Monday's Game 2 of the ALCS drew 1.88 million viewers. In September 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was at the forefront of the social justice movement in the NFL. 4. The NFL's TV audience shrank some in 2020, but the league remains the top draw on ad-supported television. One week after having their best ratings week of the year, the NFL faceplanted with a 14.5 million viewer average for Week 13. However, people flocking to cable news might be the biggest reason based on these numbers via AP. Cord cutting, completely different schedules, being in the middle of a pandemic and being in an election year have hurt all sports, and there isn't one single reason why any sports is suffering from lower viewership. The one exception has been the WNBA. Four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies allegedly shared unauthorized photos of the site of Bryant's helicopter crash. For years, the NFL could count on the Cowboys to provide solid primetime and afternoon national ratings. (That does not mean 20.54 million viewers total watched the game. According to ESPN, its coverage of the Seattle Storm’s championship-clinching win in Game 3 of the Finals was up 34% year-over-year over Game 3 of the 2019 WNBA Finals and up 27% over the Washington Mystics’ Game 5 championship win last year. NBC’s primetime from Sunday received a 3.5 rating with 12.5 million viewers, according to early viewership reported by Deadline.Last year’s week three ratings showed a 4.8 rating with 14.92 million viewers, the outlet previously reported.. This graph shows the average per game TV viewership for the NFL regular season in the years 2010 to 2020. 5. 2020 has been an unpredictable year for the entire professional and college sports landscape due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). All Rights Reserved. • Even when there's good news, there's bad news. The Finals between Seattle and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 440,000 viewers for the three-game series, up 15% over the WNBA Finals. From Deadline:. The NFL suffered a ratings decline for the 2020 … But most people … The takeaway is simple: Without an election year in 2021 and with (hopefully) the pandemic becoming a thing of the past, most sports will enjoy a viewership increase in 2021. All of the league’s media deals expire after the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Ratings for NFL‘s Sunday Night Football continue to fall in its second week, according to Deadline.. Based on initial ratings, the marquee matchup of the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks drew in 12.22 million viewers and a 3.5 in the demographic. By this date in 2019, 15 college football games averaged at least a 3.0 ratings. You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play. For the year, the league is averaging 15.2 million viewers per week, an eight percent drop season-to-date. Early on in the regular season, an NFL TV ratings dip generated a lot of headlines. 13 Dec 2020 5,956 3:06 The NFL enjoyed a rebound in the ratings and a relatively rare week of good fortune over the Thanksgiving holiday, but it did not last. The NFL’s TV ratings are down in Week 1. NFL’s Week 1 ratings decline to begin 2020 season After Thursday’s season-opening clash between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs drew 19.3 million viewers and … Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Wilson played just four snaps in his rookie season after being selected with the No. Those actions heralded the beginning of a stunning decline in the popularity of America’s most popular game. In many cases, leagues have experienced record lows over the past few months. Why’s the league experiencing a diminishing viewership? Viewers: The number of viewers aged 2+ viewing the game in the average minute. That number represented a 29% drop in viewership from Week 13 of last season. 3. A brand-new SI Media Podcast will be released this afternoon with Inside the NBA host Ernie Johnson. We’ll start with the good news. In the 2020 season, the NFL stated that the Black National Anthem will play before the US National Anthem during Week 1. This is great stuff by former Giants running back Rashad Jennings on Eli Manning. For the 2020 season there were 18 NFL telecasts that delivered an average audience of over 20 million viewers, compared to 29 games in 2019. SPORTS VIDEO OF THE DAY: Five years ago today, José Bautista gave us one of the greatest bat flips in baseball history. 1. Thursday night’s Chiefs-Texans game netted NBC 19.3 million viewers; The number goes up to 20.3 million, “ [w]hen data from NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms are added,” but as Deadline noted, it’s an 11% drop from the 2019 season opener. • The Preakness on NBC was down 56% in viewership from 2019. By October of that year, NFL viewership was down by 11%. It’s been a rather interesting year around the gridiron world. That's about it for the good news when it comes to sports ratings in 2020. The GOALS act aims to "ensure the World Cup-winning USWNT are paid fair and equitable wages compared to the U.S. Men’s team.". Jennings discusses Manning's dry sense of humor ("He's such a goof") and makes a point that I've never thought of before, but makes a lot of sense: Eli would've been a great character on The Office. The National Football League (NFL) has seen its TV ratings consistently decline over the past few seasons. These are now the two least-watched LCS games ever. That said, the NFL found a way to return safely. SI Fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano focuses on the most notable fantasy-relevant free agents and their potential destinations, Lillard said he and George have shaken hands and put the past behind them after Sunday's All-Star Game, © 2021 ABG-SI LLC. ... 