NFL Ratings Continue To Plunge

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TV Network executives have long used the National Football League’s live games as a last line of defense against the rapid growth of “cord-cutting” and on-demand viewing upending the industry.

But now, reports The Washington Post, the NFL is seeing its ratings tumble in the same way that the Olympics, awards shows and other live events have, falling more than 10 percent for the first five weeks of the season compared with the first five weeks of last season. A continued slide, executives say, could pose an even bigger danger: If football can’t survive the new age of TV, what can?

The explosion of modern entertainment options, offered on more devices and at any time, has splintered American audiences and sped TV’s decline, Hughes said. “Sports seemed to be immune from it — it was live, the last bastion of broadcast television. But [the world] has caught up to it now.”

Election years often thin sports ratings, but the NFL has never seen a drop as dramatic as this year’s, Nielsen data shows. In 2008, for example, ratings over the course of the year declined 2 percent, and in 2000 they declined 10 percent. During the first five weeks of this year, ratings have declined 15 percent compared with the entirety of last year.

Streaming services catering to sports viewers on the Web have seen their subscription numbers climb. Sling TV, a Web service that offers ESPN and other live sports starting at $20 a month, has seen “extremely strong growth,” said Ben Weinberger, chief product officer. With every live sports event, Weinberger said, they see more new sign-ups.

The Web-motivated trend toward short, punchy online videos, analysts said, may have also motivated some viewers to skip the four-hour football broadcasts until they’ve been distilled down the next day.