There’s still plenty of time for things to pick up, but through the first four weeks of the 2016 NFL season, television ratings are down. For now, the league is not worried.
They have, at least, admitted to the drop in TV numbers, even if they’re downplaying it. From Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:
“We’re missing some stars out there,” NFL media chief Brian Rolapp said, via the Wall Street Journal.
There are some theories floating around regarding why this might be the case. Some believe that the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election is occupying the collective attention of the country, keeping more casual fans tuned into news else where. MMQB’s Albert Breer believes that a lack of competition between teams in the league this season has contributed, as well.
Florio reports that Rolapp also stated that overall, the league has “done just fine,” and Les Moonves of CBS said that, “I don’t think the sky is falling.”
Florio had an interesting response to that last remark:
He’s right. The sky isn’t falling. But the horizon also isn’t expanding, either, which is the dynamic the NFL has enjoyed through recession and political unrest and war and shifting viewing habits and anything and everything else the United States has experienced since the Colts beat the Giants in the 1958 NFL title game, sparking the emergence of a sports league that has dominated the American landscape.
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