While the World Series captivated audiences and the presidential election kept the country hooked, one popular form of entertainment fell by the wayside this year — football.
According to Sports Illustrated, the NFL’s television ratings were down 11 percent during the first six weeks of the season.Initially, this makes no sense. The Super Bowl continues to be the most-watched televised event every year. Football is often thought to be the most popular sport in America.
The nation has slowly turned its eyes elsewhere for a few reasons.
College football has been dramatic. Top teams are consistently falling to underdogs and games are decided by small point margins.
Many games are hidden behind paywalls or require a cable subscription.
On local, over the air television, the average viewer may only receive three games on Sunday. This excludes Monday Night Football, airing exclusively on ESPN.
In the Moscow area, Seattle Seahawks games often get first billing on local television. But for those who aren’t aligned with Seattle or the Denver Broncos, there is not much draw to watch Von Miller tackle Russell Wilson.
If a fan in the Pacific Northwest wants to see Jacksonville play Tennessee, one would have to purchase subscriptions with DirectTV or Dish.
Services like these can cost $10-$20 a month.
For many, the extra monthly fee is not worth it.
Websites like Twitter are trying to capitalize on disenfranchised NFL fans. The social network broadcasted five games for free and plans to air six more.
It was exciting at first, but those games were available on television for free on CBS.
Fantasy Football’s growing popularity has fans looking for highlight performances of individual players, rather than full games.
NFL Redzone is one option for those wanting to skip the game and see how fantasy players performed.
With NFL Redzone, a fan can pay $5 a month for access to the biggest highlights of the week on a smartphone or television. There are no commercials and every score from every game is shown. The emergence of these services indicate a shift in sports consumption.
The diehard fans of the past are slowly fading away. Now it’s about stats — how many yards Aaron Rodgers threw for, or how many interceptions Richard Sherman had.
This trend can also be seen in the NBA — a star-driven league. More people cheer on LeBron James, versus the Cleveland Cavaliers as a team.
If the NFL is not careful, the league will fall into the same trap. People will stop caring and watching the teams, and only look to players and stats.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill