Bad news continues for NFL, as Divisional Playoffs ratings fall from previous years

Despite some fun games, last weekend’s NFL Divisional Playoffs did not draw the kind of ratings NBC, CBS, and Fox were looking for.

According to Sports Media Watch, all four games were down substantially in overnight ratings from the comparable window last January, and several of them hit their lowest mark in years.

• Saturday afternoon’s Falcons-Eagles game on NBC drew a 17.4 overnight rating, down 5 percent from last year and 12 percent from 2016. It was the lowest for the early Saturday time slot since 2009.
• The Patriots-Titans matchup Saturday night on CBS was the lowest-rated game of the weekend, with a 16.6 overnight. That was down 9 percent from last year and 18 percent from 2016 and was also the worst performance in that window since 2009.
• The Jaguars-Steelers contest in the early window Sunday on CBS pulled a 20.4 overnight, down 12 percent from 2016. (Last year’s game in that slot was moved to primetime due to weather.) That was the lowest mark in its window since 2002.
• Finally, the Vikings-Saints duel Sunday afternoon on Fox drew the best overnight rating of the weekend (21.8) but was still down 23 percent from last year and 17 percent from 2016.

Overall, this will reportedly be the lowest rated divisional weekend since 2009.

Austin Karp @AustinKarp
NFL Divisional weekend: 3 of 4 playoff games came down to the wire, but the TV audience just wasn't there. Looking like lowest-rated Divisional weekend since 2009 for the four-game slate.
<time class="dt-updated" datetime="2018-01-15T17:17:27+0000" pubdate="" title="Time posted: January 15, 2018 17:17:27 (UTC)">12:17 PM - Jan 15, 2018</time>

Though the conference semifinal round was short on marquee teams and superstar players, the games themselves were often thrilling. Eagles-Falcons Saturday afternoon was close from start to finish, though short on offense. And after the Patriots blew out the Titans on Saturday night, both Sunday games were tense and exciting. First, the Jaguars upset the Steelers in a high-scoring shootout. Then, the Vikings withstood a Saints comeback to prevail on a miracle last-second touchdown. All that drama presumably helped ratings — but apparently not enough.

The reported drop in divisional weekend ratings follows a double-digit dip in wild card-weekend ratings and a 9.7 percent decline in overall ratings during the regular season. Americans are clearly souring on the NFL a bit, and the playoffs have not reversed that trend.


But although the NFL certainly has some big-picture ratings problems, it’s worth noting that this weekend’s games featured matchups that might not have grabbed the casual fan at first glance. Even if Vikings-Saints was the greatest game ever (and it was pretty damn good), it wasn’t going to beat last year’s Cowboys-Packers showdown. Falcons-Eagles was likewise less appealing than last year’s Falcons-Seahawks matchup. Some franchises and players are simply more appealing to the average American than others. When the Cowboys miss the playoffs but the Jaguars make it, or when Aaron Rodgers stays home but Case Keenum doesn’t, or when Carson Wentz gets hurt and leaves us with Nick Foles, ratings are going to suffer a bit. That may not account for the entire drop, but it certainly explains some of it.


Unfortunately for the NFL, things won’t get much better next week, with the Patriots facing the Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game and Keenum and Foles squaring off in the NFC, a year after those games featured the Pats and Steelers and Rodgers vs. Matt Ryan, respectively. From a ratings standpoint, this is just not the NFL’s year – and it’s difficult to find many silver linings.



The post Bad news continues for NFL, as Divisional Playoffs ratings fall from previous years appeared first on Awful Announcing.

That tells me that the Pats and Vikings get All the Calls

The NFL needs the teams that will get the most Fans to watch

Betallsports said:

That tells me that the Pats and Vikings get All the Calls

The NFL needs the teams that will get the most Fans to watch

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If that was the case, Steelers, Saints & Atlanta would have won.......Brady vs Ben & Ryan vs Bree's sounds a lot better

I don't think it matters who goes to the SB, especially if Pats get there......maybe the ratings are down cuz Brady & the Pats get all the shady calls & this will make the 7th str championship? Lmao......

I think pats vs Vikings would be a great super bowl. Especially with Vikings getting home field advantage

When you have teams like the Packers , Cowboys , SeaHawks, Broncos not in the playoffs , its going to make a difference... with that said , a lot of factors also causing the ratings drop

RED EYE said:

When you have teams like the Packers , Cowboys , SeaHawks, Broncos not in the playoffs , its going to make a difference... with that said , a lot of factors also causing the ratings drop

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the average person on the street just dont care about the nfl, the league has way too many issues.imo it will only get worst next season

like someone has mentioned before...how is overall tv viewing fared? i'm sure regular tv shows, movies at theaters and cds or music is down in general as the internet gets bigger and faster every year with people streaming or downloading.

the bottom line for me what will the nfl do in the offseason to bring the fans back.imo the fans that have turn off the nfl will not come back, at least not in the short term

The ratings may surely be down for a variety of reasons, but I think it will still be on tv several years from now. Maybe Verizon, Sprint T Mobil, etc. etc can force the public to buy a smartphone and pay them to watch it on their device only at some point.. I will lose serious interest at that time.

only reason a lot are watching now is because its free..