The NFL’s TV ratings have certainly gotten its groove back in 2018.
Following two years of declining TV ratings amid worry over the long-term connection between football and head trauma, and the heated discussion over players protesting the national anthem, the NFL has proved this season that a lot of people still like their pigskin.
And yet, as TV ratings have improved, advertising revenue for the league’s TV partners was down 19 percent through the first two months of the season, according to Standard Media Index. While some of the decline for October can be explained by fewer games this year compared to 2017 (27 vs 31), the NFL aired 51 games during September and October in both 2017 and 2018.
The issue is two-fold. Because of the NFL’s declining ratings during the 2016 and 2017 — the league saw TV ratings drop 10 percent in 2017 — that led to advertisers paying less for early-season commercial time. Most ad rates for live sports are based on the prior-year trends, meaning that NBC, Fox, CBS and ESPN couldn’t charge as much. There were also fewer physical ads, with the number of 30-second commercial spots in September and October declining by 6 percent compared to 2017, as TV networks increasingly find ways to air advertisements without breaking away from the game action.
“The effects of the lower audiences last year are spilling into this season, as NFL revenue is down,” said James Fennessy, CEO of Standard Media Index. “Nevertheless, as the market reports improving viewership, we will see how these trends change over the remaining months of the season.”
Through 12 weeks (ratings for Week 13 are not yet available outside of “Thursday Night Football”), the NFL is averaging 15.8 million viewers on TV, up 5 percent vs 2017.
The league is on pace to smash virtually every offensive record, setting all-time in highs through 12 weeks in points (8,502), touchdowns (980) and touchdown passes (625). There’s been a large number of closely contested games, as well. Through 12 weeks, 51 games have been decided by three points or less, tied with the 1999 season for the most through that time frame.
Last week’s “Thursday Night Football” game between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints drew 22.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched game in the history of “TNF.”
Should the ratings continue to improve over last year, it’s likely that November and December, where fewer ad spots are purchased ahead of time, thus allowing for the TV networks to incorporate the increased viewership in their ad rates, will make up for at least some of the decline. That’s not even including the playoffs and Super Bowl LIII, which take place early next year.
'And Creed Staggers Back!': When Bad Sports Commentaries Ruin Good Movies (Photos)
I'd like to alert you to a medical condition I have made up called Obvious Sportscaster Syndrome (OSS), also sometimes known as Commentator Mouth. OSS commonly afflicts talented, real-life sports journalists making cameos in otherwise good films. OSS cases range from mildly irritating to completely taking you out of the moment. The latest film to come down with the disease is "Creed II," which contracted it from the first "Creed" film and the "Rocky" franchise. If you or a movie you love suffers from Commentator Mouth, you may see it represented in the list below.
"Creed" and "Creed II" - Max Kellerman
Even a movie as good as "Creed" isn't above sports- commentator dialogue that can feel labored. HBO's Max Kellerman has the misfortune of appearing in both "Creed" movies, saying things like, "That's the heart of a champion! He has his daddy's heart," in the first film. The sequel is even more groan-inducing. Kellerman practically praises Sylvester Stallone's screenplay as he goes. At one point he calls Creed's story "Shakespearean" and says, "Rocky knows better than anyone exactly how this story ended 30 years ago!"
MGM
"Warrior" - Jon Anik
"This is a fight! We have ourselves a fight!" Oh do we? "Warrior" is a relentless, punishing movie, but director Gavin O'Connor has UFC commentator Jon Anik berate you, not with the worst movie commentary necessarily, but certainly with fartoomuch of it. "Mom, time to lock up your china, the boys are at it again!" Or how about, "This isn't happening! It can't happen! It just did."
Lionsgate
"Friday Night Lights"
Yes, even a movie about a high school football team found a way to work in color commentators. The broadcasters in "Friday Night Lights" are almost like a Greek chorus, with lines like, "There's too much learning going on at that school."
Universal Pictures
"42" - Red Barber (John C. McGinley)
"This game is just as tight as a new pair of shoes on a rainy day," the great Red Barber (John C. McGinley) says in the Jackie Robinson biopic "42." A piece in Bleacher Report argues that Barber's depiction in Brian Helgeland's film isn't strictly accurate, because Barber prided himself on never rooting for the home team Brooklyn Dodgers. He also didn't say his "Oh, doctor!" catch phrase as often as he does in the film.
Warner Bros.
"Draft Day" - Rich Eisen
"Draft Day" recruits NFL commissioner Roger Goddell, Chris Berman, Mel Kiper Jr. and Jon Gruden, but the Commentator Mouth comes from Rich Eisen. First he literally describes how a draft works and what will happen if the Browns fail to make their pick in the allotted 10 minutes ("The team behind them could potentially steal the player the Browns wanted!"). And when Kevin Costner finally does send in his pick, he provides this brilliant piece of analysis: "And the pick is in. It's currently being brandished by some walkie-talkied individual taking it up to the commissioner's podium."
Summit Entertainment
"Pitch" - Joe Buck
"This is one of those moments in sports where you’ll remember where you were when you saw it,” Joe Buck says in the pilot to "Pitch." Fox rolled out the red carpet for what it hoped would be a splashy, history-making drama imagining the first female pitcher in MLB history. It was canceled after one season. That included Fox Sports' near-entire roster of broadcasting talent, including a brief commentary from Katie Nolan and reporting by Ken Rosenthal. But it was the call from mainstay Joe Buck that sticks in our mind. "This is getting really uncomfortable John, really, really quickly," he says after the show's star throws a consecutive 10 wild pitches. "Honestly, I don't know if I can watch this." Neither can we, Joe.
Fox
"BASEketball" - Bob Costas and Al Michaels
"What could possibly go wrong," Bob Costas said of appearing alongside Al Michaels in David Tucker's much-maligned sports-spoof "BASEketball." "You know who's in it? Ernest Borgnine. He won an Oscar once." But at least their commentary is intentionally bad.
Universal Pictures
"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" - Cotton and Pepper (Gary Cole and Jason Bateman)
Broadcasters Cotton McKnight and Pepper Brooks might actually be the best part of "Dodgeball." They're better at bad commentary than the guys who do good commentary for a living. Here's how Pepper describes a decision to forfeit: "It's a bold strategy Cotton, let's see if it pays off for 'em."
Twentieth Century Fox
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Bob Costas, Max Kellerman, Joe Buck, Rich Eisen and more have had to deliver painfully exposition-laden dialogue in these films
I'd like to alert you to a medical condition I have made up called Obvious Sportscaster Syndrome (OSS), also sometimes known as Commentator Mouth. OSS commonly afflicts talented, real-life sports journalists making cameos in otherwise good films. OSS cases range from mildly irritating to completely taking you out of the moment. The latest film to come down with the disease is "Creed II," which contracted it from the first "Creed" film and the "Rocky" franchise. If you or a movie you love suffers from Commentator Mouth, you may see it represented in the list below.
MGM
