wasn't for RedZone I don't think I would watch football on Sundays.
 

Huntington Avenue Grounds

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I know this might surprise the Trump supporters here, but I was over a friend’s house recently and a mutual friend of ours who is African-American came over and admitted that he hadn’t watched the NFL at all this season, as he was boycotting the NFL because of their unfair treatment of Colin Kaepernick. And he is not alone. Another guy in our fantasy league dropped out for the same reason.

I hope they extend their boycott to Papa John’s, because that franchise deserves to be driven out of existence for its founder’s many sins, not the least of which is selling shitty pizza.

When I hear people say they are boycotting the NFL, not sure what to make of it until they continue talking. Had an experience last week waiting to be seated at Parker's Maple Barn in NH and overheard a guy say he's boycotting the NFL now. Proceeded to berate the players for having the audacity to kneel during the anthem. It was very animated with more color and detail, but couldn't listen that closely as it was pre-coffee and I was already grumpy enough.
 

Montana Fan

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A guy I work with was a HUGE Seahawks fan right down to the Seahawks sticker and logo all the way across the back window of his pickup truck. I noticed it had been removed when I walked by his truck a few weeks ago. He's ex-military and said he is completely done with football, not boycotting it, done. He's a customer so I didn't dig deeper but this guy was diehard the last couple of seasons, now he's done.

As for me, I'm barely watching but that's related to the Giants not doing a damn thing to beef up what was already an offensive, offensive line.
 

Marciano490

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I would watch 50-80% less football on Sundays without the Red Zone.
As someone out of the Pats market, I'd say I'm on the high end of that percentage as well. Football used to be the one sport where I could watch any game, even without a rooting interest. Now, if it's not Pats and I haven't bet, I can't be bothered.
 

Al Zarilla

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I would watch 50-80% less football on Sundays without the Red Zone.
For me, red zone bounces around so much that I get tired of it pretty quickly. So, if the Pats aren’t on in my area I just record Red Zone and fast forward it later for the Pats highlights. I know the idea of RZ is to get you to all the red zone, or other good stuff if there’s no red zone activity ATM. But I just don’t give a shit any more about any other team except the Pats, like others have said. Modify that, I’ll watch a rival of the Pats for a while, like KC, Pittsburgh, Oakland (?) Denver (?). The ? for are they really a rival or a threat this year.
 

tims4wins

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I'm not a huge red zone guy either. Like Al Zarilla, I prefer to watch a full game of a rival team, be it an AFC East rival or a competitor for a top seed.

Also, I am out of market so I get Sunday Ticket, so I put up their split screen channel of either 4 or 8 games when it comes to around 3:50pm Sundays and watch all of the drama of 1pm games finishing simultaneously. That's pretty fantastic.
 

BigSoxFan

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I live in NYC area so I don't get Pats I'm not able to get Direct TV so Red Zone is a life saver as they generally switch to Pats games a lot. It was basically established for fantasy football/betting purposes so if you don't have an interest in either, I can see how Red Zone would be annoying to some.
 

johnmd20

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For me, red zone bounces around so much that I get tired of it pretty quickly. So, if the Pats aren’t on in my area I just record Red Zone and fast forward it later for the Pats highlights. I know the idea of RZ is to get you to all the red zone, or other good stuff if there’s no red zone activity ATM. But I just don’t give a shit any more about any other team except the Pats, like others have said. Modify that, I’ll watch a rival of the Pats for a while, like KC, Pittsburgh, Oakland (?) Denver (?). The ? for are they really a rival or a threat this year.
The Red Zone's biggest strength is the 3pm to 4:20pm time slot, when they show the end of all the close games. It's just a lot of fun to watch(at times it's literally pulse pounding) and follow along with on Twitter and SoSH. I have a few TV's in my living room, so I generally have the Pats on my DirectTV stream and then whatever game is on the networks.(Giants or Jets) But Red Zone is my main screen. I prefer it that way, it's a lot of action.

Direct TV stream is fine but it's also pretty behind Red Zone and WAY behind the actual game being shown on TV.
 

Valek123

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As someone out of the Pats market, I'd say I'm on the high end of that percentage as well. Football used to be the one sport where I could watch any game, even without a rooting interest. Now, if it's not Pats and I haven't bet, I can't be bothered.
Agreed with this, the BS around deflategate, concussions, kneeling, suspensions, piss poor statements from owners all led by an incompetent commissioner have led me to not waste much time beyond the Patriots games. Now I often DVR and start an hour late to skip commercials, half time and get to live time in the middle of the 4th quarter. When the league management is rotten, it just frankly drives a wedge between the normal viewer and the sport. The NFL had it all and appears to have lost it's grip on relevance through a long list of poor decisions made "in the best interest of the league" to "protect the shield". Well... they own those words now.
 

