a question I posed yesterday, "what's in it for me"? Outside of Giants games the answer is nothing.
I also think he glossed over the kneeling issue. While it isn't responsible for the 11% drop, it does play a part in it. There are a lot of factors at play and its among the smallest but even at 1% that's a ton of people.
"Thursday Night Football games are, and have been for several years now, uniformly terrible. The players are exhausted, the coaches unprepared. They’re routinely sloppy, boring messes of games that feel more like a chore to watch than enjoyment at this point."
Of play, it has just plummeted since the new CBA. Teams with a core philosophy are the ones who will survive year in and year out, ones who try to mimic the winners are the ones who won't have time to get a team ready every year. Continuity is the key to success in this woefully shortened practice time world the NFL is now.
I couldn't find any analysis, but if you look at the raw numbers they seem pretty steady from last year to this year. I linked a site below that captures NCAA ratings from the past few seasons, take a look. Link - ( New Window )
I get the NFL Network on my cable package here in SEPA. My buddy, a long time Giants fan doesn't. The place we typically watch the games doesn't open until 11:30, so he is SOL unless he drives the 35 minutes to my house to watch.
He may do that, but limiting games to the NFL Network doesn't make sense in my mind. BTW...my friend has Comcast.
That’s why viewership is down. Not because Colin Kaepernick takes a knee.
The author's agenda is to prove that the rating aren't down 11% solely due to the National Anthem protests. I know of no one who claims the National Anthem protests are the sole reason.
The author goes on to cite several legitimate factors why ratings are down (e.g. conflicts with Presidential Debates are just two games, poor quality of play, inconsistent officiating / rule interpretation, difficulty to measure viewers streaming etc.) I agree those are factors, but the National Anthem protests are likely a non-trivial factor too. I know a lot of people that are very upset about them (players have a right to protest and fans have a right not to watch because of them).
Just because something isn't the sole factor (which the author implies without stating explicitly) doesn't mean it isn't a measurable factor.
Parts of the article are decent, but the overall analysis / conclusion is poor.
is misguided. They play a couple of games in England. Aren't they going to play in Mexico in the future also? Now, I understand that they want to expand their product to other countries as their rationale for doing this. But, they promote it as an event that people need to watch just because the game is being played in another country. When I'm watching on my TV it is no more of an event if they're playing in London or in Peoria. My living room is same no matter where they are playing. So, I'm not going to watch a game simply because they are playing it in another country.
Of play, it has just plummeted since the new CBA. Teams with a core philosophy are the ones who will survive year in and year out, ones who try to mimic the winners are the ones who won't have time to get a team ready every year. Continuity is the key to success in this woefully shortened practice time world the NFL is now.
I think this is one of the biggest issues and often overlooked.
The incompetent officiating hurts too. Too many flags and it seems (I haven't verified this) that more and more of the flags lead to lengthy conferences.
RE: Sorry To Disagree, But This Is Poorly Written Â
That’s why viewership is down. Not because Colin Kaepernick takes a knee.
The author's agenda is to prove that the rating aren't down 11% solely due to the National Anthem protests. I know of no one who claims the National Anthem protests are the sole reason.
The author goes on to cite several legitimate factors why ratings are down (e.g. conflicts with Presidential Debates are just two games, poor quality of play, inconsistent officiating / rule interpretation, difficulty to measure viewers streaming etc.) I agree those are factors, but the National Anthem protests are likely a non-trivial factor too. I know a lot of people that are very upset about them (players have a right to protest and fans have a right not to watch because of them).
Just because something isn't the sole factor (which the author implies without stating explicitly) doesn't mean it isn't a measurable factor.
Parts of the article are decent, but the overall analysis / conclusion is poor.
I don't know a single person who has stopped watching games because of the protests. And some people I know have proposed near-Gestapo tactics to deal with CK and the others. And they haven't stopped watching NFL games one bit.
"(That’s all not counting the officiating, which has become so complicated and varying, the rulebook so byzantine, that we spend half the game figuring out what penalties are being called and how it affects everything.)"
The first 4 weeks of the season was missing 2 NFL great QBs in Peyton and Brady. Obviously Peyton is never coming back, but the point is, the Decline in Star QBs could be having an impact. I would always look forward to watching Peyton play QB on prime time, even Brady. I think many fair weather fans did as well.
Who are the star QBs these days (other than Brady)? Rogers doesn't look like Rodgers we use to know an love. Luck sucked it up last year and is struggling (due to lack of talent playing with him) to regain his greatness. Eli and Ben are hot and cold. Cam is a cry baby/sore loser/poor winner, Wilson is Wilson. Rivers team has been decimated by injuries.
Breese is still great, but his team sucks.
Plus, many of the good teams from last year, don't look so good this year.
Who the heck wants to watch Jets vs Cards? That looked good based on last years records, but looks like crap based on this year records.
RE: RE: Sorry To Disagree, But This Is Poorly Written Â
That’s why viewership is down. Not because Colin Kaepernick takes a knee.
The author's agenda is to prove that the rating aren't down 11% solely due to the National Anthem protests. I know of no one who claims the National Anthem protests are the sole reason.
The author goes on to cite several legitimate factors why ratings are down (e.g. conflicts with Presidential Debates are just two games, poor quality of play, inconsistent officiating / rule interpretation, difficulty to measure viewers streaming etc.) I agree those are factors, but the National Anthem protests are likely a non-trivial factor too. I know a lot of people that are very upset about them (players have a right to protest and fans have a right not to watch because of them).
Just because something isn't the sole factor (which the author implies without stating explicitly) doesn't mean it isn't a measurable factor.
Parts of the article are decent, but the overall analysis / conclusion is poor.
I don't know a single person who has stopped watching games because of the protests. And some people I know have proposed near-Gestapo tactics to deal with CK and the others. And they haven't stopped watching NFL games one bit.
As others have written in this thread, the poor officiating is underemphasized here. But, the writer does get to the reason that that officiating is so poor which is the bizarrely constructed and "byzantine" rule book. I think bad rules are the result of Blandino trying to manage the "optics" of the game and not the quality of play. NFL needs to get the game back on the filed, let the refs enforce simple rules that preserve the "spirit of the game" and stop trying to hew to some standard of perfection where the refs never get anything wrong. Officials are going to make mistakes but they shouldn't decided games and video replay with such subjective calls is slowing down the game and taking all the fun out of the game.
Regarding the protest, it may be the case that some people aren't watching as a result, but the author argues there's no way that viewership would down by %11 just because of the protests.
that I can't get excited about non-Giants games. It seemed that there used to be at least one game to get excited about every week.
And then there were some matchups that I'd circle on my calendar. remember Dallas vs. San Fran when they were both at their peak?
I just don't have the same excitement for non-Giants game that I used to have because I know when I tune in more likely than not it will be a crap fest.
I can't listen to any of today's analysts for a full game. None stop talk about a 2 yd gain on a running play. The only break is commercials. The pace of the game is now about the same pace baseball was in the 1960's. Reply rule is for TV. It's used for microscopic reasons, not for grossly wrong calls like DRC's penalty. Too many commercials and useless stats. Prime teams on Sunday & Monday nights. I miss about 1/3 of the Giant games now.
After DVR watching Giant games in delay, I'm tired of playing with the remote.
Our attention spans are changing for a million reasons, but specifically in regards to the NFL it has been the redzone channel that is really revolutionizing the way people watch on sundays. It lays bare just how slow moving the action is in the stand alone games by contrast. Beteeen commercials, flags, other stoppages, it's just very hard to sit through 3 1/2 hours of a stand-alone prime time game if you aren't emotionally invested. Redzone spoiled me, in addition to many other changes in technology outside of football which has had an impact on the attention span (which is ever diminishing). This didn't used to be an issue with me but now it is. And I think this same dynamic plays with many
From 1-7 pm on a Sunday (especially 1 to 4:15 or so) the NFL is still crack cocaine. Prime time games are something else though
I think the media is responsible for the decline in ratings Â
The announcers and media in general are always trying to create controversy where there is none. I know I do not watch the evening news as much because of the way it is reported. ESPN coverage is 24 x7 talking about every hiccup. There is too much exposure and over analyzing that people are sick of.
Nice theories as to why...any proof to back it up? Â
I may watch a few minutes of a game hoping the cowturds lose. I will never watch a 49er game as long as that douche bag Crap-o-pick is on the team. I think the game has changed so much people no longer enjoy watching a game. Bad officiating, officials are changing the outcome of games with bad calls, phantom calls, or no calls at all. The NFL needs to make PI challengeable, not all PI calls, each team gets to challenge 2 per game. And, if the kick off is coming out to the 25 just do away with it, kicks are rarely run back anymore.
I don't know how this guy can summarily dismiss the kneeling Â
I don't think it's by far the only factor, but to simply close your eyes to it and totally discount the possibility that it COULD be A factor betrays this writer's own prejudices more than anything else.
I also think he glossed over the kneeling issue. While it isn't responsible for the 11% drop, it does play a part in it. There are a lot of factors at play and its among the smallest but even at 1% that's a ton of people.
