NFL Ratings Plummet in Chiefs-Texans Season Opener

[SAR I]

The primetime match-up between the easily victorious Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans snared 19.3 million viewers.

That’s a fumble of 12.3% from the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears opening game of the 2019-2020 season on September 5. With racial justice center stage at the beginning of the game, the contest between the mid-market reigning Super Bowl champions and the Lone Star state team is up just a touch over the 9-year low of the weather delayed 2018 season opener low in total sets of eyeballs.

When data from NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms are added to Thursday’s NFL battle, the 8:28 – 11:05 PM ET game had a Total Audience Delivery of 20.3 million. That’s an 11% drop from last year’s TAD, even with the digital numbers up 55% over 2019 to a non-Super Bowl high. 

https://deadline.com/2020/09/nfl-ratings-down-season-kickoff-kansas-city-chiefs-coronavirus-houston-texans-nbc-1234575251/

SAR I

[Jimmy 2 Times]

I’m surprised.  I’m watching more tv this year than I have in my entire life. 

[jeremy2020]

Well, NFL didn't give me a way to watch that would register for their numbers so I'm not included in that. I somehow doubt I'm the only one and it's only going to get worse until they come up with sensible, easy way to watch games that doesn't require me to subscribe to 2-3 different services to watch games. 

Factor in no build-up with closed practices and no pre-season on top of everyone stuck with their crotchspawn indoors. I'm not shocked viewership was down. 

[Sarge4Tide]

Well, Chicago is a major football market and Green Bay has a large fan base, so it doesn't surprise me that the ratings are down for KC and Houston, plus the game got out of hand early 3rd quarter. And I think the Lakers / Rockets were on at the same time

[Beerfish]

Pre game stuff, half time stuff and commercials are not about football these days.  People gravitate towards sports because it is a break from other stuff in this world.  Once sports becomes as much about other things as it does about mindless fan entertainment it will sink and a least some people will move on.

[Jetsfan80]

15 minutes ago, Jimmy 2 Times said:

I’m surprised.  I’m watching more tv this year than I have in my entire life. 

Same is true for many.  But they're not watching sports.  The ratings for all 4 major US sports are way down.  

[Drums]

It was a terrible game. I got bored before 3rd quarter 

[Matt39]

7 minutes ago, Sarge4Tide said:

Well, Chicago is a major football market and Green Bay has a large fan base, so it doesn't surprise me that the ratings are down for KC and Houston, plus the game got out of hand early 3rd quarter. And I think the Lakers / Rockets were on at the same time

Houston is like the 3rd largest market in the country. 

[Jetsfan80]

7 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Pre game stuff, half time stuff and commercials are not about football these days.  People gravitate towards sports because it is a break from other stuff in this world.  Once sports becomes as much about other things as it does about mindless fan entertainment it will sink and a lesat some people will move on.

 

1 minute ago, Drums said:

It was a terrible game. I got bored before 3rd quarter 

 

It's not a matter of people tuning in for a bit and then turning the game off midway thru.  I'm sure some are doing that.  But the overwhelming majority just aren't tuning in to begin with, based on what the numbers seem to demonstrate.  The appetite for sports is not strong in the US across the board right now, for a multitude of reasons.

[Icer]

It still pulled three times as many viewers as any NBA playoff game this year, so in perspective its good considering how boring the game was.

[Lupz27]

19 minutes ago, Jimmy 2 Times said:

I’m surprised.  I’m watching more tv this year than I have in my entire life. 

I tried to watch it, but had to turn it off every commercial break, then just stayed on the hockey game, and forgot.

[Welp]

NBA playoff game going on at the same time which has never happened before. Other fans myself included was more interested in that game.

[TuscanyTile2]

Part of it could be that there was no preseason thus the buildup to the regular season wasn't there.  

[Mike135]

NBA and I think NHL playoff games were on as well.  Pretty good considering. 

[Daddy Wang Doodle]

Lots of factors, but people generally don't like politics and virtue signaling shoved down their throats - even if some of it is necessary/justified.

[JTJet]

I see a lot of half hearted excuses to explain this away, while ignoring the painfully obvious common denominator. 

People. Do. Not. Want. Social. Justice. Shoved. Down. Their. Throat. During. Sports. 

At a time when ratings should be higher than ever, because a large majority of people are at home, all major sports leagues have chosen to implement this across the board, as is their right to do so. In doing so, a large swath of people have chosen to tune out, as is their right to do so as well.

