I fear that the NFL under Roger Goodell’s leadership that the NFL is eating “the goose that laid the golden eggs”.
Nobody could imagine the NFL declining, but, due to a series of events this is occurring.
In general, the NFL in their impertinence have dismissed the fans. They believed that their product was “bullet proof “and would thrive despite a watering down of the product.
The ratings drop is not due to (1) specific item and despite the NFLs insistence it is not related to the elections.
I believe that the reasons for the NFL losing popularity is;
1. The average game has 100 commercials and 11 minutes of actual game activity.
| “The NFL’s popularity is all the more remarkable when you inspect the fare it has to offer each week on television. An average professional football game lasts 3 hours and 12 minutes, but if you tally up the time when the ball is actually in play, the action amounts to a mere 11 minutes.” |
http://qz.com/150577/an-average-nfl-game-more-than-100-commercials-and-just-11-minutes-of-play/
2. High definition television has exposed how poor the officiating is. The detailed coverage has made a mockery of the NFL officiating. The inconsistent and bad officiating have made it less enjoyable to watch a game. After every play the fans have to survey the field to see if there is some phantom penalty.
| “Top league officials might ignore some of the issues because the NFL is a money-making monster gobbling up billions every year, but the on-the-field product has dropped in quality. A lot of games have lost appeal. Officiating has been horrendous and seems to get worse every week. Injuries continue to mount, especially to star players who are disappearing as fast as the fundamentals.” |
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/
The poor officiating has gone so far as to create conspiracy feelings. Fans are believing that the official are fixing games. I remember reading how Detroit fans were convinced that their playoff loss to Dallas was fixed.
| “Poor officiating has come to define the NFL. Despite the fact that the league is at its peak from a popularity and revenue standpoint, and despite the fact that it has more eyes on it now than ever before, it just can't figure out a way to correct its officiating problem. And yes, a problem exists “. “So, is this instead a conspiracy involving the specific officials? In true Tim Donaghy fashion, did one or more of them rig the game because they had money on the Cowboys? “ |
Gambling almost destroyed baseball and a perception of game rigging would doom the NFL.
3. Roger Goodell’s “holier than thou attitude” has turned off many fans. Goodell does not believe that he needs to explain his actions and that he demonstrates through his actions that he is only responsible to the owners.
4. The in game experience is in decline and it is impacting the TV audience as well. The in game experience is becoming more elitist. The cost of going to a game is extremely expensive and the PSLs have limited the opportunity for participation. The stadiums are now like the old “Roman Coliseum”. The classes are segregated by tiers. The owners make their money on the boxes and expensive seating and at the expense of the ordinary fan. The demise of the in game experience is affecting the young fans.
5. Injuries are hurting participation. Parents are discouring their children from playing youth football. They are afraid that their children will get hurt. Lack of participation will reduce youth interest in football.
I love football. I am a fan and I will continue to support the NFL. However, I see a tipping point and if the NFL does not recognize that there is a problem I believe that the situation will worsen. It is about time that the NFL makes the game more fan friendly.
Lot of good arguments listed but this is one that I'm close to.
I've been a season ticket holder since '75. My son now has them but they're in my name.
Yes cost of living and all but tickets we're $9.00 a game. $72 for the, season. Didn't have to buy preseason games. Now face is $130, Lower endzone. Season $1300. For you math wizes what is that 1700 per cent increase? I don't know what the prices of tickets are in other locations but for argument sake $130 is the average.
So $130 x 80,000(avg) = $10,040,000 a game.
$104,000,000 a year in gate receipts.
Parking was 5 bucks. Now you need a pass that's $35(?). How about a beer and a hot dog. I know beers are over 10 bucks. I can get a freekin 12 pack for that! Oh and did I mention the PSL! They were $5000 a seat that's $20,000. Just to have the right to see yellow. (See what I did there).
There was no shared TV package. Now 3 major networks bidding for the rights and TV ratings! Commercials gotta pay for those contracts. Salaries have increase greatly also but just for the top player. I don't follow that end in great detail. Eli gets top end money but then many players just get the minimum. My point here is that although salaries have skyrocketed so has the way the teams make money. It's just not gate receipts. NFL properties is another. Nobody wore Jerseys back in the day. Now your not a fan if you don't have a few, and at what price? I think I have 8 different hats and probably a dozen shirts.
