TV Ratings: NFL Fumbles

The final scores are in.

The average audience for NFL games in the recently completed regular season was 14.9 million, down 9.7% from a year ago, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing Nielsen figures.

That’s a steeper decline than last year’s 8% viewership erosion.

There are plenty of theories for the ratings dip, including too many games across too many days, blowback from anthem protests, and football simply being hit by the same viewing declines that are affecting the broader TV business.

All that considered, football remains one of the most attractive draws on television for advertisers, with NFL programming accounting for 33 of the top 50 programs in 2017, the league said. That demand has helped keep ad rates high. As Ad Age reported earlier this week, estimates from Standard Media Index suggest overall in-game NFL ad sales revenue was up 2% from last year.