For the third straight season, NFL players are taking a knee during the national anthem — and the league’s ratings have followed suit.
Those ratings have declined steadily since the start of the 2016 season, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began a league-wide movement of national anthem protests. However, the league is only now really starting to see the full impact of it all.
The NFL’s “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears earned an 8.2 TV rating, making it the lowest-rated “MNF” bout ever on ESPN.
The games have been on the channel since the start of the 2006 season.
Bears' 24-17 win over the Seahawks last night marked lowest Week 2 "MNF" overnight rating yet for ESPN (8.2). Previous low was 8.3 for Eagles-Bears in 2016. Had Emmys competition last night, but that also hit new low at 7.4 overnight on NBC
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) September 18, 2018
The Monday night game had a unique challenge in that it went up against the Emmys, but it does fit the overall trend in which NFL television viewership has been going down. During the 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons combined, the league lost more than 10 percent of its television ratings; and in the first week of this NFL season, the ratings for many games, including the nationally televised Thursday and Sunday night bouts, were down even compared to last year.
Most notably, the Thursday game hit a nine-year low in viewership as far as week-one games go.
The NFL still faces the number-one issue that has led to these ratings declines, according to a JD Power poll and a Seton Hall Sports Poll from 2017: the protests against the national anthem.
This may also explain why fans do not seem to be attending as many games in person, either.
Many photos of NFL stadiums with loads of empty seats popped up online this week.
(1/X) RT @therichreport: @[me] Home opener for the LA Rams, but the fans are already fed up. #AZvsLA pic.twitter.com/eSCrzgOksf
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 16, 2018
DC sports reporter RT @TheAOster: A lot of empty seats at FedEx today. #Redskins pic.twitter.com/gdgxRoq9TP
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 16, 2018
"@pbhockey04: @[me] I can’t take a pic of it but lots of empty steats for the Bills/ Chargers game… Bills fans fed up with the losing" (https://t.co/iuowo1TJUe) pic.twitter.com/agLBq1Pfjn
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 16, 2018
(2/2) RT @yo_its_joe: Guess the “Fitzmagic” isn’t enough to fill these seats. Eagles @ Buccaneers. Tampa Bay #FedUp? @[me] pic.twitter.com/2a77LU79QQ
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 16, 2018
See, that wasn't so difficult ? #CARvsATL RT @CarterBuffkin: @[me] This better? pic.twitter.com/BB0QMZOfzi
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 16, 2018
#NFL #HOUvsTEN RT @rdixon175: @[me] Titans/Texans pic.twitter.com/9jRK1tYmJz
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 16, 2018
Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, and other outlets.
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