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Recession is boon to NFL's ratings
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Published: November 9, 2009
When this NFL season began with some franchises struggling to sell tickets, there were concerns about the impact that the uncertain U.S. economy would have on the nation's most prosperous sport.
Though those concerns have turned out to be justified in a few NFL cities and unfounded in others, there has been an unforeseen development: The NFL's television ratings are soaring this season, and some analysts say that it appears to be the result of consumers cutting back on other, more costly leisure activities in favor of watching pro football on TV.
"I think there's only one answer, and that is the NFL and television are actually getting the so-called ‘benefit' of the recession," said Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports who now runs a television consulting firm, Pilson Communications. "I think people are making conscious decisions that their entertainment dollars are best spent watching NFL games free on their television sets on Sunday afternoon and Sunday night and Monday night."
TV ratings for NFL games this season are up 15 percent from last season and are at a 20-year high for this point in a season. Average television viewership is 17.2 million a game, according to the league.
Ratings for NFL games this season are up 20 percent on NBC, 19 percent on Fox, 4 percent on CBS and 18 percent on ESPN, according to the league. Last Sunday's Vikings-Packers game on Fox drew 29.8 million viewers and was the highest-rated telecast on any network since the Academy Awards in February.
"It's been amazing to me," Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, said at the NFL owners' meeting in Boston last month. "One of the things you're concerned about coming into this economic environment is it's important that our partners do well. If you look at the ratings, they've been remarkable.... I think there's been a shift in the American culture, with people staying closer to home."
Pilson said that the increase in TV ratings for NFL games is much greater than simply being a reflection of those fans who used to go to games now staying home and watching on television. The sizable rise in ratings shows that other viewers also are being drawn in, he said.
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