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State of the Screens

Overexposure, Not Anthem Protests, Blamed for NFL’s Ratings Woes

By February 19, 2018No Comments

Is too much supply the main cause of the downward trend in NFL TV ratings?

The NFL makes roughly $7.3b each year from TV rights.

Ratings comparison (2017 vs.):
1)
2016: ↓ 5%
2)
2015: ↓ 15%

What about the anthem protests? Viewership in blue states is dropping faster than in red states.

Viewership decline:
1) Blue states: ↓ 10%
2) Red states: ↓ 9%

More on the NFL. ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More

Yikes!. Every pay-TV subscriber in the U.S. pays $21.50/year to watch Monday Night Football as a part of their monthly bill.

More on this topic. TV Ad Prices: Football Hikes, ‘This Is Us’ Soars, ‘Walking Dead’ Stumbles, ‘Empire’ Falls

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.