The NFL anthem protesters thought they were in the clear.
Players making racist and anti-American demonstrations during the Star Spangled Banner believed they had finally forced the league to accept their disrespectful displays.
But they were left speechless by one move they never saw coming.
The furor over the national anthem protests is not going away any time soon.
Fans made that clear with the week 10 ratings.
The nationally televised double header game featuring the Dallas Cowboys was the lowest rated national telecast since 2002 and the least watched since 2006.
That was the least of the NFL’s problems.
Every single broadcast window was down from a year ago.
Sportsmediawatch.net reports:
“Despite the presence of the Cowboys, FOX NFL ratings slumped in Week 10.
Sunday’s Week 10 NFL national window, featuring Cowboys-Falcons in 86% of markets, had a 12.8 rating and 22.0 million viewers on FOX — down 22% in ratings and 24% in viewership from last year (mostly Cowboys-Steelers: 16.4, 28.9M) and down 21% and 22% respectively from 2015 on CBS (Patriots-Giants: 16.3, 28.3M).
It was the lowest rated Week 10 national window since 2002 on CBS (mostly Chiefs-49ers: 11.8) and the least-watched since 2006 on FOX (mostly Saints-Steelers: 21.8M).
The national window has now hit a multi-year low in seven of ten weeks this season. This week’s telecast was the fourth of those to hit a decade-plus low in one or both measures.
For the season, Sunday’s telecast ranks as the fourth-highest rated and sixth-most watched on any network. Dallas has played in five of the top six windows.
Through 10 weeks this season, 12 NFL telecasts have exceeded 20 million viewers. That compares to 16 at the same point last year and 22 in 2015.
Earlier in the day, coverage featuring Minnesota-Washington or Saints-Bills in most markets delivered a 7.4 (-21%) and 12.4 million (-22%).”
And to make matters worse, the Monday Night Football contest between the Miami Dolphins and the Carolina Panthers was the fourth lowest rated game since ESPN assumed the rights to the Monday Night Football package in 2006.
This ratings debacle came on the heels of over 250,000 Americans signing a petition promising to boycott the NFL on Veteran’s Day Weekend.
The protests are killing the league’s ratings and public perception, but NFL leadership has not found a way out of this mess.
What’s even worse for the NFL is that the players dialed back their racist and anti-American protests on Veteran’s Day.
Only three players knelt during the anthem, while the rest of the players backed off their protests.
This contrast only proved that their demonstrations were out of disrespect to the military and the flag.
But the NFL has so poisoned the well with their fans by tolerating and promoting exhibitions of America-hating during games that it was too late. Fans tuned out anyway.