I couldn't find any analysis, but if you look at the raw numbers they seem pretty steady from last year to this year. I linked a site below that captures NCAA ratings from the past few seasons, take a look.
Link - ( New Window )
He may do that, but limiting games to the NFL Network doesn't make sense in my mind. BTW...my friend has Comcast.
Crazy!
The author's agenda is to prove that the rating aren't down 11% solely due to the National Anthem protests. I know of no one who claims the National Anthem protests are the sole reason.
The author goes on to cite several legitimate factors why ratings are down (e.g. conflicts with Presidential Debates are just two games, poor quality of play, inconsistent officiating / rule interpretation, difficulty to measure viewers streaming etc.) I agree those are factors, but the National Anthem protests are likely a non-trivial factor too. I know a lot of people that are very upset about them (players have a right to protest and fans have a right not to watch because of them).
Just because something isn't the sole factor (which the author implies without stating explicitly) doesn't mean it isn't a measurable factor.
Parts of the article are decent, but the overall analysis / conclusion is poor.
I think this is one of the biggest issues and often overlooked.
The incompetent officiating hurts too. Too many flags and it seems (I haven't verified this) that more and more of the flags lead to lengthy conferences.
Quote:
That’s why viewership is down. Not because Colin Kaepernick takes a knee.
The author's agenda is to prove that the rating aren't down 11% solely due to the National Anthem protests. I know of no one who claims the National Anthem protests are the sole reason.
The author goes on to cite several legitimate factors why ratings are down (e.g. conflicts with Presidential Debates are just two games, poor quality of play, inconsistent officiating / rule interpretation, difficulty to measure viewers streaming etc.) I agree those are factors, but the National Anthem protests are likely a non-trivial factor too. I know a lot of people that are very upset about them (players have a right to protest and fans have a right not to watch because of them).
Just because something isn't the sole factor (which the author implies without stating explicitly) doesn't mean it isn't a measurable factor.
Parts of the article are decent, but the overall analysis / conclusion is poor.
I don't know a single person who has stopped watching games because of the protests. And some people I know have proposed near-Gestapo tactics to deal with CK and the others. And they haven't stopped watching NFL games one bit.
These guys just dont practice enough in pads. Training camp is limited and teams are so afraid of injuries.
The College game is much more exciting right now.
Who are the star QBs these days (other than Brady)? Rogers doesn't look like Rodgers we use to know an love. Luck sucked it up last year and is struggling (due to lack of talent playing with him) to regain his greatness. Eli and Ben are hot and cold. Cam is a cry baby/sore loser/poor winner, Wilson is Wilson. Rivers team has been decimated by injuries.
Breese is still great, but his team sucks.
Plus, many of the good teams from last year, don't look so good this year.
Who the heck wants to watch Jets vs Cards? That looked good based on last years records, but looks like crap based on this year records.
Quote:
Quote:
That’s why viewership is down. Not because Colin Kaepernick takes a knee.
The author's agenda is to prove that the rating aren't down 11% solely due to the National Anthem protests. I know of no one who claims the National Anthem protests are the sole reason.
The author goes on to cite several legitimate factors why ratings are down (e.g. conflicts with Presidential Debates are just two games, poor quality of play, inconsistent officiating / rule interpretation, difficulty to measure viewers streaming etc.) I agree those are factors, but the National Anthem protests are likely a non-trivial factor too. I know a lot of people that are very upset about them (players have a right to protest and fans have a right not to watch because of them).
Just because something isn't the sole factor (which the author implies without stating explicitly) doesn't mean it isn't a measurable factor.
Parts of the article are decent, but the overall analysis / conclusion is poor.
I don't know a single person who has stopped watching games because of the protests. And some people I know have proposed near-Gestapo tactics to deal with CK and the others. And they haven't stopped watching NFL games one bit.
You live in the NE I presume? That is likely why.
Regarding the protest, it may be the case that some people aren't watching as a result, but the author argues there's no way that viewership would down by %11 just because of the protests.
And then there were some matchups that I'd circle on my calendar. remember Dallas vs. San Fran when they were both at their peak?
I just don't have the same excitement for non-Giants game that I used to have because I know when I tune in more likely than not it will be a crap fest.
After DVR watching Giant games in delay, I'm tired of playing with the remote.
From 1-7 pm on a Sunday (especially 1 to 4:15 or so) the NFL is still crack cocaine. Prime time games are something else though
I don't think it's by far the only factor, but to simply close your eyes to it and totally discount the possibility that it COULD be A factor betrays this writer's own prejudices more than anything else.