The National Football League is in big trouble. Week one of the NFL regular season saw the league hit another double-digit decline in viewers — and the lowest ratings in almost a decade.
Ratings for the first game of the season hit a nine-year-low drawing in only 19 million viewers. Compared to last season’s first game of the year, the league saw a straight 13 percent decline.
According to Deadline, the ratings also saw a steady drop in the key demographic of ages 18-to-49 with a huge 14 percent drop from the 2017 opening game.
“Even in a TV landscape where ratings and viewership are noticeably dipping, unless you are ‘This Is Us’ or ‘Game Of Thrones,’ those results have to worry the NFL and the broadcasters, especially the still Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox with its pricey Thursday Night Football debuting this year,” Deadline reported.
According to NBC, the Thursday Night Football game between the Eagles and Falcons drew a 13.4 overnight rating which is down eight percent from last year’s Chiefs-Patriots opening game.
NBC says the Eagles-Falcons drew a 13.4 overnight rating. No way to spin that other than disappointing for the league and network We'll see what Sunday brings. https://t.co/mJR5Dkn3I7
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) September 7, 2018
It’s not just television that’s hurting the league. NFL stadiums over the weekend were also fairly empty.
In sunny California, the Chargers-Chiefs game saw plenty of empty seats —
https://twitter.com/DerekNBCSD/status/1038891272436473856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1038891272436473856%7Ctwgr%5E373939313b73706563696669635f73706f7274735f616374696f6e&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2018%2F09%2Fempty-seats-plague-nfl-stadiums-in-week-one-of-season-video%2F
The Ravens-Bills game in Baltimore also saw many seats unoccupied after kickoff —
#Baltimore #NFL RT @bataviasbest: plenty of empty seats 5 mins after kickoff @[me] pic.twitter.com/F2vusuZCsq
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 9, 2018
On Sunday, President Donald Trump blasted the league for the steady downfall. He tweeted, “Wow, NFL first game ratings are way down over an already really bad last year comparison. Viewership declined 13%, the lowest in over a decade. If the players stood proudly for our Flag and Anthem, and it is all shown on broadcast, maybe ratings could come back? Otherwise worse!”
Wow, NFL first game ratings are way down over an already really bad last year comparison. Viewership declined 13%, the lowest in over a decade. If the players stood proudly for our Flag and Anthem, and it is all shown on broadcast, maybe ratings could come back? Otherwise worse!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2018
Many critics argue that the controversy surrounding NFL protests has a clear link to their failing viewership. As noted by Trump, maybe if NFL players stopped protesting the National Anthem, their ratings would rise again.
No further comment is needed. The NFL should start paying attention or else these players may need to start looking for jobs elsewhere.
–The Horn editorial team