2020. 7. It was a long time in the making, but Dak Prescott finally got what he wanted from the Cowboys with a long-term deal. Once Derrick Henry stiff armed Josh Norman into another planet Tuesday night, you know he'd get this week's Angry Runs crown from Kyle Brandt. The beginning of the 2020 season saw the NFL complete their surrender to Kaepernick’s social justice movement when Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly said he wished he had “listened” to Kaepernick earlier. The Sunday viewership numbers for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season are out, and it’s a mixed bag for the three networks. Recent guests include James Andrew Miller, Al Michaels, Dan Patrick and Kevin Harlan. Here he is explaining his famous SmackDown promo on Vince McMahon. 2. But the truth is that almost every league has faced plummeting ratings. The takeaway from all this? Prescott has tallied 106 touchdown passes in five seasons with the Cowboys, posting a 42–27 record as a starter. "Even after all this confusion, change, and competition, the NFL still can deliver 20 million viewers to you live across a three and a half-hour period on an average minute basis. The game had 19.3 million viewers on NBC, according to Deadline, a drop of of 12.3% from the Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears opening game of the 2019-20 season last September 5. There are potentially billions of dollars at stake as the NFL tries to nearly double its $5 billion annual rights fees from media partners ESPN, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Initial ratings reports, which lacked numerous markets as … A Sept. 30, 2019, matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Cowboys attracted 24.7 million viewers, which was the most-watched “Sunday Night Football” game since 2016, according to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.. Less than a year later, a Sunday night game featuring the Cowboys drew in almost 10 million fewer viewers, based on early figures. Week-over-week, though, the damage is much worse. They’ve had some bumps in the road so far, but overall most of the games have gone off without a hitch. There is expected to be major ratings in TV ratings moving forward, especially involving sports, as Nielsen begins counting out-of-home viewership. This is fantastic news for the NFL. It was also the first game of the season to average at least a 3.0 rating. Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. The protests were copied by several other players and then, copied by virtually the entire league in 2017. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram. • Sunday's Game 1 of the ALCS on TBS drew 2.07 million viewers. Despite the stars in last night’s game, the ratings for the 2020 season opener aren’t exactly what the NFL was hoping for. getty images The NFL’s TV numbers through the first quarter of the season are not a pretty sight, with overall viewership down by 10% compared to last year. Of course, there’s a reason why NFL executives would fear a ratings collapse similar to that of 2016 and 2017. NFL ratings, a look forward: The 2020 NFL season is closing up shop on the regular schedule. An average audience of 19.3 million viewers tuned in on NBC to watch the Chiefs’ 34-20 victory over the Texans. The coronavirus will surely be blamed as … They have had one recurring issue, however: ratings are down. And which factors are more critical than others in influencing the league’s popularity? • CNN averaged 2.59 million last week–up 172%. To answer these questions, we've […] The latest NFL TV ratings are in, courtesy of FOX. After all, it was in 2016 that original anthem protester and then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began his anthem protests. This is a must-watch for any wrestling fan. Overall, viewership for the 2020 NFL season is down around 9% from the 2019 season according to Front Office Sports, which tracks sports business news. Nielsen estimates there are 121 million U.S. television homes in the 2020-21 TV season. Coming into the 2020 NFL Season the National Football League was enjoying close to 16.5 million viewers from the 2019 NFL Season. That hometown win on September 14, 2020 by the LA Rams over the Dallas Cowboys shifted up a bit to 18.94 million viewers and 6.2 ratings for the Comcast-owned network and the league in the final numbers.” 2020 NFL … One week after having their best ratings week of the year, the NFL faceplanted with a 14.5 million viewer average for Week 13. Could that happen this season as well? The NBA is coming off record lows for the … With the Super Bowl just around the corner, Monday morning quarterbacking around the NFL’s nightmare 2020 TV ratings is about to kick into high gear. 6. However, historically bad defensive play and a series of bizarre coaching decisions have spoiled Dallas’ television appeal. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Photo: NFL TV Ratings/NFL. After growing 5% in each of the past two seasons, some TV executives worry the NFL’s 7% drop through the halfway point of 2020 augurs a return to the 2016 and 2017 seasons — when average audiences fell 8% and 10%, respectively. Postponements and scheduling complications stemming from the coronavirus definitely played a role in the chaos of Week 13, as did the ongoing disaster that has unfolded in Dallas. The Texans-Chiefs game averaged 20.54 million viewers per minute. Per … The … The NFL enjoyed a rebound in the ratings and a relatively rare week of good fortune over the Thanksgiving holiday, but it did not last. By Brandon Katz • 09/17/20 10:24am. Despite losing more than a million viewers in the regular season, the league actually increased its margin over other programming in 2020. A lot has been written about ratings for the NFL and NBA. So much so that the league has flexed the Cowboys scheduled Week 15 Sunday Night Football matchup against the 49ers, something that would have been unthinkable as recently as last year. That, coupled with an avalanche of social justice imagery and messaging after the death of George Floyd, only further distanced the league from a fanbase searching desperately for an escape from politics and pandemics. That’s the bottom line, based on the latest NFL TV ratings from FOX Sports. Initial ratings for the first game of the NFL 2020 regular season plunged amid the league's social-justice push and greater competition from other professional sports. However, the rating was still 21% lower than CBS's Week 6 SEC game in 2019. The viewership numbers for the two games are down 66% from the first two games of 2019's ALCS. As Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reports: The stakes are high. The NBA is coming off record lows for the Finals, while the NFL's numbers are down a little bit across the board. The Braves led the Dodgers 7–0 in the seventh inning Tuesday night, but had to hold on for an 8–7 win. Everything else is a disaster. Everyone is twisting themselves into a pretzel to explain the lower numbers when it comes to these two leagues because they are the most popular in this country. Billions of Dollars Are at Stake as the NFL Returns With Mixed TV Ratings. PoliticsSocial JusticeSportsColin KaepernickNational Anthem ProtestsNFLNFL ratingsRoger GoodellSan Francisco 49erssocial justice. • MSNBC averaged 2.75 million last week–up 38%. A 2013 report alleged that Miles engaged in sexual misconduct on multiple occasions during his time as LSU's head coach. There was a lot of talk about said NFL ratings once the season started amid national anthem protests following […] The NFL has reached the midpoint of the 2020 season, but it’s reached that point with far fewer television viewers than it had at this time last year. The NFL’s declining TV ratings have been a talking point for years on President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, in response to NFL players not standing for the national anthem. The average television viewership of a regular season NFL game in 2020 … Ratings increased 1% and viewership 7% from Week 8 on FOX last season (mostly Eagles-Bills or Panthers-49ers: 10.0, 17.41M). “The NFL averaged 14.5 million viewers in unlucky Week 13, down 29% from the same week last year,” the outlet noted on Friday. According to Front Office Sports, “At halftime of the 2020 season, the league is averaging 14.9 million viewers, down 7% from last season.” There’s ever a good time to have bad ratings, but this year is a particularly bad time for the NFL to regress. FOX Sports EVP and Head of Strategy Michael Mulvihill released the numbers in a tweet on Tuesday. By John Ourand 10.12.2020 The Oct. 4 “Sunday Night Football” game between the Eagles and 49ers saw a 37% drop in viewership from last year’s Week 4 game. A lot has been written about ratings for the NFL and NBA. Henry also had a great quote after the game about what he did to Norman. Final ratings numbers for the NFL’s second week of 2020 are in, and the news is marginally better for the NFL across the board. The NFL on CBS has averaged 16.27 million viewers over the past four weeks, up 12% from last year and the network’s best average in Weeks 5-8 since 2015 (19.18M). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Traina Thoughts; Low Ratings for the NBA Finals Are Concerning. • Fox News averaged of 4.42 million last week–up 63%. In the meantime, you should catch up on recent episodes and subscribe to the SI Media Podcast. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Saw this clip for the first time over the weekend and was mesmerized as usual when Paul Heyman speaks. 29 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. That's a 38% decrease compared to last year. Therefore, it should surprise no one that the NFL finds itself in a similar spot to where they were a few years ago, they’ve earned it. Last Saturday's Tennessee-Georgia game on CBS averaged a 3.1 rating and 5.77 million viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-watched game of the season. Even the season’s NFL TV ratings have been interesting. Here is a sampling of those horrible numbers via Sports Media Watch: • The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 953,000 viewers across NBC's TV and digital platforms. The most financially successful sports league in the world is in trouble. • The final round of golf's U.S. Open averaged a 2.0 rating and 3.21 million viewers for NBC, the lowest rated and least-watched final round of the tournament ever and down 55% from 2019. After the the game, one reporter kept trying to spin the Braves' win as a negative, but Atlanta pitcher Mark Melancon wasn't having it.