Sports and entertainment is an escape, people want (need) to escape the real world sometimes, especially in the hardest times. Real world issues consume you 23 hours a day, if that other hour becomes consumed with the same issues, you're going to get bored or look elsewhere. 

Downvote all you like. Call me a nazi because I simply do not agree with you all you like. Doesnt make my point any less true. 

[adb280z]

There's never been an NFL game on while NBA playoffs and NHL playoffs were also on.  Of course ratings are down.  It would have been a miracle if they were up.

[jeremy2020]

49 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Same is true for many.  But they're not watching sports.  The ratings for all 4 major US sports are way down.  

Must be all the black hockey players talking about racial equity

[Matt39]

31 minutes ago, Daddy Wang Doodle said:

Lots of factors, but people generally don't like politics and virtue signaling shoved down their throats - even if some of it is necessary/justified.

There's a growing sentiment, whether fair or unfair that the players, who get wealthier and wealthier- really resent the fans. The gap has never been wider. These guys are unbelievably wealthy and there is just such a disconnect, especially as coaching has changed over the years, criticism is no longer accepted or acceptable. The media has also done a 180- once hyper critical of athletes they are now the biggest fanboys on the planet- pay for play access vs the old school days of seeking the truth. Fans criticizing performance builds this resentment and it shocks the players imo, especially when it no longer comes from the media. They've almost flipped in that regard.

The NFL is too big to fail, but tv ratings do matter longterm.

[MindOverMatter]

27 minutes ago, JTJet said:

I see a lot of half hearted excuses to explain this away, while ignoring the painfully obvious common denominator. 

People. Do. Not. Want. Social. Justice. Shoved. Down. Their. Throat. During. Sports. 

At a time when ratings should be higher than ever, because a large majority of people are at home, all major sports leagues have chosen to implement this across the board, as is their right to do so. In doing so, a large swath of people have chosen to tune out, as is their right to do so as well.

Sports and entertainment is an escape, people want (need) to escape the real world sometimes, especially in the hardest times. Real world issues consume you 23 hours a day, if that other hour becomes consumed with the same issues, you're going to get bored or look elsewhere. 

Downvote all you like. Call me a nazi because I simply do not agree with you all you like. Doesnt make my point any less true. 

People had an issue with Kap taking a knee during the anthem, even though it was advice given to him by a veteran.

Now people have an issue with players silently protesting AFTER the anthem. Maybe it's time to admit it was never about the anthem, flag, military, or anything else but the one thing we all know deep in our hearts. You just want these black athletes to STFU and entertain. Do you throw the same fit over breast cancer awareness? Sports will always be a platform for change, like it or not.

[kdels62]

39 minutes ago, JTJet said:

I see a lot of half hearted excuses to explain this away, while ignoring the painfully obvious common denominator. 

People. Do. Not. Want. Social. Justice. Shoved. Down. Their. Throat. During. Sports. 

At a time when ratings should be higher than ever, because a large majority of people are at home, all major sports leagues have chosen to implement this across the board, as is their right to do so. In doing so, a large swath of people have chosen to tune out, as is their right to do so as well.

Sports and entertainment is an escape, people want (need) to escape the real world sometimes, especially in the hardest times. Real world issues consume you 23 hours a day, if that other hour becomes consumed with the same issues, you're going to get bored or look elsewhere. 

Downvote all you like. Call me a nazi because I simply do not agree with you all you like. Doesnt make my point any less true. 

Actually, your post is just an opinion without evidence. So it can’t be wrong it can just be ill-conceived. 

[JTJet]

1 minute ago, MindOverMatter said:

People had an issue with Kap taking a knee during the anthem, even though it was advice given to him by a veteran.

Now people have an issue with players silently protesting AFTER the anthem. Maybe it's time to admit it was never about the anthem, flag, military, or anything else but the one thing we all know deep in our hearts. You just want these black athletes to STFU and entertain. Do you throw the same fit over breast cancer awareness? Sports will always be a platform for change, like it or not.

That's your opinion sure. 

You're way oversimplifying people being upset though. Most want ALL athletes to stfu and entertain, not simply a small segment of people you arbitrarily deem racist because they dont tow your line. 

When you go get your hair done, do you want to be lectured about your perceived failings? 

No of course you dont. Neither do people watching a football game. 

[JTJet]

1 minute ago, kdels62 said:

Actually, your post is just an opinion without evidence. So it can’t be wrong it can just be ill-conceived. 

