NFL Ratings Are Up During Regular Season

February 2, 2019by Tom Manning
NFL Ratings Are Up During Regular Season
Tight End Jared Cook #87 of the Oakland Raiders from the AFC Team makes a catch over Safety Michael Thomas #31 of the New York Giants and Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch #55 of the Dallas Cowboys from the NFC Team during the NFL Pro Bowl Game at Camping World Stadium on Jan. 27, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. The AFC defeated the NFC 26 to 7. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images/TNS)

Following a difficult year of controversies for the NFL involving Colin Kaepernick and the way the league has handled the concussion issue, the ratings were up around the league during the regular season, leaguewide including in the two championship games, but down during the super bowl. The highest increase in ratings occurred during NFL’s Monday night football games on ESPN where they saw a +8 percent increase in ratings according to the ratings website Nielsen, and +8 percent during the regular season as a whole. The ratings were up also on all devices available for playing games increasing 83 percent.

Ratings increases occurred after two years of controversies during the height of the kneeling protest in 2016 which was started by Colin Kaepernick who said he was protesting police violence against communities of color in the United States. Following the 2016 season, Kaepernick decided to opt-out of his contract and has been without a starting role as QB ever since.

As the political controversy has died down, the increase in ratings has rose, though there still have been instances of kneeling during the season.  The increase in ratings has also been helped by the influx of fresh, exciting new QB’s in the league like Patrick Mahomes, Jarret Goff, and Baker Mayfield.

“Goff, Mahomes, Mayfield will sustain interest throughout the year,” ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick told Yahoo sports. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that one of the most controversial rules changes this year involves protection of QB’s?” Riddick continued hinting at the rules changes which involve protecting the QB’s from hits to the head or roughing the passer type calls.

“Despite industry wide declines in television ratings over the past few years, NFL games have consistently maintained their dominant position among all television audiences,” CFRA research media analyst, Tuna Amobi said.

As Kaepernick has gone away from the NFL for the last year or so, the viewers who have protested it, have generally come back to the TV. According to the latest ratings available,  the Rams vs Saints NFC championship game brought in 44.08 million viewers and saw a rise of 13 percent from last year’s NFC championship game. The AFC game was up 27 percent and hit a peak viewing total of 63.8 million viewers. The ratings for the championship games were helped by a controversial non-call in the NFC game and an exciting overtime game in the AFC.

However, given all of the success, the ratings of the Super Bowl hit a 10-year low; according to the latest stats available, 100.7 million viewers. The ratings downfall was hurt in the super bowl by the non-existent offensive performances by both sides and also a boycott of the game by the city of New Orleans.

Saints fans decided to go out to jazz events or watched highlights of it’s first Super bowl win in 2009 when they beat Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17.

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

In The News

March 28, 2024
by Dan McCue
Silicon Valley-Based Firm Launches ‘Radar as a Service’

BELMONT, Calif. — At first the idea sounds about as un-Silicon Valley as one can get. After all, the basic... Read More

BELMONT, Calif. — At first the idea sounds about as un-Silicon Valley as one can get. After all, the basic concept underlying radar was proven in 1886, when a German physicist named Heinrich Hertz showed that radio waves could be reflected from solid objects. And the... Read More

March 28, 2024
by Dan McCue
Elections Task Force Prosecutes 2020 ‘Vigilantes,’ Seeks More Civic Dialogue

PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 46-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending death threats to... Read More

PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 46-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending death threats to an Arizona election official. The sentencing of Joshua Russell, of Bucyrus, Ohio, came after he pleaded guilty to one count of making a threatening interstate communication.... Read More

March 28, 2024
by Tom Ramstack
Disney World Settles with Florida After Its Opposition to 'Don’t Say Gay' Law

ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis... Read More

ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who were exerting controversial regulatory control over the huge tourism complex. The settlement resolves some of the disputes that arose after Disney officials publicly denounced the... Read More

US Changes How It Categorizes People by Race and Ethnicity. It's the First Revision in 27 Years

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity, an effort that federal officials believe will more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. The revisions... Read More

March 28, 2024
by Dan McCue
Vice President Harris Rolls Out First Government-Wide Policy to Mitigate AI Risks

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday rolled out the Biden administration’s first government-wide policy intended to mitigate the... Read More

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday rolled out the Biden administration’s first government-wide policy intended to mitigate the risks associated with artificial intelligence while still enabling its use to advance the public interest. The new policy, which is being issued through the White House... Read More

March 27, 2024
by TWN Staff
Rep. Cleaver New Co-Chair of House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus

WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency... Read More

WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus. He was invited to serve as co-chair by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the co-chairs of the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top