Why Is the NFL Playing on Saturday?

The NFL is playing on Saturday this week and some people are wondering why. Here’s a look at some of the reasons why the NFL decided to play on Saturday.

NFL’s History with Saturday Games

The National Football League has a long history of playing games on Saturday, dating back to its inception in 1920. The league’s founders chose Saturday as the day for games because it was the only day that didn’t conflict with college football games (which were played on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays).

In the early years of the league, most games were played on Saturday afternoons. This changed in the 1930s, when the league began experimenting with Friday night and Saturday night games. The first NFL game ever played on Friday night was a contest between the Staten Island Stapletons and the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 10, 1930.

The first NFL game ever played on Saturday night was a matchup between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers on December 6, 1930.

The league continued to play games on both Friday nights and Saturday nights throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In 1960, the NFL made a major change to its schedule, moving all of its games to Sunday afternoon. This decision was made in large part because of television contracts; at that time, Sunday afternoon was considered prime time for TV viewing.

The league continued to play occasional regular season games on Saturday nights into the 1970s (usually one game per week), but these were generally seen as low-priority matchups featuring teams with poor records. In 1971, however, things changed when the NFL began televising a weekly game on Saturday night during prime time. That game became known as “NBC’s Game of the Week,” and it quickly became one of the most watched programs on television.

The NFL continued to televise a weekly Saturday night game throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 2006, however, NBC lost its contract to televise Saturday night games to ESPN. Since then, ESPN has aired a weekly NFL game on Saturday night during prime time throughout the fall and winter months.

Why the NFL Decided to Play on Saturday

The National Football League (NFL) has announced that they will be playing games on Saturday starting from Week 16 of the upcoming season. This decision was made in order to increase viewership and therefore, profits. Let’s take a look at why the NFL decided to play on Saturday.

To Increase Ratings

The NFL has been playing games on Saturday for a while now, but this year they have increased the number of games. There are several reasons for this, but the main one seems to be to increase ratings.

The NFL is not the only sport that struggles with declining ratings. Baseball, basketball, and hockey have all seen a decline in viewership over the past few years. The NFL’s decision to move some games to Saturday is likely an attempt to boost ratings by reaching a new audience.

Saturday is traditionally a day for college football, so the NFL may be hoping to draw some fans away from that sport. College football has seen its own decline in ratings, so the NFL may see this as an opportunity to steal some viewers.

It’s also possible that the NFL is simply trying to capitalize on the fact that there are now more people who don’t go to work on Saturdays. With more people staying home on weekends, there may be a larger audience for NFL games.

Whatever the reason, it’s clear that the NFL is hoping that playing more games on Saturday will lead to higher ratings. Only time will tell if this strategy pays off.

To Take Advantage of College Football’s Absence

The NFL has always been strategic about when they play their games. Thanksgiving Day games draw in huge ratings, as do Sunday Night Football games and the season-opening Thursday Night Football game. So, when the NFL realized that there was a window of opportunity to play on Saturday, they took it.

There are no College Football games on Saturday, December 19th. This leaves the NFL with a chance to draw in viewers who would normally be watching college football. The NFL is hoping that by playing on Saturday, they will be able to attract new viewers and grow the popularity of the sport.

So far, the plan seems to be working. The NFL’s Saturday game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks was one of the most watched games of the week. It drew in an average of 15 million viewers, which is a significant increase from the 11 million viewers who tuned into the Saturday game last year.

The NFL is hoping that this trend will continue and that they can continue to grow the popularity of the sport by playing on Saturdays.

How Playing on Saturday Affects the NFL

The NFL has always played its games on Sundays, with a few games on Monday nights. But this Saturday, December 19, there will be two NFL games played. Why the change? Let’s take a look at how playing on Saturday affects the NFL.

Lower Attendance

One of the reasons the NFL has traditionally avoided playing on Saturday is because it would cut into college football’s attendance. Playing games on Saturdays would mean that people wouldn’t be able to go to both games, and the NFL didn’t want to compete with college football for fans. However, now that the NFL has its own television network, it doesn’t need to worry as much about attendance, because people can watch the games from home.

Lower TV Ratings

The NFL has been airing games on Saturday during Week 16 since 1971. The main reason for this is to try and increase the television ratings. However, recent studies have shown that playing on Saturday actually lowers the TV ratings.

One study showed that, in 2015, the average rating for an NFL game on Sunday was 17.9. The average rating for an NFL game on Saturday was 15.8. That’s a difference of 2.1 points. That might not seem like much, but it’s a significant decrease when you’re talking about millions of viewers.

There are a few reasons why playing on Saturday might lower the TV ratings. First of all, there are more college football games on Saturday than there are on Sunday. This means that there is more competition for viewers. Secondly, many people have plans on Saturday night (such as going out to dinner or to a bar) and they’re less likely to stay home and watch a football game.

The NFL has also been airing games on Thursday night (in addition to Sunday and Monday), and the ratings for Thursday night games are even lower than the ratings for Saturday games. So it’s possible that people are just getting tired of watching football every night of the week.

It’s important to note that the TV ratings for the NFL are still higher than the ratings for any other sport in America. So even though playing on Saturday might lower the ratings, it’s still more popular than any other sport

Why Some Fans Dislike the NFL Playing on Saturday

Some fans dislike the NFL playing on Saturday because they feel it devalues the importance of the game. Playing on Saturday means that teams are not able to get the same amount of rest and preparation time as they would during the week, which can lead to a less competitive game. Additionally, some fans simply prefer to watch football on Sundays.