How Many Viewers Does The NFL Have?
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How many viewers does the NFL have? The answer is complicated and it all depends on how you measure it.
The NFL’s Viewership Numbers
The NFL is the most popular sport in the United States and has been for many years. People love to watch the games and see their favorite teams compete. The NFL has been able to maintain its popularity by continuing to grow its viewership numbers.
How many people watch the NFL?
The National Football League (NFL) is the most popular professional American football league, with television viewers and attendance nationwide. In 2012, the average per-game audience for NFL games was 17.6 million viewers, up from 16.8 million in 2011, 15.8 million in 2010, and 14.0 million in 2009.
What factors influence NFL viewership?
Market research company Nielsen released its 2018 NFL viewership numbers this week, and the league will no doubt be pleased with the results. The average NFL game was watched by 14.9 million viewers this season, up five percent from 2017.
There are a number of factors that likely contributed to the increase in viewership. One is the league’s ongoing efforts to make the game more accessible to a wider audience, both in terms of providing cheaper ticket options and making games available on more platforms (including digital ones). Another is the fact that, despite some concerns to the contrary, the quality of play has been very good this season, with close games and exciting finishes becoming more common.
Whatever the reasons for the increase, it’s clear that the NFL remains one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the United States. And with another exciting season now in the books, it’s likely that even more people will be tuning in next year.
The NFL’s Viewership Demographics
According to Nielsen, the NFL averaged 17.6 million television viewers per game in 2020. This number is down 5% from the 2019 season. The NFL’s primary audience is still men ages 18-49. However, the NFL is seeing an increase in female viewers and viewers from all age groups.
Who watches the NFL?
Age:
The NFL has a wide age range of viewers, with the majority falling between 18 and 49 years old. In fact, the NFL has the highest share of viewers aged 18-49 of any sport or entertainment programming.
Gender:
The NFL also has a wide gender range of viewers, with nearly equal numbers of men and women watching. In fact, the NFL is one of the few sports that has nearly equal viewership among men and women.
Geography:
The NFL is popular across the United States, with fans in all 50 states. In fact, the NFL is the most popular sport in every state except for Hawaii.
According to a 2017 Nielsen report, the NFL averaged 17.63 million television viewers across all of its networks, including NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, and NFL Network.
Of those 17.63 million viewers, the vast majority (70 percent) were male and 30 percent were female. The largest age demographic was ages 35-54 (36 percent), followed by ages 25-34 (23 percent). Just over half (51 percent) of viewers were white, while 24 percent were black and 19 percent were Hispanic.
The NFL’s Viewership Trends
The National Football League is America’s most popular sports league, and it has been for some time. In recent years, however, the NFL’s viewership has begun to decline. This decrease in viewership has been especially apparent during the 2019 season. Let’s take a look at the NFL’s viewership trends.
How has NFL viewership changed over time?
Since the 2016 NFL season, viewership for NFL games has been declining. In the 2017 season, there was a 9.7% decline in viewership from the 2016 season. The 2018 season saw another decline in viewership, this time by 5%. The 2019 season had a small uptick in viewership of 2%. The 2020 season is currently on track to have another decline in viewership.
What trends are affecting NFL viewership?
Since the 2016 NFL season, the viewership for NFL games has been in decline. In the 2017 season, the average viewership for regular season games was 14.9 million, which was a 10% decline from the 2016 season. The decline in viewership continued into the 2018 season, with an average of 14.6 million viewers per game, which was a 2% decline from the previous season. There are a number of factors that are thought to be contributing to the decline in NFL viewership.
Some believe that the National Anthem protests that began in 2016 are one of the main reasons for the decline in viewers. The protests, which were started by then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, involved players taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. President Donald Trump has also been critical of the protests, and has said that they are disrespectful to the flag and to the military. While it is difficult to say how much of an impact the anthem protests have had on NFL viewership, some surveys have found that they are one of the main reasons why people are watching less football.
Another factor that may be affecting NFL viewership is cable cord-cutting. With more and more people getting their television content from streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, there has been a corresponding decline in traditional cable television subscribers. This means that fewer people are exposed to NFL games on network television, which could be contributing to the decline in viewers.
It is also worth noting that there has been an increase in competition for viewers’ attention on Thursday nights, as both NBC and CBS have begun airing live NFL games on Thursdays as well as Sundays. This could be split-ing up the potential audience for NFL games, and could be another reason why viewership is declining.
Even though viewership is down overall, there are still plenty of people who tune in to watch NFL games every week. The league remains one of the most popular sports leagues in America, and it is likely that its popularity will continue long into the future.