LogansDad

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When I hear people say they are boycotting the NFL, not sure what to make of it until they continue talking. Had an experience last week waiting to be seated at Parker's Maple Barn in NH and overheard a guy say he's boycotting the NFL now. Proceeded to berate the players for having the audacity to kneel during the anthem. It was very animated with more color and detail, but couldn't listen that closely as it was pre-coffee and I was already grumpy enough.
I had a similar experience at a pizza place here that I posted about in one of the V&N game threads, with an older woman picking me out as military and thinking she could air her grievances about the players kneeling while I was minding my own business in line with one of my kids. I'm late 30's and white so I guess I fit her target demographic.

She was far less interested in talking to me when I told her that I've been in the military for 18 years, and that I have fought for their freedom to choose whether they would stand or kneel, and that I wasn't the least bit offended by them.
 

jmm57

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It's amazing how bad the NFL is at handling this stuff. NBA shut it down before it ever happened, and I don't believe there has been any negative publicity for it? The NFL is always so slow to react to anything that every event turns into a lose-lose situation.

I have no issue with the kneeling, but you would think an organization as big as the NFL would be able to avoid stepping in it on every issue.
 

bibajesus

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It's amazing how bad the NFL is at handling this stuff. NBA shut it down before it ever happened, and I don't believe there has been any negative publicity for it? The NFL is always so slow to react to anything that every event turns into a lose-lose situation.

I have no issue with the kneeling, but you would think an organization as big as the NFL would be able to avoid stepping in it on every issue.
That's not really fair. You ever kneel on hardwood? Much easier to kneel on comfy grass. It's also harder to stop something that's already going, than it is stop it before it begins.
 

Bergs

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She was far less interested in talking to me when I told her that I've been in the military for 18 years, and that I have fought for their freedom to choose whether they would stand or kneel, and that I wasn't the least bit offended by them.
I have received very similar reactions. People hate having their stereotypes shattered almost as much as they hate coming to grips with the fact they are outraged by stupid shit.
 

Sportsbstn

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Agreed with this, the BS around deflategate, concussions, kneeling, suspensions, piss poor statements from owners all led by an incompetent commissioner have led me to not waste much time beyond the Patriots games. Now I often DVR and start an hour late to skip commercials, half time and get to live time in the middle of the 4th quarter. When the league management is rotten, it just frankly drives a wedge between the normal viewer and the sport. The NFL had it all and appears to have lost it's grip on relevance through a long list of poor decisions made "in the best interest of the league" to "protect the shield". Well... they own those words now.
Surprisingly I have not watched a single whole game other than the Pats this season. I may follow a game or so on the online scoreboards, but I used to watch a lot of games not just the Pats. This weekend the pats aren't playing and I likely won't even be home Sunday to watch, just really not interested and many friends are turning the same way. Beyond protests the NFL has a larger issue on their hands.
 

tims4wins

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I too used to be a 1pm to 11pm NFL viewer, I couldn't get enough. But now A) I hate the league, and B) probably more importantly, life got in the way. Going to BW3 for hours on end just doesn't happen with 3 kids 5 and under. Even having the TV on the NFL for 10 straight hours on a Sunday doesn't come close to happening. I'm lucky if I can watch a half of the Pats game live.

I think a lot of people fall into this bucket, but the problem is the next generation isn't watching wall to wall football like a lot of us used to.
 

reggiecleveland

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I am a basketball lifer. I played, I coach, my kikds play, etc. But with the tech today I can now watch every Celtics game. I will watch a great matchup, but I will never sit through SIxers/Nets. Same with the baseball, I only watch the Sox. I am hardcore fan, and going through 80s cards with my son I know everyone. But I never heard of Cody Belanger until the HR derby. Viewership is more teams than leagues now. The NFL is hitting this hurdle later.
 

tims4wins

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I dunno about that. Regionalism is a problem in baseball, but not too bad in the NBA. A lot of fans will tune into San Antonio vs. Golden State or whatever. I agree it has never been a problem in football, but is starting to become that way.
 

BigJimEd

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I have received very similar reactions. People hate having their stereotypes shattered almost as much as they hate coming to grips with the fact they are outraged by stupid shit.
It may be stupid to you but it us obviously not to them. I know several people, including veterans, who are currently not watching any games in protest. I doing think it's a large number but I think it's a small factor in ratings.
 

SidelineCameras

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I know this might surprise the Trump supporters here, but I was over a friend’s house recently and a mutual friend of ours who is African-American came over and admitted that he hadn’t watched the NFL at all this season, as he was boycotting the NFL because of their unfair treatment of Colin Kaepernick. And he is not alone. Another guy in our fantasy league dropped out for the same reason.

For those of you on mobile: "Never could've guessed in our country's divorce, that the left would get custody of football."
 