My son works retail and can't get to games after Thanksgiving. So I'm the average fan. Where do I get tickets. Oh Ticket exchange. Lucky to get a game under $200. Why are they so expensive. Like I said he has to pay for preseason games so he's trying to cover his cost. Then what about the game he can't make. Who wants to see Detroit in December. Good thing Cleveland is away.
Same reason I gave them up... 20 K for psl to start with, and I can tell you from my two visits, it's not the same and my 28 year old son has the same opinion. Hope all is well Fred!
Ditch the Thursday night and overseas games.
Reduce the commercial time to half of what is now is.
Have and pay for full-time refs.
And I'd like a billion dollars.
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In comment 13180561 giant24 said:
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A sizable number of Americans say they may give the National Football League a pass this year, thanks to the player protests over racial issues.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that nearly one-third (32%) of American Adults say they are less likely to watch an NFL game because of the growing number of Black Lives Matter protests by players on the field. Only 13% say they are more likely to watch a game because of the protests. Just over half (52%) say the protests have no impact on their viewing decisions.
I know that if the Giants start taking a knee I will not watch and will let the Giants/NFL know about it.
Rasmussen is a known conservative garbage poll. Ignore it.
This is true. Rasmussen has one of, if not the largest conservative bias in the polling world. No doubt that some are certainly tuning out due to the protests, however.
The bias is R+2.0. You can hardly dismiss a result of 32% because the pollster has a R+2.0 bias. So what? So the number is really 30%?
The real problem with that poll is probably (1) as response rates have gone down a ton, polls have become less reliable, (2) a single poll is usually very unreliable and the stated MOEs are a joke, and (3) questions like this are notoriously poor measures of what they purport to measure. Most people saying yes to this poll either dont watch the NFL already or will continue to watch it. But they say yes to either mess with the pollster or to voice their displeasure with the topic (here NFL protests).
And probably (4), unless you do a great job writing the question on something like this, the question is likely to contain a social cue (approval or disapproval) suggesting one appropriate answer. Such questions will throw off the results. I just looked as Rasmussen's website and the actual wording of the question is considered premium content.
That the NFL maintained ratings on broadcast TV for as long as it did is the anomaly.
Ten years from now media analysts will probably point to the bad economy for key demos as the reason ratings stayed above water.
Broadcast TV is free. 3.5 hours of entertainment you can gather friends and family around is attractive to folks who don't have 60 bucks to dump into a movie at the theater for a family of four.
I've rattled off a list of factors that impact viewership the folks I know in media buying point to a few times. This is where to focus:
- The NFL needs to end the editorializing of penalties by the refs. Name the penalty, the yards and the spot and stop. Making up rules and rationales is weird and counter-productive and erodes credibility.
- make the play clock 15 seconds, pack more action between commercials and all the bitching about commercials will stop. There isn't a hug increase in ad time per hour in the last 10 years. It's frequency. It's the one truck ad between the extra point and kick-off, and the same commercial between touch back and 1st down
- The NFL swapped offense for violence, but then introduced a shit ton of rules that stop the game. Let defenses play defense, cut out the PI, holding etc. minor contact. If you speed up the plays, defense will tire and you'll score more points
Because you think that you are representative of the bulk of the NFL audience. Hubt: you're not.
Fuck off. Plenty of people think it's a dumbshit protest based on a fiction and that when they're patronizing a consumer product they can expect to not have said consumer product invaded by half-assed political stunts against a flag that is more than a piece of cloth to some of us.
I know presidential debate was during a few of the "prime time" games and that brought ratings down. As much as the candidates suck, it's at least entertaining at times.
Their primetime games have been crappy matchups as well. Cards vs jets? Anyone not a fan of those teams want to watch that? Tampa vs panthers? Too many bad football teams. Product is a little watered down.
They're free to do whatever the fuck they want, subject to their employer's right to a say in their conduct on the clock (within the scope of a CBA). And I'm free to protest by taking my money and my time elsewhere. Or do you not accept that form of protest?
