Why the TV ratings are down and why it doesn’t matter because the NFL is dying

There have been many, and I mean MANY, articles out recently trying to explain the NFL ratings decline.  For the most part, I’ve heard about them from Twitter and from comments here.  Once I get to the article, I skim it to see what the author’s underlying reason is.  Then, once I’ve decided whether I agree with the premise or not, I move on with my day.

One person I rarely do that with is Spencer Hall.  He is one of my favorite writers and he always has good insights.  Yesterday, he published his inevitable take on the issue which, as usual, was insightful and different from everyone else’s. I highly recommend that everyone click the link and read the article.  It’s ok, I’ll wait.  I’ve got something to keep me busy while you read.

Now, Spencer’s main points (to paraphrase him) are:

The quantity, variety, and method of delivery of entertainment content are different now.

This has helped to mold our consumption of content to a vastly different way than it used to be.

I think he’s absolutely right and that his explanation not only explains the NFL’s ratings decline, but the drastic changes that have rocked the newspaper industry, the magazine business, the recording industry, the porn industry, and the television network model.  None of the old ways work for all of those businesses and it’s all tied to what Spencer is talking about.

In his article, Spencer points out how the NBA has been able to adapt to this new reality and has embraced social media. He writes, “You want people to know what’s happening in the NBA even if they aren’t a fan because that kind of transcendent cultural relevance gets you the things leagues and their players blossom under: huge TV contracts, endorsements, and the continued giddy partnership with corporate America’s advertising dollars.”

The NBA doesn’t care if you watch every game and doesn’t expect you to.  As long as you stay in the know and as long as the NBA has some kind of relevance, players can get endorsement deals, teams can sell tickets and merchandise, and networks will feel obliged to pay money for rights fees.  Not because the games will attract great ratings but rather because they want to be seen as affiliated with something culturally important.  It helps them to stay relevant too and God knows they need that.

So, what’s the point, Balls?  Why are you regurgitating Spencer’s article?  I’m getting to that.

In my opening paragraph, I talked about how I consume content that is relevant to my interests.  You all, dear readers, since you are on the Internet reading this, do the same thing.  It doesn’t matter if you are a millennial or a forty-something pervert, things have changed and everyone has adapted.  The NFL has not and will not, which is why it is dying.

The NFL brand is shit.  Roger Goodell is a National Disgrace.  Greedy owners fuck over fans and turn blind eyes to heinous people that commit horrible acts just because they can help their teams win games.  To say nothing of how they treat players both past and present and the way they are too cheap to pay cheerleaders a decent wage and to have full-time younger and in-shape referees so that the increasingly-confusing rule book can be enforced correctly and consistently.

Football, on the other hand, is innocent in all of this.  The game survives because, at its core and at its best, it’s the best sport we have invented.  It has survived the NCAA and the NFL, two of the most heinous and evil organizations this side of FIFA, and it will outlive them both.

If the NFL really wants to survive this, they should follow the NBA and, if I may show my slight bias, the Australian Football League.  The AFL gets it right in so many ways but the key one is their use of social media and the platforms they use to promote the league.  I mean, I, an American born in Mexico, have been able to write weekly posts on their league based on the content they provide.  This has resulted in new fans, at least one new international club membership, and some merchandise being purchased from across the world.

From what I’ve read, they are more aggressive in their home country at building fan interest in the league.  This has resulted in new higher dollar media contracts.  In case you didn’t click through, that deal includes mobile platforms plus multiple platforms (free, mobile, and pay tv) for all games.  That means you can watch the same game in more than one platform from more than one source.  Imagine CBS, the NFL Network, and Twitter all showing the same game except each has a different broadcast team and a different style of showing the game.  Now, imagine that option for EVERY game.

That’s the present in Australia and the future for us and the rest of the world.  Ratings are irrelevant now.  Revenue will not come from TV ratings.  It will come from cultural relevance.  Football will always have that, but, if the NFL continues to provide a shit product and piss off the people that love the game, the NFL will die.  As it is, it’s only alive because Donald Trump fucked the USFL over as it was trying to be a serious competitor to the NFL.    If someone can come along, take advantage of the USFL’s anti-trust win over the NFL, and provide a quality football league that fixes all of the NFL’s problems, you’re telling me people wouldn’t watch and players wouldn’t go play there instead?

The existing TV contracts for the NFL expire in 2023.  The CBA expires in 2021.  The NFL has 5 years to get its shit together.  If it is depending on the old system and ratings to get another big chunk of money, they’re in for a big bad surprise.

Hey, Elon Musk!  Fuck Mars and come save football!

Artist’s portrayal of the future of the NFL and Mars colonists: