NFL Ratings Plunge Now Hitting Advertising Revenue - Report
NFL Ratings Plunge Now Hitting Advertising Revenue - Report
Follow Chris Donaldson
Posted December 15, 2020 in Politics , Source: deadline, wsj, frontofficesports
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Things aren't shaping up well for the National Football League in a season marked by a decision to promote the divisive Black Lives Matter message and to once again sanction disrespect to the American flag.
It is now mid-December and ratings have declined to the point that the NFL's revenue from advertising could be in line for a serious hit with renewal deals set for next year and millions of fans choosing to tune out on the "woke" messaging.
The ratings were down a whopping 29 percent from last year for the week 13 slate of games and overall ratings are significantly down as they were in 2017 when protests of the national anthem and kneeling to support Colin Kaepernick resulted in the alienation of a large chunk of the league's audience.
Ratings eventually recovered but this summer's explosion of racial violence after the death of career criminal and drug addict George Floyd led to Commissioner Roger Goodell's unconditional surrender to BLM.
The NFL's troubles led to an unprecedented discount for advertisers after the league's COVID policy led to the postponement of the Thanksgiving primetime game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers and the league is quietly working with sponsors to adjust costs for the remainder of the season. .
Via Deadline,
"NFL Ratings Slump Severely Affecting Network Advertising Revenues – Report":
Disappointing NFL ratings are forcing television networks to restructure deals with advertisers to make up for the smaller audience, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The time suck of the 2020 presidential election coverage that drew viewers away from NFL games, the postponements caused by the coronavirus pandemic, backlash from some fans over the league’s social justice efforts, including its embrace of Black Lives Matter, have all contributed to the viewer erosion. Ad-free streaming services were also blamed for luring away the audience, as has the overlap with other sports like basketball and hockey that traditionally have ended before the NFL season starts.
The WSJ reported that some networks have considered letting advertisers pay less for commercials during NFL games and other programming. Compounding the problem is that what’s described as “a large amount” of the remaining commercial time available in games is being given to marketers as a make-good for poor ratings. That leaves little available to be sold.
NFL advertising is a bedrock of network revenue, which means the hit could cascade problems in other areas.
Thanksgiving, traditionally a strong day for NFL advertising, took a major hit when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens game was moved from prime time because of Covid-19 hitting the Ravens.
“We’ve worked with every one of our partners individually to find what works best for them,” an NBC Sports spokesman told the WSJ. “We will have delivery solutions for all of our NFL advertisers this season.”
More troublesome for Goodell and the NFL brain trust is the upcoming renewal of media deals and if a course correction isn't made, it could be a big hit to one of America's most enduring corporate brands.
According to Front Office Sports:The stakes are high. All of the league’s media deals expire after the 2021 and 2022 seasons. There are potentially billions of dollars at stake as the NFL tries to nearly double its $5 billion annual rights fees from media partners ESPN, CBS, NBC, and Fox.
After growing 5% in each of the past two seasons, some TV executives worry the NFL’s 7% drop through the halfway point of 2020 augurs a return to the 2016 and 2017 seasons — when average audiences fell 8% and 10%, respectively.
The league's decision to go all-in on Black Lives Matter could likely be far worse this year than just tolerating national anthem protests considering how Democrats and media purveyors of hate have weaponized race in an election year and a highly questionable election is only going to lead to more acrimony and demonization of white people.
There is also the COVID matter and a year of empty stadiums that will culminate with severe limitations in attendance at the Super Bowl in Tampa, those revenues aren't coming back and it remains unknown as to whether 2021 will also see fans banned from games.
The ratings nosedive was completely predictable and should be a wake-up call to owners that they need to move on from Goodell whose lack of leadership has ignited a dumpster fire that may never be put out on his watch.
NFL Ratings Plunge Now Hitting Advertising Revenue - Report (trendingpolitics.com)
