NFL Boycotts, Kaepernick Backlash
Becoming Major Factor As NFL Ratings
Drop Yet Again In Week 4
Monday Night Football down 19%
BOSTON (CBS) — After the NFL’s TV ratings declined for the third straight week in Week 3, I gave my take on what could be causing the precipitous drop that has now carried over into Week 4. I believe that NFL games are simply becoming less watchable due to eroding quality of games, and I still believe that the product on the field is playing some role in fewer Americans tuning into football on Sundays – and Mondays and Thursdays, for that matter.
However, one factor that appears to be making a large dent in the ratings and continuing to grow is the backlash resulting from the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick sitting or kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against African-Americans. A percentage of fans are now boycotting the NFL in reaction to Kaepernick’s protests and/or the lack of discipline from the league offices resulting from them. It’s likely that a sizable chunk of the rating decline is due to fans swiftly and decisively responding to Kaepernick’s growing protests by turning the games off entirely.
SportsBusiness Daily reported on Tuesday that Monday Night Football between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings drew a 9.1 overnight rating, down eight percent from Lions-Seahawks in Week 4 of the 2015 season. The rating for Sunday Night Football between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, a 43-14 blowout win by Pittsburgh, dropped by 26 percent from Saints-Cowboys in Week 4 last season, while the early-morning London game between the Colts and Jaguars dropped by 24 percent from the same time slot a year ago.
FOX’s early-afternoon slate of games dropped by 10 percent year-over-year while the late-afternoon games dropped by 20 percent. The 1 p.m. regional games were the only time slot that saw a slight ratings uptick, growing by 2 percent over last season.
In response to my thoughts on the NFL’s weaker on-field product leading to a three-week decline in viewership, I received nearly a hundred emails from American viewers, some of which have previously served in the military. Most of them told me in no uncertain terms that they had stopped watching the NFL due to the controversy surrounding Kaepernick and other players across the NFL protesting the national anthem by sitting, kneeling, or demonstrating in other ways. Many of these viewers have similarly exercised their rights as Americans by taking their viewership elsewhere or simply turning off the TV.
Becoming Major Factor As NFL Ratings
Drop Yet Again In Week 4
Monday Night Football down 19%
BOSTON (CBS) — After the NFL’s TV ratings declined for the third straight week in Week 3, I gave my take on what could be causing the precipitous drop that has now carried over into Week 4. I believe that NFL games are simply becoming less watchable due to eroding quality of games, and I still believe that the product on the field is playing some role in fewer Americans tuning into football on Sundays – and Mondays and Thursdays, for that matter.
However, one factor that appears to be making a large dent in the ratings and continuing to grow is the backlash resulting from the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick sitting or kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against African-Americans. A percentage of fans are now boycotting the NFL in reaction to Kaepernick’s protests and/or the lack of discipline from the league offices resulting from them. It’s likely that a sizable chunk of the rating decline is due to fans swiftly and decisively responding to Kaepernick’s growing protests by turning the games off entirely.
SportsBusiness Daily reported on Tuesday that Monday Night Football between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings drew a 9.1 overnight rating, down eight percent from Lions-Seahawks in Week 4 of the 2015 season. The rating for Sunday Night Football between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, a 43-14 blowout win by Pittsburgh, dropped by 26 percent from Saints-Cowboys in Week 4 last season, while the early-morning London game between the Colts and Jaguars dropped by 24 percent from the same time slot a year ago.
FOX’s early-afternoon slate of games dropped by 10 percent year-over-year while the late-afternoon games dropped by 20 percent. The 1 p.m. regional games were the only time slot that saw a slight ratings uptick, growing by 2 percent over last season.
In response to my thoughts on the NFL’s weaker on-field product leading to a three-week decline in viewership, I received nearly a hundred emails from American viewers, some of which have previously served in the military. Most of them told me in no uncertain terms that they had stopped watching the NFL due to the controversy surrounding Kaepernick and other players across the NFL protesting the national anthem by sitting, kneeling, or demonstrating in other ways. Many of these viewers have similarly exercised their rights as Americans by taking their viewership elsewhere or simply turning off the TV.
