The drop in TV ratings for the NFL wasn’t confined to Monday night.
With the dust settled on Week One, the NFL saw a reduction in most key apples-to-apples comparisons from 2015 to 2016.
Via Forbes, the Thursday night opener between the Panthers and Broncos drew 25.2 million, down eight percent from 2015 (Steelers-Patriots) and six percent from 2014 (Packers-Seahawks). Also, Sunday night’s game between the Patriots and Cardinals generated an audience of 23.1 million. Despite the game being decided at the last second, the audience fell by 14 percent, in comparison to last year’s Giants-Cowboys Sunday night opener.
All metrics were down with the exception of the late-afternoon Sunday game, thanks to another Week One Giants-Cowboys contest, which saw growth in ratings from 14.7 from last year’s Ravens-Broncos game to 16.9, according to SportsBusiness Daily.
The NFL still draws a live audience like no other entertainment property, but it’s noteworthy anytime the numbers drop. At a time when the NFL has its eyes on other countries because it regards the United State as saturated, maybe it’s time to focus on pumping more water into the domestic sponge and to worry less about panning for gold on foreign soil.