Bergs

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It may be stupid to you but it us obviously not to them. I know several people, including veterans, who are currently not watching any games in protest. I doing think it's a large number but I think it's a small factor in ratings.
Whether people recognize what they see as stupid shit is almost entirely unrelated to whether or not it is in fact stupid shit.
 

GoJeff!

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I wish there was a Spread Zone that shows games about to cover or not cover. That would be more efficient watching.
 

axx

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People don't want to organize their lives around fixed entertainment schedules anymore and live sports are going to be hurting for that.
I could totally see this. People would rather use their phone and stream various entertainment than watch TV. It's especially bad for the NFL since the % of revenue from the TV deals is much higher compared to the other leagues.
 

Comfortably Lomb

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Feb 22, 2004
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I can get great pizza in Boxford. Hard to believe that there isn't a good joint in Worcester. Maybe you hang out with the wrong people.
There are a bunch of good pizza places in Worcester. Volturno, Dacosta’s, Antonio’s, Pepe’s, Paesano Pizzeria, Corner Grill. I haven’t been to Wonder Bar since it reopened but I’ve been told it’s decent but not quite what it used to be. Anyone who can’t find a good pizza in Worcester is actively avoiding good pizza.
 

Dogman

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I fucking love that in a thread about NFL defining viewership, I am getting great pizza place recommendations.

The bagel recommendation is as bad as Papa Johns though.
 

54thMA

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Red zone all the way for non Patriots games for me; between Thursday night, 1:00pm, 4:00pm and 8:00pm Sunday games and MNF, there just aren't enough prime match ups to watch anymore, that's too many slots to fill in a league that is lacking in quality teams to begin with................
 

dbn

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I don't love Redzone but it's pretty good. I think the host does a very nice job and it beats watching just one non-Pats game (I live out of market). I miss watching the subtleties, adjustments, ebb-and-flow that you get when watching every play of just one game, but I guess that's the price one pays. Well, that, plus the actual price one pays for the adding Redzone to one's cable package.

I'm very much down on the NFL for several reasons: CTE-gate, Goodell's brand of "justice", the ownerships' general lack of respect for the players, etc. On the other hand, I'm very much in favor of the right to peaceful protest and want in support of the players. Plus, I love the game. In sum and in practice, the ever-evolving constraints due to life are probably the only thing that actually affect my level of watching.
 

Red Right Ankle

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I fucking love that in a thread about NFL defining viewership, I am getting great pizza place recommendations.

The bagel recommendation is as bad as Papa Johns though.
What? The best bagels aren't made in a giant factory in southern Illinois?
 

bsartist618

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I fucking love that in a thread about NFL defining viewership, I am getting great pizza place recommendations.

The bagel recommendation is as bad as Papa Johns though.
Add BAR and Da Legna's to the list of New Haven pizza recommendations. BAR mashed potato and bacon white pizza is my favorite pie in New Haven.
Kitchen Zinc is a good option too albeit more for interesting toppings than execution.
 

eustis22

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>What? The best bagels aren't made in a giant factory in southern Illinois?

Finagles. Over Bueggers. Then Zeppys.
 

RG33

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Red zone all the way for non Patriots games for me; between Thursday night, 1:00pm, 4:00pm and 8:00pm Sunday games and MNF, there just aren't enough prime match ups to watch anymore, that's too many slots to fill in a league that is lacking in quality teams to begin with................
I was an early adopter of the Red Zone and love it for non-Patriots watching overall, but it kills me when they do the split screen thing, particularly when they go to 3 games. I mean, do we not have the technology that when you go to 2 or 3 games, we don't have to literally cut the picture by like 70%? 3 games is unwatchable when they do it -- I turn the channel -- and 2 games is pretty bad, about 40% of the screen is just advertisements and scrolling or whatever. Kills me.
 

54thMA

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I was an early adopter of the Red Zone and love it for non-Patriots watching overall, but it kills me when they do the split screen thing, particularly when they go to 3 games. I mean, do we not have the technology that when you go to 2 or 3 games, we don't have to literally cut the picture by like 70%? 3 games is unwatchable when they do it -- I turn the channel -- and 2 games is pretty bad, about 40% of the screen is just advertisements and scrolling or whatever. Kills me.
Agreed, they really need to stop doing that, gives me an ice cream headache trying to watch it..................
 

Bergs

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I don't know if I remember a worse Sunday of NFL football than yesterday. Ugly.
 

KiltedFool

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Since I cut cord I haven't had much opportunity to watch any sports live, and I live outside my primary team's broadcast area. So I check nfl.com once or twice during the day and then read the articles on Monday and watch the highlights. Only time I've seen them "live" was when they were sunday night football and I think I watched just over half of it. I just don't give near as much of a damn as I used to. I used to carve bar time to see games, but I don't care nearly as much.
 

Van Everyman

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This is the best:

Papa John’s Pizza has had a rough couple of weeks, which began when CEO John Schnatter seemed to suggest that the company’s flagging profits were the fault of protesting NFL players.

“The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country,” he said about the incidents in which players refused to stand for the national anthem, blaming NFL executives for showing “poor leadership” by not putting the kibosh on the protests, which were started to call attention to police brutality against black Americans.

While he may have just been trying to avoid getting dipped in garlic sauce by investors, Schnatter’s remarks were widely reviled, except for a previously untapped group of customers. Unfortunately for Papa John’s, these customers are Nazis.
https://www.mediaite.com/food/papa-johns-pleads-for-nazis-to-not-buy-their-pizza-after-getting-embraced-by-daily-stormer/
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
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Someone mentioned up-thread about viewing habits and I think that is something that isn't getting a ton of publicity, but could be a serious factor in the ratings.

The NFL basically relies on people to wall off a MINIMUM of three hours every Sunday to watch a game. A huge part of their business is getting people to spend 7+ hours of their Sunday to watch multiple games. I do this all the time; and for whatever reasons it feels different when it is football. If I spent at least three hours every Sunday watching The Simpsons, or Quentin Tarantino movies, I would think that was obsessive and strange, but watching football? That is just typical, American behavior.

In the DVR/Netflix/Binge watching era; people don't build their schedules around television programming anymore. If you watched 24 ten years ago, chances are you cleared out the schedule on Monday nights at 9 p.m.(or whenever it was on) to watch 24; that was just what you did. Today; you can just set your DVR, go out for a few drinks after work, and watch it when you get home, regardless of the time. Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, etc. are specifically built around the idea that YOU decide when the show is on, it isn't dependent on people tuning in at a specific time. The idea that your schedule is built around watching a television program at a specific time, isn't really a part of a lot of peoples lives anymore; except with the NFL. People are no longer in the habit of doing that in their day-to-day life, so asking them to do it on Sunday's during the NFL season is more difficult.

One other thing is that over the last couple of years the NFL has been uploading these great, 7-10 minute highlight packages of each game, on Youtube. I for one know that if I miss a key game, I can immediately go online and find all of the important moments and big plays in a HQ format. The days of missing a game like Seattle vs Houston and having to subsist on whatever 2-3 minutes they show of it on SportsCenter are long gone.
 

Bergs

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Jul 22, 2005
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I don't know, I enjoyed watching the Broncos and Giants getting spanked. Miami, Baltimore, and KC losing was pretty nice too.
Don't get me wrong; there were some great outcomes...just not much great football.
 

Tony C

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"Unfortunately for Papa John's, those customers are Nazis," is a truly phenomenal ending to that paragraph.
Papa John's is missing an opportunity if they're not offering white pizzas. (dumb joke, I know....).

(P.S. I used to think boycotting products because one doesn't like an owner's politics was anti-pluralist/anti-democratic. Never having eaten a Papa John's pizza I can hardly start a boycott now, but it sure does seem he's ripe for a blowback and I think that'd be completely justified given how aggressive he's been with his politics.)

....

One other thing is that over the last couple of years the NFL has been uploading these great, 7-10 minute highlight packages of each game, on Youtube. I for one know that if I miss a key game, I can immediately go online and find all of the important moments and big plays in a HQ format. The days of missing a game like Seattle vs Houston and having to subsist on whatever 2-3 minutes they show of it on SportsCenter are long gone.
I'll have to remember this -- easily findable on you tube, I take it? How long does it take to get uploaded?
 

Kliq

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I know for prime time games they are up within 30 minutes at the end of the game. Not sure how long it takes the standard one o’clock games to get on, but it can’t be more than an hour or so.
 

SoxFanInCali

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For years I spent nearly every Sunday from 10 AM to 4:30 PM at my local bar watching football. I did this despite the Rams being utter crap for most of that time. The last couple of years, I've really lost interest in doing that for a variety of reasons, none of which have anything to do with player protests. I'm getting older and have put a bigger emphasis on eating better and staying in shape, so 7 hours in a bar just doesn't work anymore. The CTE issues, the rule changes that turn turn legal hits into 15 yard personal foul penalties, the ever-evolving definition of what a catch is, etc. often make the game annoying to watch. I quit playing fantasy football this year after nearly 20 years, and have found that not having to care who scores every TD in every game is liberating. I really don't miss it at all.

The Rams moving back to LA has been great for me, since most of the games are now at 1:00 and I can ignore the entire morning slate. I'll keep an eye on scores, catch the highlight packages on YouTube if there was a good game, and just focus on the Rams now.
 

finnVT

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Leaving aside the strawman that people are tuning out football to watch more girls' soccer, that's a weird study.. concussions as % of total injuries... does girls' soccer have the same baseline injury rate as football? That seems.... unlikely.