The NFL's ratings crisis

5:30 local time start on a Thursday in Santa Clara/San Francisco.
What could possibly go wrong here?

 

Pure guess, but I think the networks not being in their prime-time season yet would be a big factor there. Next week is the start of the Will & Grace reboot (huge crossover viewership!) and the rest of NBC's lineup. Also Grey's Anatomy and How To Get Away With Murder.

 

Well, we could go to a single time zone like China has.

 

Speaking of Vegas ... yes, someone used "Raiders" and "family-friendly atmosphere" in the same sentence:
Raiders management wants family-friendly Las Vegas stadium

 

Manson Family.

 

Interesting.

ESPN Moving To Single Ratings Number That Includes TV, Streaming

 

What if the crisis never existed?

Out-of-Home Viewing Erased the NFL's Ratings Deficit Last Season

 

Isn't this burying the lede a little bit, though?

(Of course, NFL audiences may still have slipped last season, because we don't know how many people watched in bars, restaurants and the like during previous campaigns.)

I think that it's probable that people have gradually started to watch games in non-traditional ways and at non-traditional places. But especially when it comes to bars and health clubs, for example, the audience didn't just start going to those places last season.

There are more viewers than the Nielsen ratings capture, but it seems that viewership certainly slipped last year.

There is a lot of interesting information in there, but I don't feel like the story presents an apples to apples comparison. (It acknowledges that, as I quoted above, but in passing.)

 

If I'm an advertiser, I'm counting bars, restaurants and gyms as "they did not see or hear my ad."

 

Don't get me wrong. Tweaking the ratings formula to reflect modern times is long overdue.

 

Perspective | ‘It’s two different games’: Why college football is more fun than the NFL

 

I have a crazy theory that just the way the fans cheer and the bands play between plays in the college game makes college games seem a bit more exciting on TV. The NFL has lulls between plays.