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A sizable number of Americans say they may give the National Football League a pass this year, thanks to the player protests over racial issues.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that nearly one-third (32%) of American Adults say they are less likely to watch an NFL game because of the growing number of Black Lives Matter protests by players on the field. Only 13% say they are more likely to watch a game because of the protests. Just over half (52%) say the protests have no impact on their viewing decisions.
I know that if the Giants start taking a knee I will not watch and will let the Giants/NFL know about it.
Rasmussen is a known conservative garbage poll. Ignore it.
Shoot the messenger I see. How about a yahoo/yougov poll:
The survey of 1,128 Americans, conducted on Sept. 13 and 14
Nearly half of all NFL fans, 44 percent, claim they would stop watching football if protests continued.
Nearly half of all NFL fans, 44 percent, claim they would stop watching football if protests continued. - ( New Window )
They are on to the next thing.
I'm no statistician, but that seems a little specious to me.
You said people who disagree with the protests should move to Iran and you're complaining about vulgarity? Practice what you preach.
I'm no statistician, but that seems a little specious to me.
How polling works:
According to probability theory, it’s not necessary to sample the opinions of all 300 million Americans; a much smaller sample can reflect the larger population—if that sample is truly representative. So in surveying the opinions of the whole country, pollsters have to sample a proportional percentage of men and women; Republicans, Democrats, and independents; rural and urban residents; and so on. That sample group, moreover, has to reach a certain size threshold to be statistically accurate. For national polls, most pollsters use a sample of 1,500 as a rule of thumb. A sample that size will accurately reflect the whole within about 3 percentage points, a variance that statisticians call the margin of error.
Put another way, I bet if you polled that 44% and asked them if they'd indeed make good on their threat to stop watching, 100% would say yes.
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Too many injuries, too many penalties. The games are boring. And if you are bothered by the "protests" maybe you would be happier in Iran. Not much in the way of protests there.
Fuck off. Plenty of people think it's a dumbshit protest based on a fiction and that when they're patronizing a consumer product they can expect to not have said consumer product invaded by half-assed political stunts against a flag that is more than a piece of cloth to some of us.
What good is the flag if the state that flag represents can kill you on a whim? But yeah, in your world it's fiction. That privilege must be nice.
However, as much as I love the NFL, the decline in the quality of the product is both noticeable and rapid. The officiating is bad, yes, very bad.
But, even when they get the call right, it takes way too long. Its a TOUCHDOWN! Or is it? Let's watch 3 minutes of ads and then we'll get back to you about whether or not its a touchdown. There's no flow to the game these days. So, its not just that the officials get it wrong sometimes, its the whole process of calling a game is somehow wrong.
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In comment 13180842 Nomad Crow on the Madison said:
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Too many injuries, too many penalties. The games are boring. And if you are bothered by the "protests" maybe you would be happier in Iran. Not much in the way of protests there.
Fuck off. Plenty of people think it's a dumbshit protest based on a fiction and that when they're patronizing a consumer product they can expect to not have said consumer product invaded by half-assed political stunts against a flag that is more than a piece of cloth to some of us.
What good is the flag if the state that flag represents can kill you on a whim? But yeah, in your world it's fiction. That privilege must be nice.
The fiction is that large numbers of black men are being killed indiscriminately by police. And that's a fiction. If you're too fucking stupid to figure out that it's a fiction, I suggest you Google confirmation bias and figure it out. Check your own fucking privilege and don't pretend you know anything about mine.
1) Too many commercial interruptions and those breaks are too long. Game doesn't flow.
2) Too many officiating interruptions, including booth reviews. Slows down the game waayyyy too much. They're obsessed with getting every call right, and with so much riding on each score and turnover, I get that, but the pendulum has swung too far one way. They need to streamline the replay/booth review process. It takes too long.
3) Too many arcane rules, especially about things like the definition of a catch. We don't know what we're seeing anymore. It's dispiriting.
4) Too many penalties. It seems as if players/coaches/teams are either unable or unwilling to play pro football within the rules. Something's gotta give.
