October 2016 - NFL TV RATINGS DOWN; FANS CITE A HOST OF FACTORS

Seton Hall Sports Poll

Viewership for NFL games is down approximately 12% this season, sending league and club officials in search of reasons. A Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted this week asked people to identify factors accounting for the drop. Each question was asked separately, allowing for a yes, no or don’t know response. Thus, respondents could weigh in on each of the seven possibilities as a contributing factor without identifying one single factor. The leading factor - the one receiving the most “yesses” was players not standing for the national anthem. However, the seven factors all evoked a large number of yes responses, so that even the least chosen, at 33%, represents a lot of fans. 56% of respondents cited players not standing, with 50% citing the distraction of the presidential campaign, and 47% the controversy over the handling of domestic violence cases involving players. On the question of domestic violence, men and women responded equally; 47% of men cited that as a possible reason, 46% of women said yes to that possibility.