For years, NFL games have been the golden goose of television ratings, somehow immune to decline or fluctuation in the industry. But ratings are down 11 percent so far this season, with the decline even steeper for the league’s prime-time telecasts.
According to Bloomberg, viewership is down 16 percent on Monday Night Football, 15 percent on Thursday Night Football, and 12 percent for NBC’s Sunday night games.
Theories abound as to why fewer people are watching this so far this year — from heightened interest in the presidential election, to the less-than-stellar quality of the prime-time matchups, to the overall lack of quality in the game itself.