Seven-and-a-half percent of NFL viewers have taken a knee this season.
Through six weeks of the 2017 National Football League regular season, total viewers are down 7.5 percent on average, according to Nielsen. This year, NFL games have averaged 15.026 million total viewers versus 16.252 million in 2016. That’s inclusive of 38 televised games across Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN and the NFL Network in both cases.
Here’s the real bad news: NFL ratings were already down 12.1 percent from 2015 to 2016. Is there a penalty for roughing the advertisers?
Here is how each individual week breaks down, comparing 2016 to 2017:
Week 1: -12.7%
Week 2: -9.9%
Week 3: -10.2%
Week 4: -0.8%
Week 5: No change
Week 6: -8.4%
Hey, Weeks 4 and 5 ratings were pretty good! Unfortunately, the audience numbers for the others were not.
Going forward, much like the players themselves during the national anthem, commissioner Roger Goodell can only hope that they’ll rise.
9 Reasons Why NFL TV Ratings Might Be Down This Year (Photos)
After years of ratings dominance, viewing of NFL games on TV this season is down by 12 percent. But why? Click on to see some possible reasons.
Donald Trump The GOP nominee has impacted everything else, so why not football? Fans have understandably had a hard time paying attention to the game during this crazy White House campaign.
Peyton Manning The legendary QB has retired, depriving the NFL of one of its most recognizable faces.
Chicago Cubs Yep, as Cubs fan Bill Murray knows, the baseball team's fantasy journey from perennial losers to the World Series has been this fall's Cinderella story. Kinda makes football look puny in comparison.
Colin Kaepernick His principled refusal to stand for the national anthem has turned into a cause celebre that has polarized fans and generated bad PR for the NFL.
Thursday Night Football Hey, who (aside from New Englanders) wants to see the Patriots score a 27-0 blowout against the Texans? Didn't think so. Hardcore fans are complaining about the lousy match-ups on this season's schedule.
Ray Rice He may not play anymore, but the former running back is the symbol of ongoing domestic-violence scandals that have soured many fans on the sport.
NFL RedZone A lot of fans have gotten hooked on the special NFL-owned, game-day exclusive RedZone channel, hosted by Hanson. Unfortunately, that might mean lower ratings for broadcast partners.
Brett Favre Fan concern has steadily increased about the health effects on pros who took repeated hard hits during their career. Former QB Favre even said that his occasional memory lapses scared him and convinced him not to come out of retirement again. The worry has led to special game rules that some fans say has made the games boring.
Roger Goodell He may be "the most powerful man in sports," but the NFL commissioner has taken a lot of flak lately over issues from domestic violence to Deflategate - including from league owners, three of whom told The Daily Caller this year that it was time for a replacement.
