The NFL has seen some alarming major TV viewership declines in the first four weeks -- with games down 11% among viewers 18-49 versus non-sports TV broadcast network ratings losing 7%.
MoffettNathanson Research says it's due to TV networks betting NFL and live sports programming are the stability part of their overall programming schedule -- bringing in steady advertising revenue
gains with premium cost per thousand viewer (CPM) prices.
Fox derives 49% of total network advertising from the NFL; CBS, at 40%, NBC and ESPN, each with 27%. (NBC impacted by Olympics in
August; CBS had the Super Bowl 50 in February).
The researcher points to less competitive prime-time games, as well as three of the major NFL teams’ star quarterbacks not on the field
versus a year ago -- Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos. That's due to either through injury, suspension or retirement.
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Additionally, a “MNF” game ran
up against a strong-viewing first presidential debate.
Looking specifically at different NFL dayparts, prime-time games were down by double-digit percentages with Sunday daytime games
relatively flat.
NFL Sunday afternoon games have dropped 3% in total gross rating points for all viewers to 44.6 million, this compares to a 2% rise over the same time period a year
ago.
Prime-time NFL series -- “Thursday Night Football,” “Sunday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football" -- and have been much harder hit -- down 10%,
23%, and 16%, respectively. A year ago, all three were up: “TNF (10%); “SNF” (23%); and “MNF”(1%).