5) Too many rules that aren't about game play or safety, like the unsportsmanlike conduct rule that OBJ broke on Sunday. Don't try to control everything -- you can't, anyway. Cut those rules way way back.
Years ago they changed some rules to speed up the game. At that time, they were concerned about the total running time of games, and the rule changes succeeded in cutting that back by actually reducing the number of plays run in a game. They made the game shorter in overall time by making them have less actual football.
Since then, the game has gotten more complex, players are faster and bigger, there are more injuries, and there are more rules, some for safety, many adopted with the best intentions. But the unintended consequence is a less entertaining product. They need to streamline and simplify. They need to have fewer interruptions and more football-per-minute during the time between opening kick and time expiring. I don't know how you get there, but you better get there.
And you can be sympathetic or even in agreement without assuming that those who feel differently are malignant racists.
Bishop Gorman vs St Thomas Aquanis
triple overtime, terrific playing, no one kneeling, few commercials
unbelievabe drama and balls out coaching,and terrific kids playing their hearts out
I watch Baseball and Hockey religiously.
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is worse than it used to be, including the nfl. Things you thought in the past would be around forever are no longer. This may eventually happen to the nfl.
Except medicine. And technology. And tolerance.
Not sure I would add tolerance to that list. Have you been following the news?
No, they really can't.
The Hawk-Eye review system has been IMO a huge asset in tennis. The NFL >> ATP in terms of resources and pull. Instead of having ref's have to deal with things like number of plays on the field, false starts, off-sides, position of the ball, delay of game, OOB calls.... there is plenty of off the shelf technology that could be adapted to the minute details of football. So referees can focus on the bigger issues, and computers can deal with the minor ones.
And an automated off-sides detection system could finally flag Demarcus Ware for a change....
Nope. You're whipped. You just happen to be smart and you are a pretty good writer, so you can mount a plausible case. But, "I decided to do other things with the kids" is the classic defense of a whipped husband.
PS: Not trying to be offensive. Just trying to be honest. Hope you take it in the spirit it was meant.
Same here. Elephant Playground, Riverside Park.
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and took Bob Papa with me on the XM app. It's not because I'm whipped, it's because it's a better use of my time than watching the game while my kids run around the basement bored out of their skulls while my wife is trying to get her schoolwork done. There are a finite number of leisure hours in the week. And this is the point about the protests. I'm a pretty dedicated fan, but when it comes to allocating that time things like that make me less inclined to tune in. For a casual fan it might decide the issue.
Nope. You're whipped. You just happen to be smart and you are a pretty good writer, so you can mount a plausible case. But, "I decided to do other things with the kids" is the classic defense of a whipped husband.
PS: Not trying to be offensive. Just trying to be honest. Hope you take it in the spirit it was meant.
If you are being honest, that's sad. Football is so bad now I'd rather hangout with my inlaws than watch some of these games. But my kid? I'll take her all day over this crap, willingly. My wife is cool as shit, has historically left me be on Sundays and has been asking me why I don't want to watch the games now. She finds it strange i'm not glued to the TV like I used to be. I wonder why?
So yeah, you are incorrect, God forbid a grown man doesn't like Football as much as you. It isn't the greatest thing in the world, its far from it.
Just don't act like you're a hardcore fan anymore. And then certainly don't pretend as much when/if the Giants are great again (in 2030) as if you were "there all along" through thick & thin. That's weaksauce territory.
Maybe the shows were interrupted too often with solicitation breaks :)
As for the Giants, I will continue to watch the Giants whether they go 0-16 or may a SB run. Me not watching other NFL games doesn't make me any less a Giants fan.
P.
The investments have been and will continue to be made. There have been a lot of concepts to product developed and will continue. Very tough to protect the brain and brain stem for all if any.
- The NFL swapped offense for violence, but then introduced a shit ton of rules that stop the game. Let defenses play defense, cut out the PI, holding etc. minor contact.
You what rule change I absolutely hate? It's the throw away when the QB is out of the pocket. If you want to save the poor QB from being clobbered then when he throws it away to avoid a sack mark the ball at the point where he threw it away and record a sack.
Haha, man you are whipped. How dare you not set aside life for the Giants and the almighty NFL.