Unfortunately theres far more evidence to back up that opinion than anything else stated thus far. 

Just simply google or pull up youtube and search the same topic. The overwhelming majority of people criticizing these ratings believe this is why. 

[Larz]

It’s just another reminder that nothing is normal really

 

[Gastineau Lives]

28 minutes ago, jeremy2020 said:

Must be all the black hockey players talking about racial equity

nah, people love being reminded of how racist and evil they are every thirty ******* seconds, don't ya know?

[Lot K Tailgaters]

I watched the game until the third quarter.  There are NHL and NBA playoffs and also MLB to compete with.   Also Green Bay has a bigger national following than KC or Houston.  

[TuscanyTile2]

The ratings around the league are down because of Adam Gase.  The only reason they're even as high as they are is due to Joe Judge.

[freestater]

I find it humorous that a certain segment of the population likes to go around shouting Snowflake! at others, get so tightly wound when someone shares a differing perspective about what life is like in dear ole Murica. 

[docdhc]

Personally I support the social justice initiative so that doesn’t turn me off but I haven’t been as enthusiastic for this season either. I think  the lack of preseason, the lack of fans, and the opt outs and uncertainty whether a complete season will occur has taken some of the excitement away. It just doesn’t seem as important in the midst of a pandemic so I don’t think it’s just politics killing the ratings. 

[MindOverMatter]

15 minutes ago, JTJet said:

That's your opinion sure. 

You're way oversimplifying people being upset though. Most want ALL athletes to stfu and entertain, not simply a small segment of people you arbitrarily deem racist because they dont tow your line. 

When you go get your hair done, do you want to be lectured about your perceived failings? 

No of course you dont. Neither do people watching a football game. 

No part of my post is an opinion. And not sure if you've ever been in a barber shop but politics is usually a hot topic.

Perceieved failings....lol.

 

[kdels62]

7 minutes ago, JTJet said:

Unfortunately theres far more evidence to back up that opinion than anything else stated thus far. 

Just simply google or pull up youtube and search the same topic. The overwhelming majority of people criticizing these ratings believe this is why. 

Not how evidence works. Right now there are a lot of factors that contribute to the weak (relative to last year but not relative to everything else on tv) ratings. Also the markets that most watched the game were all Midwest cities. The East and west coast had lower viewership numbers than the year before. The weekend will be telling and I don’t doubt the social aspect may contribute to the lower ratings but considering the competition for eyes from other sports and no preseason hype I think the NFL is fine.

[batman10023]

1 hour ago, jeremy2020 said:

Well, NFL didn't give me a way to watch that would register for their numbers so I'm not included in that. I somehow doubt I'm the only one and it's only going to get worse until they come up with sensible, easy way to watch games that doesn't require me to subscribe to 2-3 different services to watch games. 

Factor in no build-up with closed practices and no pre-season on top of everyone stuck with their crotchspawn indoors. I'm not shocked viewership was down. 

Over the air for free or via cable isn’t easy enough for you?

you must be millennial 

[Matt39]

12 minutes ago, freestater said:

I find it humorous that a certain segment of the population likes to go around shouting Snowflake! at others, get so tightly wound when someone shares a differing perspective about what life is like in dear ole Murica. 

The entire population does this now, regardless of side.

[Gastineau Lives]

22 minutes ago, freestater said:

I find it humorous that a certain segment of the population likes to go around shouting Snowflake! at others, get so tightly wound when someone shares a differing perspective about what life is like in dear ole Murica. 

no, it's awesome when you're watching a game to escape and relax, to take your mind off the fact that you're laid off from work while your wife works part time at the winn ******* dixie and you got two kids and you're struggling to make ends meet and you're basically David ******* Duke because you're not out lobbying ******* CONGRESS on your fishing weekends to rectify the .03% more black criminals that are shot by cops (some of whom ARE black) as compared to white criminals as you try to forget the frustration you felt when you watched a pack of bastards harrass old people at a cafe, scaring the sh*t out of them as they scream at them because they are white and THEY'RE not lobbying congress on THEIR ******* bingo nights.

Some virutual TEENAGER that is worth 450 million ******* dollars and grew up the son of a MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL MILLIONAIRE AND NEVER HAD A JOB IN HIS ******* LIFE is basically telling you that you are privileged and YOU NEED TO DO BETTER. Except in Chicago, no one needs to do better there, it's fine just the way it is apparently.

WHY WOULDN'T ANYONE THINK THAT WAS FUN??

[Larz]

Wepinz