Has the NFL bubble burst?

[red]

the nfl might have a problem on their hands, TV ratings are waaaaaay down this year. not just a little, like 15-20% less then they were at the same time last year

every primetime game has had much lower numbers then the game in the same time frame from last year

is the NFL on the downside of the hill, much like our packers?

[Harlan Huckleby]

Well, entertainment is so wide and diversified that ratings for EVERYTHING are steadily going down. There are just more and more options, more and more sports and other interests.

[Cheesehead Craig]

The religion of the NFL was bound to go down some as their level of dominance was unsustainable. Don't think the bubble has burst yet, but there definitely are the warning signs.

[Joemailman]

Some of the matchups haven't been as great as last year. Opening night was Denver/Carolina, but Manning's retirement took away some of the interest in that game. Thursday Night's matchup of Bills/Jets probably doesn't generate much interest outside of the New York area. Superstar players, especially QB's, draw viewers, and a lot of the prime time games have lacked those. Brady out. Romo out. Probably too early to say this is a trend.

[arcilite]

Maybe some people are sick of millionaires who play a game for a living taking a knee against the flag and decide to just not watch irrelevant games

[channtheman]

I stopped watching games live as the cost to follow an out of market team with NFL ticket was too much. I use NFL gamepass now and watch Sunday night or Monday morning. I think a lot of people are cord cutting as well with lots of different streaming options becoming better and more available. Around the same time I decided to stop paying for NFL ticket I also cancelled DirecTV as that was the only reason I had it. I'm saving around $850 a year, but probably more as no doubt DirecTV's prices would go up as they always do.

[King Friday]

I think the matchups certainly have something to do with it. There is also something to the fact that many people just don't watch from home anymore. As more and more homes cut the cord from cable, the Sunday Ticket package is picked up less and less. People just choose to go to the local sports bar instead. That doesn't register correctly in the ratings. The weather at this time of year has also been warmer/better than normal in many parts of the country...so people may just choose to be outdoors in the evenings before it starts to get too cold to do so.

I also think the hyping of betting/fantasy sports is a double edged sword. Yeah, it draws interest for those with a "stake" in games and would seem to drive MORE interest...but only until someone's wager is toast for the week and they lose interest in even casually watching anymore. If they have a bad day in fantasy/gambling, they may just skip tuning into the prime time game even if they probably would have otherwise.

[red]

sorry but people have always gone to sports bars, and always will

thats not the problem imo

poor matchups? nah. GB has on of the biggest national followings in the league, and they were playing their second most hated rival, who has one of the best players in the nfl and a brand new stadium. and yet the ratings were down 11% from the sunday night game in week 2 last year, which also featured the vikings

[George Cumby]

Market saturation. Sunday night games, Monday night games, Thursday night games. Football 12 months of the year. The draft. The combine. Beginning of free agency period. Mel kipper. The NFL network. On and on.

Scandal. Deflate gate. Free Brady! Drugs. Millionaires knocking women around. DUIs. Steroids. Oh my!

Roger Gooddell as the face of the league. A bumbling, unlikeable, uncharismatic, smarmy, douchey, power hungry attack dog for the owners. Other than 32 Billionaires, who likes this pogue?

[Joemailman]

sorry but people have always gone to sports bars, and always will

thats not the problem imo

poor matchups? nah. GB has on of the biggest national followings in the league, and they were playing their second most hated rival, who has one of the best players in the nfl and a brand new stadium. and yet the ratings were down 11% from the sunday night game in week 2 last year, which also featured the vikings

No it didn't. The Sunday Night Game in Week 2 last year was Packers/Seahawks, which was billed as a rematch of the NFC Title Game from the previous year. In my opinion, that game had much more national interest than Packers/Vikings.

[MadtownPacker]

I cancelled Sunday Ticket years ago. Fuck em!

[pbmax]

They need a new Pope for this NFL religion.

[texaspackerbacker]

If ratings are down now, it would seemingly only get worse when the new TV season begins soon.

[Carolina_Packer]

Red Zone fantasy football zombies? Know anyone who seems to care more about fantasy football than the real thing? Yeesh.

[TravisWilliams23]

Maybe some people are sick of millionaires who play a game for a living taking a knee against the flag and decide to just not watch irrelevant games

This. That's the constant complaint I've heard so far this season from co-workers. Goodell screwed the pooch on handling the anthem protest and now the league is paying for it.