Ratings for the first game of the NFL’s 2018-19 season hit a nine-year low.
The viewership figures are the lowest for an opening game since 2009.
The ratings also dropped among the key demographic of adults aged 18 to 49; the 6.6 rating was a 14 percent drop from the Sept. 7, 2017 opening game.
“Even in a TV landscape where ratings and viewership are noticeably dipping, unless you are ‘This Is Us’ or ’Game Of Thrones,' those results have to worry the NFL and the broadcasters, especially the still Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox with its pricey Thursday Night Football debuting this year,” the media outlet reported.
Two Players Protested
The decline in NFL ratings has been attributed in part to the kneeling protests that started in 2016 and have continued to the present day. The protests, taking place during the National Anthem, have sparked a backlash among people who see them as unpatriotic.On Sept. 6, only two players protested during the anthem. Michael Bennett, a defensive end with the Eagles, sat on the bench during the anthem, as did fellow Eagles player Jay Ajayi.
Bennett played last year for the Seattle Seahawks and regularly knelt during the Anthem, but stood before one game when the NFL was honoring the military.
“I know a lot of people did not expect us to stand. They have this narrative about us that is not true,“ he added. ”I have a lot of family that were military. It’s never been about the military. If there is an opportunity to support them and be grateful for what they do, and the sacrifices, we want to be able to do that.”