Written in April 2018- Journalism Class @ Cosby High in Midlothian
—Christian Clark, Staff Writer, PR—
National Football League:
The NFL is by far America’s favorite sporting league. Our country loves fast-paced action and with thirty-two exciting teams, the league haves created an environment where any conversation is bound to end up with the question of, “Who is your favorite NFL team?” The playoffs have the most volatility of any sporting league as nearly half the teams every year that made the playoffs one year, don’t make it the next. So why is the most competitive league dwindling in viewership? The well-documented protests of the national anthem sparked by Colin Kaepernick is one reason why many adults have turned off their television sports in search of another alternative. Many people of older generations, predominately the Baby Boomers, have chosen to say no to football, at least for the 2017 Season. The ratings may have gone down due to the Election taking up much of the coverage and our President creating waves in the news in response to these protests.
According to Sports Illustrated, every NFL program on the major networks decreased in viewership by at least over a million viewers with the biggest drop coming from Thursday Night Football. Primetime matchups, games that feature the NFL’s best teams on national TV, give the league the most revenue over regular broadcasts. Companies such as Amazon, Yahoo, and Twitter have tried to broadcast Thursday Night Football and the London International Series free of charge online to boost popularity. Despite all of this, the NFL still accounted for 37 out of 50 most watched television programs in 2017. It’s clear that the NFL is still in demand but the concerns are there for the league’s front office.
Major League Baseball:
It’s no secret that Generation Z has a shorter attention span than the Baby Boomer or the Millenials. When you take into consideration that an average length of a baseball game is over three hours long, it’s no wonder why “America’s Favorite Pastime” is slowly declining in popularity not only on cable networks but at the ballpark as well.
The MLB has been diligent in trying to speed up games. The league has implemented a rule that restricts catchers and pitchers from unlimited mount visits to discuss strategy to just six visits or pay a fine. From my experience, attending a baseball game live at the ballpark can be an amazing experience with other dedicated fans, Cracker Jacks, and the 7th Inning Stretch to participate in. Watching baseball on TV can be a chore. There are excessive amounts of TV timeouts and games can easily end in a low-scoring affair, something that our rising generation has no interest in seeing.
National Basketball Association:
Contrary to popular belief, the NBA is slowly on the rise, at the expense of NFL, MLB, and other sports leagues. In a research article by AdWeek writer Andy Katz, the combined NBA national broadcasts on ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, and TNT inflated upwards of 1.4 million viewers. My guess to why the NBA is growing is because it is becoming a global game. We see the NBA play games in China and Africa and consistently sell out games overseas. Some of the league’s top players such as Dirk Nowitzki, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kristaps Porzingis, and Ben Simmons have come from other countries to play in the NBA, attracting new fans.
To play devil’s advocate, once the playoffs begin, the results seem to follow a predictable pattern. The last time that a LeBron James led team did not participate in the NBA Finals was the year 2010 when the LA Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics. The last three NBA Finals have hosted the same two teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. The lack of parody in the league with the same teams making the championship games have really diluted the interest to some of the older generations of fans. The NBA All Star Game? Many fans can agree that the game is a joke. The league’s top players simply have no interest in playing hard to avoid injury in a virtually meaningless game.
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